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My (retro) Recruitment Story!
I've been a member on GC for a few years and after reading a bajillion recruitment stories, I decided to create an alias and post mine too. Admittedly, mine doesn't really have that "roller coaster-esque" feeling that a lot of them do, but it's still a recruitment story so I'm posting it! :-)
Preface: Small school, small Greek Life, formally-structured recruitment, and I was not a freshman or sophomore like a strong majority of the PNMs. Just realized I need code words....... Couldn't decide what to use so I looked around me for some inspiration and saw a pile of clothes on the floor, so I'll go with that. So we've got: -Jeans: I had gotten a pretty good idea of what this chapter was all about from doing pre-FR (formal recruitment) research on their national website & chapter website, as well as knowing a few of their members from other student orgs. In my opinion, this was THE chapter I wanted. I loved their philanthropy and wanted to dive right into it. -Hoodie: Again, I knew members from this chapter from other orgs and hadn't met a single one I didn't like. Didn't know much else about them though. -Fleece: This was the new chapter on campus. Knew 1 member. -Shirt: I don't think I knew anyone in this chapter before FR but they were pretty good with PR so I had seen them at a lot of campus events and knew a little about their symbols/mascot. -Sweater: I knew 1 member before FR and I just loved her. Knew a little about symbols & philanthropy but not much else. |
Bah! These recruitment threads from GC posters who make a new name to post their story always kill me...I want to know who it is!!! haha I never have a clue though...
I *THINK* I know of one frequent GCer who joined as an upperclassman, but 1) I could be wrong about that fact, 2) I may be getting them confused with another GCer and 3) I don't know if this person would write a recruitment thread or if they have already written one. So, once again, I'm stumped :( |
I don't remember exactly what order I visited the chapters in, but I THINK it was Jeans, Fleece, Shirt, Sweater, and Hoodie....so I'll go with that.
Jeans: Remember this was THE chapter I wanted. I walked in the room PUMPED to learn all there was to know about their sorority and the girls in it....imagine my disappointment when they acted like they didn't even want to be bothered with the PNMs that just walked in the room. They didn't seem like they needed more members and they sure weren't interested in us as members. They did this beautiful thing at the beginning where they all went around and said what Jeans meant to them...and then they just sorta abandoned us. It was awkward. Fleece: I had overheard some girls (including Rho Chi's) talking about how it's bad to join a new chapter and that gave me a bad feeling when we were making our way to this room. However, once we got there and the door opened and there were 30 girls singing and chanting, it made me feel like they were proud of their sorority and they couldn't be all bad. I talked to a few girls, including the one that I knew before and they showed me tables full of the mascot and pictures. It was pleasant. Shirt: I have to admit, when I walked into this room, I felt nauseas...I haated their colors. They told us all about their symbols and what it's like to be a Shirt, but I was sooo distracted by their colors surrounding me. I just couldn't see myself ever wearing those colors or decorating my room in them...which was sad because I liked everything else about them but I just couldn't get over that one aspect. Sweater: They had the room set up so that you kind of go in a circle around the room and visit all the stations (ex: they had a table about philanthrophy and then when you're done, you go to the table about their history...). It was supposed to be 2 PNMs at each table and 2 members explaining stuff at the table. I ended up being the only solo PNM, which I didn't notice until one of the actives pointed it out to me, and then it was just awkward after that. THEN I got to the girl I knew....and this is where I blew it.....she said something like "OMG I didn't know you were going to go through recruitment!!!" and I said something like "Yeah, I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not so I didn't mention it to anyone in case I backed out" Her:"Well what made you decide to join now?" (meaning not as a freshman or sophomore)...and out of my mouth comes "I always believed the stereotypes about sororities and I thought they were all blonde, blue-eyed, and super skinny like you. But then I met some other girls and it wasn't like that." ...oops...... so that was awesome. Not only was it awkward to being with, but I just categorized this girl into a stereotype. I left that room relieved it was over. Finally, there was Hoodie: On the way there, most of the PNMs in my group were talking about how they didn't even want to bother going to the Hoodie room becuase they had zero interest in them, but I was looking forward to it. I truthfully don't remember anything about this room except seeing a string of pearls on a table, their composite was displayed, and all the girls looked so perfect in their white polos/black pants combos. I also really really liked their colors and the feel of the room. I know I had a good experience there, but I don't remember what was good about it. and so concludes Round 1. |
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Because I failed. I actually thought that I clicked "Recruitment Stories" and not "Sorority Recruitment". I was going to ask a Moderator to move it (or how I can move it, if that's possible) after the story is done.
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ROUND 2
The chapters were in the same order again, so here we go: Jeans: They had a really good craft....we decorated canvas tote bags and loaded them up with paper/crayons/markers, etc to give to local school children in need. So heartwarming. It made me happy to know that what I was making was going to potentially make some kids day. I loved that and I wished so badly that the girls in this chapter and the ideals of the national org were a little more parallel. They weren't as stand-off-ish as they were in Round 1 but they were still not very interested in anything any of the PNMs were saying. Unfortunately, my #1 chapter let me down again. Fleece: Another craft for children in need. This was took me by surprise because, apparently, they are affiliated with multiple philanthropies and I guess it hadn't occurred to me that one of them was a child-based group. This made me very happy to find out since I had just been turned off of Jeans and the reason I wanted them so badly was their philanthropy. I had a touch of hope again so while I made my craft, I chatted away with the girls in the chapter. At this point I didn't really have any strong feelings for this chapter either way. I didn't get that "YES, this is home" feel but I didn't dislike them or anything about them, either. Shirt: This group shared a video with us, and AGAIN, we would be making a craft for children at a camp (similar to Fleece's project)! So that was great...because now I realized, that as much as I liked Jeans for their efforts towards the betterment of children's lives, this was far more widespread than just them :-) I didn't dislike the feel of the room nearly as much this round because the colors were toned down and the room was dark for the first part because of the video, and then I got so into my project and my conversation with the girls that I just kinda of stopped thinking about anything else. Again, a group with no strong feelings toward. I really liked the girls, still hated the colors. Either way I went as far as joining this chapter, I was okay with. Sweater: I made eye contact with the girl I had the little mishap with (let's call her Tanner) the last round right when I walked in and we just kinda smiled at each other in a sort of awkward/embarrassed way and then I got paired with a totally different girl....a girl who was NOT like the stereotype at all. I am assuming now that this was intentional, but I'll never know. We're going to call this girl Zoey (cause I like that name and I haven't any idea what hers actually was). So Zoey and I sit together and we all watch this intensely emotional video about their philanthropy and almost all the girls in the room were in tears. To make it more emotional, one of their members...oh yes, TANNER, got up and spoke about how deeply their philanthropy has affected her personally and her family also. More crying. Finally we get to the project and Zoey repeatedly complimented my arts & crafts skills, and mostly she commented on how well I was drawing the symbols of Sweater. She was SOOO easy to be around and she was the first person so far that I felt like I just clicked with....Now I thought I had a chance in this group, but at the same time, I knew I wouldn't fit in with a majority of the girls.....they were high maintenance girls (the kind that get up hours before class starts to make sure their hair is great, makeup is perfect, and all accessories were well-matched). They liked that stuff and I just didn't. I'd rather sleep in and show up for class in jeans & a t-shirt with coffee in-hand. Such mixed feelings about this group. Hoodie: LOOOOVEDDDD this room theme. It was another kids' camp project but this room was set up to look like a campground. It was adorable. I don't remember anything about the actual craft we did, and I remember the conversation going okay but I can't recall any of the details. After we left that room, we were escorted to a computer lab and we ranked our groups....We had to cut 2. My order was: 1. Hoodie. Something about them was pulling me in. I knew they were strong nationally, they all seemed to really care about each other and their sorority, their colors were aesthetically pleasing, and all the girls I met were great. 2. Fleece. New girls or not, I liked them. They were laid back & easy to talk to, plus they didn't fit the "cookie cutter" feel that a few of the other chapters had. Every girl was different and I appreciated that. 3. Shirt. Fabulous girls, good on-campus alumna support, older chapter. Okay feelings about them. 4. Sweater. I had to go with my gut feelings. I liked these girls a lot, and it was definitely a good group...just for someone else. 5. Jeans. Funny how the ONE I looked so forward to at the beginning became my number five, just because of their poor attitudes. |
I'm curious if anyone has any guesses to my school, the sororities, my other GC name...anything at all :-) PM me if you've got any!
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I am just curious as to which GLO has colors so atrocious to this particular poster?! Hah it will be interesting to see!
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I have no idea who you are but I love your story!!
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Wow, all of the kids' projects sounds really redundant. I'm also curious about the colors!! Lol! I know some people DESPISE pink, so maybe it was DZ, DG or Phi Mu. I <3 pink, though!
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Lucy -
I am guessing it is Delta Zeta only because I know the preppy pink/green combo is something people either love or completely hate. (Personally, I love it!) :) |
I didn't like Sigma Kappa's colours as a collegian, but now I like them.
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When I was first learning about all the NPC organizations, I have to admit I wasn't a fan of the pink & brown combo that Gamma Phi Beta uses. However, now I really like the two together!!!:D
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Time for Round 3! [Sisterhood Round]
Before we visited chapters, we went with our Rho Chis to get our list for the day. We dropped 2 last round so we would be attending a maximum of 3. I got my list and I had: Fleece and Shirt left. Two is better than one, I suppose, but I was more than a little disheartened that Hoodie cut me. I kept looking at the girls who were invited back to Hoodie and wondering what they did or said that I didn't....It really got to me but I didn't let anyone know it because I didn't want to hurt my chances anywhere else. Our first stop was Shirt. I don't recall much, except that instead of their standard colors, they had a very classy black and silver decor and I was impressed! My mind was so wrapped around the Hoodie thing that I apparently just didn't pay attention to their skit enough to have it stick. Next, and final, stop: Fleece. Their skit was about belonging and I had very positive feelings about it. They also had an INCREDIBLE slideshow of pictures from the time they were founded on campus to the present and I loved how happy all the girls looked together and how much they really loved each other and their sorority. Part-way through the slideshow is when I had that moment..I decided right then this was the chapter for me. For Pref the next day, we could have a max of 2, and since I was down to two, rankings were super easy! 1. Fleece 2. Shirt. |
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I'm guessing the chapter's a year or two old? So the slideshow is all about, say, their first year, and getting everything established? On some campuses, you're the "new" chapter for 10 years until someone else colonizes.
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No, I didn't switch names. I suppose I should have said they were the newest. They were less than 3 years old on that campus but they were already a chartered org, not a colony.
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I'm guessing when she said Fleece was new on campus she meant that the chapter was newer then the others. She said she knew one member, so maybe Fleece had colonized a year or two before she went through recruitment.
I've never experienced recruitment (from either side) when there was a colony, but don't colonies usually wait until after formal recruitment is done before they recruit? Or give a presentation during round 1 and then wait before they start their process? At least that's what I've picked-up from my friends' stories and gc. |
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Please, continue! :) |
Sorry for the delay. I caught the cold/flu bug that's going around and I've been spending as much time in my bed as possible.
Round 4 [Preference] I showed up to get my list of who I was invited back by and I was a little surprised that Shirt wasn't on it. I was okay with it since I still had Fleece to go to but I didn't like that my chances of joining a sorority had just been cut in half.... Fleece wasn't until the 2nd time block so I had a while to kill. Myself and anyone else with an empty block were sent to a lounge area to wait. We all discussed chapters we liked/didn't like, what we think we did right/wrong, tried to guess which chapters our Rho Chis were a part of, etc.....but it was still the looooongest 2 hour ever. Finally it was time for our group to go get on the buses. We all got dropped off at our respective locations and waited till it was time for the ceremonies to start. When we finally were let in to the room I was SO impressed with how beautifully decorated it was. It was simple and elegant and peaceful. The ceremony itself was also incredible. The active who stood behind me [she shall be called Jenna] during the whole thing (along with a bunch of the sisters) started to cry and the combo between that and the ceremony, I cried too. On one hand, I was glad that their ritual was touching to me, on the other hand, I felt like a weirdo for crying in the Pref ceremony cause most of the other PNMs weren't.... [[after reading other people's recruitment stories, I realize that's pretty typical]]. When the ceremony ended we were seated with the actives for refreshments/light snacks and we got to ask any last minute questions and make our final impressions on the girls. Jenna was my "host", she was refilling my drink & bringing me cookies, and we chatted the entire time even though it seemed that we were supposed to be switching off...we clicked well and she made me super comfortable. She made me sure that I wanted to be a Fleece. Her best friend, "Krista", hopped into the conversation and I liked her right off the bat too. We chatted for a few minutes and then the Rho Chis gave a 2 minute warning. I told Krista how much I liked Fleece and how I was now very nervous for the next day because I was nervous I wouldn't get a bid. She gave me an encouraging smile and said "nothing to worry about" and escorted me to the door. I definitely didn't want to leave that room. I liked them soooo much and if I wasn't offered a bid by them the next day I was going to be majorly bummed..... |
!!!!! BID DAY!!!!!
Nothing had been mentioned throughout the week that if you didn't get a bid on Bid Day, you would get a phone call earlier in the day so I was not waiting or dreading a phone call like most. I was oblivious to this concept. I'm pretty sure we were supposed to go to the Greek Office at 5pm or so and we were supposed to line up and wait to be individually called in to find out IF we got a bid and if so, which chapter it was from. So after hours and hours and hoooouuuuuuurrrrrssss [it's a painful wait, for anyone who hasn't had to experience it], I went to the Greek Office and saw that a significant line had already formed. More waiting. Finally it was my turn... I walked in the office, sat down, and was handed an envelope. I opened it.......and closed it right away....and just burst into tears..... The Greek Advisor anxiously asked "Good tears or bad tears?!:confused:" I gave him a thumbs up and he let out a big sigh of relief and handed me a pen to sign with. :) Before he let me leave the room, he asked to see who my bid was from so I took it out of the envelope and showed him that I was extended a bid from the fabulous ladies of http://mail.google.com/mail/e/B60Fleecehttp://mail.google.com/mail/e/B60!!!!! :D:D:D At my school, we don't do "The Running of the Girls" or whatever other schools call it.....Instead, when you leave the Greek Office, you go to the main area of the Student Union and wait with the girls who were already there. Then the Rho Chis come in and put everyone in order and we are escorted onto a stage 5 at a time. One of the faculty members acts as the announcer and, one-by-one, she says the name of the woman and which chapter she's now a member of and then the new member jumps into the crowd of sisters standing on the floor. I am mildly biased, but I prefer this method over running any day! :) |
I think I might know who you are. I've been thinking the same thing since reading round 2. And assuming I knew who you were, because of what you said about Fleece during that round, I thought you might end up being a sister of that GLO.
But if I'm wrong about who you are, I somehow made a really amazing guess as to which sorority you joined :D |
OOPS!
Just realized I never posted who the chapters are!!! It'll be up tonight! |
Ahhh! I want to know who Fleece is! And whether or not my guess was just a really good (and random) one :p
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Because I was honest about my feelings toward "Jeans", I think it's best not to reveal them. I don't think that the actions/attitudes of this particular chapter should be reflected on the rest of the org because I have met "Jeans" from other shools and they are nothing like the "Jeans" from my campus. So I'll just leave it at that.
"Sweater" is the lovely ladies of Zeta Tau Alpha. This chapter is fabulous and like I said in my "Round 2" post, even though this wasn't the group for me, it's definitely a great place to call home for other women on my campus. As far as "Hoodie" (who I also choose not to reveal) goes, as badly as I wanted them during recruitment, I'm so glad I didn't end up there. It turns out that they are nothing like they are during recruitment...and they have a low retention rate to show for it. During recruitment they are so classy and poised, and then the rest of the year, they are the exact opposite. :( "Shirt"....I got quite a few PMs with guesses as to the identity of this group, and there were a lot of correct guesses. It is Delta Zeta. I am sure their colors have very beautiful and significant meaning to them but I have never liked pink and the only shades of green I like are the dark or earth-tone greens. I am now very close friends with a few of the DZ's and my "recruitment buddy" (she was in my Rho Chi group and we just kind of gravitated toward each other) is now the president of the chapter!!! :D and last, but absolutely not least, "Fleece" is............................. http://mail.google.com/mail/e/B0C Theta Phi Alpha http://mail.google.com/mail/e/B0C. I definitely found my home. And now, a follow-up on people that were mentioned during the story..... *"Zoey": We had a history class together the next semester and the first time I saw her after recruitment, I ran up to her and showed her my new letter bag and she was so happy for me but then she told me she disaffiliated shortly after recruitment. Still to this day I don't know what caused it, but since she was the only girl that I really connected with there, I was kind of relieved that I didn't choose her chapter and then have her quit. *Even after my little slip-up with "Tanner", we have remained friends and laugh about it every once in a while. *"Jenna": Ended up being my Pledge Sister Educator that quarter. I really admire her for her dedication to Theta Phi and I can't imagine having a better PSE. :-) *"Krista": I got to know her during my pledge sister period and liked her so much that I put her as #1 for my choices for Big Sister... too bad she wasn't taking a little that quarter. She still teases me about how nervous I was about potentially not getting a bid. That's it :-) Thanks for reading my recruitment story, even if it is from a few years ago. - ●upwardsparks● .....also known as TPA85. ETA: While it's probably not hard to figure out who "Hoodie" and "Jeans" are thanks to the powers of Google, guess privately or PM me. I don't want the actual GLO's names posted on this thread in a negative light. Thanks! |
Nope, completely wrong. But I somehow knew it would be Fleece :p
Congratulations to you and TPA... even though it was a while ago :D |
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