My Fall 09 Recruitment Story
 

Hey everybody! So I've been reading everyone's stories for quite some time now, and have been getting so excited for recruitment. I spent all summer getting rec letters, shopping for those perfect outfits, and all the fun stuff that girls are expected to do in a southern rush environment. I really want to share my story with everyone so here it goes!

To start from the beginning, I graduated high school early so I started my school that I'm going to in Spring 09. But since none of the chapters at my school did recruitment in spring, I would have to wait a WHOLE semester watching the girls who were already in sororities and getting excited for August. I met a few girls and they all seemed really nice, and I absolutely could not wait. Over the summer, a family friend helped me get rec letters so I felt confident in that aspect. As the days passed by, I got more and more excited for that very first convocation.

At my school, there are 14 NPC sororities, but only 13 do formal recruitment. This is what we'll call them:
Colorado
Kansas
Maine
Florida
Michigan
Indiana
Wyoming
Washington
Vermont
Alaska
Louisiana
California
Nebraska
Utah

I'm not sure if this has done before or not, but I thought they were good code names :) Also, these names were completely randomly assigned, I promise they don't allude to where a chapter was founded or anything!

Alright, so in my semester that I had already been at XYZ University, I had completely fallen in love with Florida and Colorado. They were my top two picks, but I promised myself I would have an open mind.

Upon going to the first convocation where we met our Rho Chis and all the girls in our group, I was stunned. I knew rush was big, but there were close to 900 girls there:eek: I was nervous but my excitement definitely overpowered that. We learned that 13 sororities would be participating, and Louisiana would do informal recruitment later in the year. It was a lot of fun to see the skits the Rho Chis put on and meet everyone, and after, my whole group went to eat! I knew immediately I would love greek life. I went to bed that night so happy for the next day, Open House, where we would walk to all 13 houses and meet the girls.

I'll tell you all about how my Open House went in just a little bit!

i am intrigued!

This should be fun. Good luck with recruitment!

Good thing you waited. I remember a girl in my pledge class graduated a year early from high school and she was 16 when she pledged. Looking back, that was just too young.

Oh to clear that up, I only graduated a semester early so I couldn't have done Fall Recruitment a year earlier if I had wanted to. I'm still classified as a freshman. Alright well I'm just so antsy and I finished Open House, so here it is:

First, I thought I’d say the schedule of event, which I didn’t do yet.

Day 1- Convocation
Day 2- Open House
Day 3- First 5 Philanthropy Parties
Day 4- Second 5 Philanthropy Parties
Day 5- Skit Round
Day 6- Pref Night
Day 7- Bid Day

Okay, so on with the story!

I woke up the morning of Open House and was already giddy. I put on the t-shirt that I had been issued to wear along with modest khaki shorts (required) and some Sperry’s. I thought I looked cute and well put together, or at least as much as I possibly could with everyone wearing essentially the same thing.

I went and met my Rho Chi group on campus, and they told us we would be going to Kansas first. I was so excited because a girl I already consider to be my sister and have known for 12 years is in Kansas at another large school. I’ll call her Amy because she comes into this story several times. She told me a girl from her pledge class had transferred to my school, so I should definitely look for her. Walking to that first house was terrifying and exhilarating. They screamed and banged on the door and I was certain their door would break off of its hinges. We were pushed through the line of smiling and chanting girls and I turned around to meet my rusher. She was so sweet and nice, and when I told her about Amy, she actually somewhat knew her through chapters coming together sometimes! After that, we had a great conversation and I left feeling amazing with a huge smile.

We then moved on to the Wyoming house. Amy’s roommate was in Wyoming, so I was excited to go in there also! The girl that got me was okay, but I didn’t think I clicked with her the way I had with the other girl. About four girls came up throughout the process and they all seemed very nice. Although they were good, they had not eclipsed Kansas.

We then moved onto Vermont. (I feel like I’m traveling the country while writing this!) I vaguely knew a few girls in this house. I absolutely adored the girl that rushed me here. The conversation was so easy and it seemed like we talked about everything! We joked and laughed and I had a great time. When I told her I was a government major and wanted to join Student Government, she told me her friend in the chapter was in Student Government and that I could meet her tomorrow. This was my first exposure to dirty rushing and although she said it in passing, I was both extremely excited and deeply unnerved by her comment. Still, I hoped it was something good and was so sad when I had to leave Vermont.

After Vermont came Colorado. This was one of my original favorites so I couldn’t wait to go in here. When I walked through, a girl grabbed by hands and danced my through, which I thought was so cute and fun! Another girl came and grabbed me and I ended up chatting with about 5 different girls, all whom I liked a lot.

Finally we got an hour break from walking through the heat and a chance to eat. During break, I ran into a girl from my high school. I asked her how her rush was going and she said great, and that she already knew she would be in Michigan. When I asked how, she said that over the summer she had been invited down by them to go to a frat party and already knew a bunch of the girls in the house! I didn’t even think that was allowed and really wasn’t sure what to think now. But I had to shake that, because break was over!

Next, came Washington. I had heard from several girls in my group that these girls were just... weird. I didn’t really understand until I walked inside. The girl who grabbed me introduced herself, paused, looked around, and then said “lets go meet some people!” and dragged me away. This continued for nearly all 15 minutes, with me trying to break in and start an actual conversation with her. She then shuffled me outside and I left feeling awkward and very unhappy. They were definitely my last pick so far.

Next came California! These girls did not have a very good rep on campus, but like I said before, I wanted to keep an open mind. Over the summer, someone from California had facebooked me and invited me out to lunch, to which I eagerly accepted. Even if they weren’t known for being very good, I still wanted to give them a chance and meet the girls. When I walked in, the same girl who took me out over the summer got me. I was at ease because I already knew her and we had a good conversation. The one thing I remember most that she said to me was that I would find the perfect house, I wouldn’t be left homeless. For some reason, I can’t get her saying that out of my head so I thought I would include it. I left with a good feeling, because she seemed so nice and I liked what I had seem from them so far.

We then went to Nebraska, which I didn’t know much about. The girl was nice and we seemed to have a good conversation. She complimented me, saying I seemed mature for my age, which I took as a positive. I left very happy with myself.

On to Michigan! This was a BIG house on campus and very well respected. But walking in, some PNMs hugged a bunch of members, saying ‘Good to see you again’ and stuff like that. I guess they too had been invited down for frat parties... I didn’t like this, because it seemed so dirty and unfair. However, my rusher and I got along extremely well. We told funny stories and she was very easy to talk to. Even if they played kind of dirty, I couldn’t help but like them.

After Michigan, we moved further north to Maine. Nothing too exciting, but I thought we had a decent conversation. They would probably rank in the middle of my list.

Utah was next. I talked to a bunch of different girls here, who all seemed very wholesome and nice. These girls were known for being conservative, which I liked a lot. I definitely hoped for an invite back to here.

Our next break came now, and everyone was starting to wind down after a long day in the sun. We talked to some girls from other groups and some interesting rumors sprang up. At the Florida house, the girls don’t say more than 5 words to you. Instead, they have a ‘dance party,’ and just jump and chant for 15 minutes. A girl in my group said this was because Florida had had their bid list since the beginning of summer, and didn’t bother talking to other girls. This girl in my group had left a bad taste in my mouth all day, because she was a sophomore rushing a second time when she dropped out last year. After every house, she would say something like “I’m so glad I got my friend in there, I don’t want to have to talk,” or “Ugh, I hate those girls, I told them I’m going Vermont because I don’t want to be invited back.” This made me so angry, because I was trying so hard and this girl couldn’t care less because she had friends in all the chapters! And my beloved Florida already had a bid list? Although just a rumor, it made me angry.

After break came Indiana. In my dorm, one of my suitemates, who we’ll Morgan, was in Indiana so I was excited to see her here! She had just transferred so she didn’t know the girls very well yet, but she told me about Indiana at her other school and I was already starting to like them a lot. My rusher was nice and we talked about the most random things, but it was a great conversation. Morgan came up to me and hugged me and asked me all about my day. I was so happy to actually know someone and I left feeling great!

We then moved off to Alaska. The girl I talked to was kind of odd. There were several awkward silences and I just didn’t know what to say to her. One of her friends came up and they started talking, and the girl actually used profanity jokingly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no saint and I joke with my friends too, but I found this weird, because I know this is a definite no-no for recruitment week. I walked out of there hoping I wouldn’t be going back.

Lastly came Florida! Yay! I couldn’t wait to go inside. True to what I had heard, the girl introduced herself, said they were having a dance party, and started spinning me. I noticed that several PNMs were just standing and clapping, but I loved this house and I was going to dance! I jumped around and acted goofy just like all the members, clapping and chanting and doing silly dance moves. I was so thankful that was my last house because wow it was hot in there and I looked a mess! But I had so much fun and I couldn’t help but think that although I didn’t know what their cuts were based on, they had to have liked me!

We all went to fill out our cards, so we were allowed to choose our top 10. The ones I least preferred were California, Alaska, and Washington, in that order. I went home exhausted but so unbelievably excited. Morgan came into my room and we chatted about the day. Then I called Amy, who facebooked the girl from Kansas that rushed me, and told her about me. Amy assured me Florida couldn’t already have a bid list made and she said she was so excited for me. She also told me to not tell anyone my suitemate was in Indiana, because houses might assume I would automatically go for them. Luckily, I hadn’t told anyone, and I definitely wouldn’t the next day, because that is an understandable assumption. I told Amy bye, and passed out at about 9pm!!!

Philanthrophy Round later, check back soon!

wannabegreek2, I'm enjoying your story so far - you are an excellent storyteller! Please don't keep us hanging!

I love the details in this one!

moooooooorrreee.

I love your story so far, keep it coming!

I hope you get into the "state" you want to be in =]

sounds like you had fun! Best of luck :)

Did you say Amy was in a sorority? If so, she should not be talking to you during recruitment should she? I know my niece who is a DDD alum from a different school said she could not talk to my daughter during recruitment week.

Silence rules vary widely by school and since her friend, Amy, attended a different school, the OPs Panhel probably has very little or no control over a PNM talking to her personal friends on another campus. Now if Amy and the OP went to the same university, this would most likely be an infraction. Amy should still be "panhellenic" about the situation and not pressure the OP into any one chapter, IMO.

The summer invites to visit are very common at this campus (if it's where I think it is), I'm not sure what the panhell rules are about it, but it is standard among all of the houses. So, either it's allowed, or it's overlooked because everyone is doing it.

BTW, love your story and will enjoy reading more..

I want to cheer for Florida, but they sound super sketch lol...dance parties?? What the hell?

http://www.coast2coast-ent.com/image...rParty_BIG.jpg

Great story! I can't wait to hear more.

I keep seeing state names and confusing myself- she's at Louisiana? I thought she went to Colorado? And then I realize I have no idea where she goes and I need to step away from this thread until it's finished for my own sanity.

If it's where I think, she's through with recruitment.

All signs point to a certain school, including the "dance party" scenario, which can be explained after the conclusion of the story - which I hope she finishes, because it is interesting.

PLEASE!!

Thanks everyone, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! To clear some things up, Amy goes to a different but also very large university. Also, I was hoping using the state names would throw you off some as to what the school it is, because I don't think it will be too terribly hard to figure out (If you have any guesses as to the school or inidividual chapters, you can message me and I'll let you know).

Yes, I believe the frat party invites are fairly common, which REALLY upsets me, because I made a conscious effort to stay out of frat parties over the summer since I knew I would be rushing, and I didn't know what the implications would be either way.

Also, sorry it took me awhile, I was crazy busy yesterday!

Alright, so I woke up the morning of the first part of Philanthropy Round at 5 am! I guess since I had gone to sleep so early the night before combined with being so excited made it impossible to fall back asleep. Unfortunately, rush stuff didn’t start until 3 so I had practically a whole day to kill. I tried to keep myself busy all morning and I thought 3 would never ever come, but finally, I found myself walking with some girls from my dorm to my Rho Chi group. When our invites were passed out, I got more and more anxious, and lucky me, I was the LAST person to get mine! I closed my eyes and hoped and prayed I’d get back to those that I wanted and when I looked down...



I couldn’t believe what I saw. Only Indiana, Wyoming, and Washington had invited me back. For a second, I didn’t even know what to think. I paused, hoping the Rho Chi would say “Oh wait, there was a mistake,” but nothing like that came. Other girls had gotten up to 10 houses, and I only had 3. I was close to tears, and waited until almost all the others had left until I went up to Lauren, one of my Rho Chis. I simply said, “Can I please talk to you, because I feel like I’m about to cry and I just am so confused and don’t know what happened.”

She walked me down the stairs out of sight and talked to me. She told me that the first round of cuts is the worst and can be based on absolutely anything. Its the biggest flaw in the system and nobody knows how to fix it. She explained cuts could be from grades, rec letters, being a legacy, or even who you know. I knew I was okay on the first two, but nobody in my family had gone greek, and I didn’t know hardly anyone here in sororities. Could that really have impacted me that much? I was devastated, but Lauren pointed out that I still had 3 invites, when some girls had none. I was astounded that girls were completely cut after only one round. It didn’t seem fair, I thought everyone was supposed to find a home and only those who willingly dropped out didn’t get bids. But I was happy with Indiana and Wyoming. Although Washington thoroughly creeped me out, I would give them another chance. They are a smaller chapter, so maybe they just didn’t have the resources or experience to do what the others did. So although I was slightly heartbroken, I struggled to see the bright side.

The one thing that I was so angry with though is that my 3 parties were scheduled for Part 2 of Philanthropy Round. So I had gotten ready and dressed, woken up at 5 am and stressed all day, all to have to wait until the next day until my parties started. I rushed home and threw on pajamas immediately, wanting so badly to fall asleep and have it be the next morning. I texted Amy, telling her what happened. She said it would be fine, and that I should go for Indiana. I should let them know how interested I was, which I would definitely do. Amy said her roommate had a good friend who was in Indiana at my school! Her name was Rachel Hoffman (not real, don’t worry) and I should look for her the next day.

More and more waiting and finally I went off to my first party, Washington. This time, the girl was super cute and very friendly. I enjoyed talking with her, and a couple of the other girls. When I learned that this house had had the highest GPA on campus for over 20 years, I was very impressed. Although I couldn’t completely forget the previous day, Washington was growing on me.

Next, I went off to Wyoming. I had so much fun at this house. Their craft was sooo adorable, we got to stuff Build-A-Bears! The girl I talked to was funny and nice, and she even started talking to me about living in the house. This got me even more excited, and I left with a great feeling about Wyoming.

When I went to Indiana, a girl grabbed me and introduced herself as Rachel. I thought nothing of it, until ANOTHER girl named Rachel came up and introduced herself. I thought it was funny they had the same name, and couldn’t remember why it seemed so odd. All of a sudden, I remembered that I was supposed to be looking for a girl named Rachel! When I looked down at the first girls name tag, I couldn’t believe it. Her name was Rachel Hoffman! I honestly could not believe that out of more than 100 girls in the chapter that were supposed to rush me, it was the girl that Amy’s roommate knew! How random and crazy! We talked so easily and I had so much fun. I thought for sure that Indiana was for me, I mean, that had to be a sign!

After I left Indiana, we had to go fill out our cards. We could circle up to 6, but since I only had 3, I circled all of my houses. My favorite Rho Chi who had talked to me earlier saw me and asked if my day had gone good. I nodded with a huge smile and told her that I had had a blast. I was so anxious for the next day to come.

Yay for Skit Round next!

Oh and sorry I forgot to say that I already went through recruitment, its not live.

I'm sorry you got cut so heavily, but it seems as though you enjoyed the 3 houses you did have - so you win. :) Love your attitude and the story is great!

I really like reading your story!!
And since it's not live... I hope your recruitment went well and you got into a great chapter!

great school to do a story on... that is if i figured it out right. I hope you find a great home state!

Loving this!

I went to bed that night feeling hopeful, and yet I couldn’t shake the nagging thought that if I had gotten cut from 10 houses in one day, then how could I possibly keep these remaining 3 until tomorrow? Every time my phone would go off, my stomach would turn over, and slowly settle again when I saw that it wasn’t my Rho Chi’s number.

Unfortunately, that dreaded call came late the next morning. I answered the phone, already knowing what she would say. She told me that I hadn’t received any invites back to any of my houses, and that I was being released from formal recruitment. Released from formal recruitment... That really hit me. All I could think about now was how I was ‘homeless,’ something that I had been assured wouldn’t happen because the system, although flawed, worked itself out.

When I told Amy, she was so surprised. She said that couldn’t even happen at her school! I didn't understand why things were so different at my school. I secretly started wishing I had gone to Amy's school (which was actually my second choice), just so my experience had been different.

But my Rho Chi also told me about COBs, and how my name would be put on a list all year and if a chapter didn’t meet quota, they could call me and offer me a bid. I called her back and asked her about them some more. I wanted to make sure that Panhellenic knew that I was interested in a snap bid, because I assumed some girls who had gotten released would be over it. My Rho Chi said she was friends with the president of Panhellenic, and she would definitely let her know that.

So now, a few days after bid day, I’m still hoping I’ll get a call from a chapter that I liked. Also, I know a few chapters I liked (Wyoming for sure) participate in informal spring recruitment, so if I haven’t gotten a verbal bid, then I’m thinking I’ll go through that.

But thanks everybody for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it and I’m sorry it didn’t end up with a happy ending. I really wanted to post this because I’m so curious to hear your responses to how things work at my school. I’m just kind of disappointed that basically everybody here dirty rushes so they essentially already know who their pledge class is, because I was so looking forward to going greek. So yeah, thanks again everyone!

Maybe Amy is trying to make you feel better or misunderstood her system or your system, but the only Greek system in the country where you are GUARANTEED a bid if you go through rush is at Tufts. At any other school with NPC groups, a PNM can be cut or released by the individual sororities at any time. So, don't wish you went to her school. The same thing may have happened.

There are schools that guarantee a bid if you "maximize your options" - that is, attend all the events you are invited to and list all the sororities whose pref you were invited to on your bid card - but you hadn't gotten to that stage yet. It doesn't keep the sororities from cutting you.

I'm sorry your story ends as it does.

THIS.

Alot of times, PNMs, sisters, and even Gamma Chis misunderstand the guaranteed bid thing.

You have to attend Preference parties and rank them all in order to get a bid.

So there is no guarantee until you make it to Pref.

Up until that point, you can still be released from recruitment.

Once again, I want to say my heart goes out to you, and I'm sorry you had a poor experience. I hope things work out, and I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Maybe you'll do COB and get a bid, maybe you'll find a club you love and become president, maybe you'll find the cure for cancer ;). So many options in college - just find the one that's right for you!

Thanks for posting your story, even though it wasn't a "happy" ending. I think all PNMs, including myself, can take something from this story. You're strong for being able to post it and not whine and bitch, saying "blah blah blah I'm so pissed I hate all greeks".

I am not privy to individual chapters membership selection criteria, nor will I, or can I comment on it.

I will point out though that some of the houses (including the "dance party" house) have to make HUGE cuts after the 1st round due to release figures. At that point, they haven't truly had an opportunity to get to know every girl going through recruitment, so the cuts could be based on legacy status, grades, familiarity with members in the house (hence the highschool, zipcode mentions), etc. So, what may seem like a "rigged system" can really be more of a "numbers game".

So sorry your recruitment ended up this way, and I truly wish you the BEST of luck both at UT and with your quest to find a Greek home!

I just want to wish you the very best during your time at college. There are so many people to meet and ways to get involved...I hope you find people and activities that make you happy and I wish you the best for the future.



I apologize if it's inappropriate for me to ask and I totally understand if you choose not to answer this, but what's up with the dance party? I've never heard of anything like that before.

Without going into any details, some houses have a "rep" for doing 1st Round party things like the above mentioned dance party, others might be that they just chant at the pnm's, etc. This rep is sometimes deserved, sometimes not.

But, as I explained in the above post, some of the houses have to make huge cuts immediately after the 1st party, so they do have an idea of who they are inviting back to 2nd round. They do not have a bid list determined from the outset though!!

Personally, the idea of a "dance party" where they don't even have the illusion of getting to know the pnm's is not a great idea, in that it does leave a bad taste in the mouth of those who feel they aren't getting a chance there. But, with the release figures as they are, it could be a moot point anyway.

2 years ago when my niece participated in recruitment she commented on the dance party at one house.

I'm confused here..I thought there was no guarantee of a bid ever..not even after Pref. At least that is how it works here, you can still be released after pref rounds. It happened to one of my friends 3 years ago, she attended 2 pref parties, ranked both and was dropped that day by both. I guess it must be rare?

sorry to hijack, but how does that work? if a very undesirable girl goes through that all of the sororities cut immediately (i'm talking the weird rush stories kind) then how do they decide which group is stuck with her?

Not every university offers guaranteed placement. It sounds like your university does not offer it, which still means a PNM could be released from recruitment even after pref if she does not match to any chapters she preffed. Yes, it is rare, but it can happen.

For those universities that do offer guaranteed placement, as long as your friend had accepted and attended every invitation available to her (assuming she was at or under the number she could accept every day) then she would have been placed at one of her pref chapters.

No group is "stuck with her". I think even with "guarnateed placement" (which is just another phrase that can be misinterpreted!) if the PNM is released completely before the preference invitations are issued, she is completely out of recruitment.

Actually in the case of Tufts, yes, some group is stuck with her.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh....php?p=1504459

I think that someone said this ^ is actually called guaranteed bidding or guaranteed matching, not guaranteed placement, to differentiate from what places like Texas do.