My University of Southern California recruitment :)
 

Hello!

After much debate and deliberation, I have decided to make a recruitment thread. Recruitment starts tonight, and I am looking forward to it!

In honor of Ellie's acceptance to the USC med school, I will name the sororities after characters on the TV show Chuck.

(for the record, the character has absolutely nothing to do with the characteristics of each house. I just love the show a lot. So don't be offended, Lester and Jeff! :))

I actually didn't want to do a "blinded" thread, but since I am a legacy to one chapter and I'll probably reveal other things about myself, I'll keep it blinded, unfortunately.

I also can't promise to be "brutally honest." I am always honest naturally, and I'm a pretty optimistic person, so I think well of almost everyone, so my apologies if you're looking for something juicier than what I have to say.

Without further ado (and I've had quite a bit of ado already), may I present the sororities:
Chuck (legacy--grandmother & great-grandmother)
Sarah (three letters [my grandmother went a tad overboard])
Casey (letter)
Ellie
Captain Awesome
Morgan (letter)
Jeff
Lester (letter--I think?)
Anna


So I'm obviously a double legacy to Chuck, though I think I'm only officially a single legacy. My grandmother really enjoyed her time as a Chuck (at a different school), but she has made it clear that there is no obligation for me to pledge Chuck, she just wants me to be where I'm happiest.

There is also one sorority on campus that is doing continuous informal recruitment. My friend is a sister of that sorority at a different school, and she really likes it. I will definitely keep them in mind if I don't feel a connection with any of the sororities that are participating in formal recruitment.

So... recruitment starts in an hour and a half! We met our RCs last night, they seem really nice. It is a HUGE group of girls rushing this year, it's kind of insane. I actually know a few of the girls in my group already from class, orientation, open houses, etc. My suitemate, one of my old friends from summer camp, and some other people I know are also going through recruitment, but they're in different groups.

I'm very very excited and a little nervous for recruitment! I hope I like the girls and that they like me (a very common sentiment, I'm sure :)). I haven't met very many women who are already in houses (mostly because I'm afraid of talking to them and somehow breaking Panhellic rules. I'm also from the other side of the country and only knew my friend from summer camp, a sophomore spring admit, before coming here), but the ones I have met are really really nice, so I'm optimistic. A lady who works for my dad was a Casey at our rival school, and she and I chatted before I left about what greek life is like, and I guess that she seemed apprehensive about was when I said that I have a pretty good "genuine" detector--I usually know when someone's being fake. Hopefully I'll form a real connection with the women, though, and won't have to worry about falseness.

I'll do my best to keep you posted! :D

Good luck girl!

I'm going through the same thing :)
How funny if we're in the same group or end up in the same pc?!

Fight On!<3

best of luck to you both - USC has a great Greek system. Enjoy your recruitment.

thanks!

And AzTheta, I'm feeling you on the location today! It's been a hot few days here as well.

trojangirl, pm me your RCs?

By the way, you might want to relocate (if its possible) this to recruitment stories. But I am following this...except that I won't be near a computer all weekend!!! Darn)

I wish all the pnms at SC the best of luck, happiness and the best time ever. I know that the actives in the Trojan family are ready to go. They really can't wait to meet all of you.

Fight on!!!!

Good luck to all the SC PNMs! Have fun, and fight on!!

aw oops! I thought this was the right thread.

recruitment is going great! we're on an hour break right now, so I'm just updating from my phone, but I really love this! it's so much fun, and every girl I've net is so nice! I've visited Chuck and Anna and one other sorority whose codename I can't remember, and then I'm visiting Captain Awesome and Casey, I think, after this. I will write more later! :)

I love this show so much I can't decide who to root for! Ok, go Casey and Morgan!

Hokay. Today is done.

First house: Jeff.
Oh my goodness, I loved this house. Four girls rushed me, and they were all SO nice and we had a lot to talk about. I really loved them, I felt like I got along really well with the women. I truly enjoyed my time at the house. When I left, I said, "Man, if all the houses are like this, I have no clue how I'm going to pick at the end!"

Also, just saying, totally wasn't expecting flavored water.

Second house: Anna.
The girls in this house were really nice, I liked them, though not as much as the girls from Jeff. One of the women who rushed me doesn't even attend USC, which I thought was kind of odd--she's an Anna member at another nearby-ish school.

Third house: Chuck.
Oh my goodness, everything about this house was ridiculously beautiful, inside and out. As we were waiting outside the house, there was a beautiful sunset, and a hummingbird came and fed right in front of us. The inside of the house and its yard area were really nice, too, and the girls were stunning as well. I was kind of intimidated by the greeting party, I'm not going to lie, they seemed TOO perfect, but all of the women with whom I spoke were really cool and I found something with which I could connect with all of them. I really liked this house, but it is a popular one. Hopefully my legacy status (and myself :)) will keep me from being cut, because I'd really like to get to know these girls better.

Fourth house: Casey.
The girls in this house were really nice, but I didn't feel like we had that much in common or like there was a real connection, which was a shame, because like I said, they were so nice!

Fifth house: Captain Awesome.
I loved my first rusher, she and I had a lot to talk about, even though it was really late at night and we were both really tired. I liked my second rusher too, though not as much. I definitely want to learn more about this house, though.

So, in sum,

Loved:
Jeff, Chuck

Liked:
Captain Awesome

Take it or leave it (so far):
Casey, Anna

All in all, I really loved rush! It was a lot of fun, which was way different from what I was expecting. Most of the women I've met just sound five times more tired when they talk about recruitment, but I really enjoyed it. I didn't like USC's system of having so many breaks, I would have rather just done all my parties in a row, but I can't really do anything about that.

I'm looking forward to meeting the other four houses tomorrow! Agh I can't wait!

I love the process so much, but I'm also so impatient to find out if/where I get a bid!

haha, sorry about all the excitement, I am a teenage girl after all. :)

It sounds like you have a great attitude. If you're telling us these in the order you actually saw them, keep in mind that you may have started to lose interest in the houses as you got tired, so your lack of connection might just have been fatigue on your or your rusher's part, or both!

This week is grueling, and I personally think fatigue and burnout affect where you end up more than just about anything else. Use your breaks to shut down for a minute and recharge the mental batteries!

Best of luck to you!

Good point^^ I also wanted to say at the house were you met the member who went to another school; they may be in a rebuilding phase or just colonized on campus. Give them a chance and a second look. Sometimes becoming a member of a Chapter in transition can be super rewarding. Have fun and Good Luck!~

haha, yeah, I know we were all really tired at Captain Awesome, but I definitely want to give them another chance. And it's not that I didn't like Casey, but I got the impression that I wouldn't really fit in there. I'm saying no outright, yet, though.

I believe Anna is actually very well established on campus. The only newly colonized chapter is not participating in formal recruitment--the rest of the chapters (i.e. all of the chapters participating in formal recruitment) have been on campus since at least 1947.

I'm rushing at USC too! Last night was tiring but amazing. So excited for tonight!

1.) Im pretty sure thats not allowed..lol idk maybe its different at USC?
2.) Maybe b/c it was against the rules lol
3.) Impressive....

I think she meant like the cucumber flavored water. When they just have cucumber it in to like decorate but it ends up tasting like cucumber cause I know one of the houses had that and it was pretty tasty haha

I had three girls at all of the other houses, I think, except for Cptain Awesome, where I had two. I don't know whether it was a good or bad thing that I was bumped so much, but I got along really well with everyone. The only time it felt even remotely awkward was with my very last rusher of the night, who woukd have started around 11:20, I believe.

the water was like infused, I guess is the best way to descibe it. We had lemon and cucumber, and at one house it tasted normal, but there were raspberries in the glass. The water was fancy at every house, though, and they all had really cute napkins or doilies (which obviously stayed in the houses).

so looking forward to tonight, even if I will be coming from five straight hours of class. but my class tomorrow was cancelled. (no discussion section, cause it's the first week)

My best friend since Kindergarten is at USC. It's her 1st time recruiting, though she's a 5th Year Senior! .... So my point is, I will be following this thread to the end! YAY! Have fun!

I don't think she meant all at once (i.e. hotboxing) I think she meant that over the course of the party she met 4 different girls.

Ahh I see..that makes sense now. You guys are spoiled with the water! Sounds yummy! At USF its just plain ol' water...even lemons on the side are forbidden lol

I am totally following this :) I enjoy reading all these recruitment stories :D have fun!!

oh yeah, there were only her two at a time, and that was during transitions between girls or one other interesting incident that I will describe later. definitely enjoying myself, my last party is coming up! will write more later, but I really loved one of the houses I just visited. :)

Today (yesterday. Whatever.) is done! Meaning I am done with meeting all the houses. I really loved all of them, and I sincerely loved every single girl I met. They were all really genuine and amazing, and we had so much to talk about.

I sent yesterday's post (with the real names of the houses, obviously) to everyone I know personally who wrote me a letter (a few of my grandmother's friends wrote letters on my behalf). I think my grandmother is really enjoying reading my account, and she's very encouraging and insistent that I should choose the right house for me, regardless of whether or not it is Chuck. I also found out that one of her friends wrote me a letter to Ellie!

First up today was Morgan. These girls were really nice, again I loved my time here. In my little notes section, I wrote that I absolutely loved this house. I did this one and Jeff back to back, since I missed doing Morgan with my group, as I was still in class, so these two run together a little in some parts. I believe it was here that I had a really odd rusher, she told me this crazy story, and all I could do was react to it. Someone came over, I'm guessing to check on her, and she started telling the other woman the story too! It was kind of confusing, I didn't quite get what was going on, but I still really enjoyed my time at this house. She was very nice, it was just kind of a huh, this is kind of weird experience. Also, one of my favorite high school teachers was in this house at her school, so I'll admit I had a slight bias there, but really, even with that aside, I still loved this house.

Then I visited Jeff. This house was really beautiful, the inside looked like something out of a magazine or TV show or something. The girls here were nice, though I didn't really feel a click with them. I still loved them, though. Oddly enough, all four of the girls I talked to had some link to the geographic region that I'm from.

Next was Ellie. Oh my GOODNESS, I loved this house. The girls here were seriously amazing, I got along really well with everyone with whom I talked. I found something in common with all of them, and they were all super nice and friendly. It was such a cute house, I loved them a lot.

My last house was Sarah! A lot of my grandmother's friends (including her sister) were in this house at other schools. The girls here were really nice, but it was kind of like Casey, where I felt like we didn't quite click. I thought this house and Casey were pretty similar, they were great girls, but I didn't quite feel all at home. I also fell off the patio here--whoops! And it was during a bump, too! But the women were super cool and chill about it, so it wasn't a big deal or anything.

So that was the end of the night! I still had my meeting with my RC to "rank" my houses (unranked top six, and then we rank the bottom three in order of would most to least like to visit again). We can be invited back to up to six tomorrow, although according to my RC, very few women are invited back to that many.

I ended up ranking them
top six (no order):
Chuck
Ellie
Captain Awesome
Morgan
Jeff
Lester

Bottom three (from would most to least like to visit again):
Sarah
Anna
Casey

I felt really bad putting Sarah in the bottom three, especially because my great aunt (among others) was a Sarah, but since I'll probably be visiting at least one of my "bottom" houses tomorrow anyways, I kept it where it was, because I felt there was more potential for me at Jeff. I don't quite know how to explain it.

I did really love all the houses, and I would love to get to know the women in all of them even more, but since I did have to rank them, this is how it happened. But just because a house is in the "bottom" group doesn't mean I didn't like it--I really liked all of the houses!

I get my schedule tomorrow morning, we'll see what happens then!

You have a wonderful attitude, and I hope you have a great day today! Your grandmother, auntie and all of their friends sound so sweet.

Thank you all, you are all so kind! I already love you all as well. :)

so I think I have some early good news--I've been super antsy, wanting to get my schedule, so I texted my RC asking if I could have an earlier appointment, and I got one (35 minutes earlier!), and she didn't say, oh you don't need to bother coming in, so hopefully I was called back to at least one house! :D Ah I can't wait! Though I did have a little accident this morning that (if I remember) I will describe after Bid Night, cause I'm pretty sure it's rather distinctive. It'll be fun to explain to the women, that's for sure...

So exciting! Im so curious about this "incident" lol

Ok, I got my schedule!
Chuck (really excited about this one, I really did love these girls. They apparently have to cut a lot of girls in the first round, so I'm quite pleased that I made it through, though being a legacy probably had something to do with that. I'll work what I've got, though!)
Captain Awesome (I'm excited to meet these girls when we're not all exhausted, and this is an early-ish party, so we should be slightly more awake. :))
Lester (loved loved loved these women, so excited!)
Anna (didn't feel quite as strong of a connection, but I'm eager to meet more women here)

Kinda bummed I was dropped by Ellie and Morgan, I really liked them, but they're like Chuck (and Sarah), they have to drop a lot of girls the first day. I guess Sarah, Casey, and Jeff weren't really feeling it either, but I'm quite pleased with my schedule. :)

I'll post more later! :)

So day three, house tours day is done!

I started out with Chuck, which I was really excited for, couldn't wait, and the house physically was beautiful, like something out of a home design magazine. I talked to two girls, though, and our conversations were kind of awkward, which was a huge bummer after the fantastic convos I'd had the other night. I'd really like to give them another shot, though, hopefully they'll give me another shot too!

Next was Captain Awesome. I feel like I picked a great character name for this house, because I LOVED it. The house had so much personality, and the girl with whom I talked and I got along so well. We had a lot in common, and I could really see myself fitting in really well with this house. I will be really sad if they cut me, that's for sure, because it was great. All of the girls I met all over the house were super nice, too, so I think our tiredness on Wednesday was what slightly (but not a lot) marred my impression. Definitely my favorite house right now. The way my guide spoke about the house activities, I could tell the girls were really close, and that's definitely something I'm looking for.

After that came Lester. I was a bit let down here, too. I got along fine with the women, just not as outstandingly as I did on Wednesday. It's another really nice house. I will be quite happy if they invite me back, because I know I get along with these girls, and I'd like to give them another shot if they'll give me another shot.

My last house of the night was Anna. Again, the girls with whom I spoke were really nice, but I didn't get the feeling like it was the right place for me. I only spoke to USC people (one alumna, the rest were current students) this time, which was nice, but it did give me a better idea of the house dynamic. They're great women, but I don't think it's the house for me.

Tomorrow is four houses max, so I didn't make any cuts. I do hope they all invite me back, because I would like to get to know them better. I'm still optimistic about Chuck and Lester, because I know I get along really well with girls in those houses, and I'd like to meet more of them to get a better sense of the house dynamic, etc.

Also, just a funny thing, but I'm pretty sure every sister who was telling me about her house's philanthropy said, "yeah, the guys get really into it!"

Bonus fun fact: I am ridiculously physically tired right now. I didn't have class today, but I'm working on four hours of sleep (I was so excited to find out where I was invited back that I woke up reallllly early), and I've biked ALL over campus multiple times today. I'm definitely looking forward to sleeping for a nice long while. :)

I'm keeping up with your story ;)

I loved Lester so much today, there are so many great girls in the house, so I'm sure your bound to click with some again if you go back tomorrow!
Captain Awesome was amazing as well.

Oh and can I tell you how infinitely jealous I am that you got to see the Chuck house?! It's freakin gorgeous! Haha it's so funny talking in all this code.

Good luck tomorrow I hope you get all the ones you want :)

haha thank s you too! I'm tracking yours, too. :) Chuck was super super beautiful. I guess another thing that worried me too was that I didn't really get along with the other PNMs waiting to go in, like they just seemed so different from me, but I really got along with the PNMs elsewhere. Chuck wasn't awful, just a little awkward. I still want to go back, though. I know that first day cuts are horrendous on the houses' parts, but I don't know what it's like after that, other than that my RC said that if you go to two Prefs, you will have a bid.

oh, and good luck to you, too! :D

ok, so I got my schedule today. I'm not gonna lie, I am pretty disappointed. Chuck and Captain Awesome dropped me. I'm more or less OK with not having Chuck, though I have met some really great Chucks, but I'm really really sad about Captain Awesome. I got along SO well with my girl last night, so this was kind of a huge blow. But Lester and Anna still invited me back, and I did really enjoy my time with Lester last night. I'm trying really hard to focus on the positives right now. Lester is a fantastic house, full of great girls, so I am truly happy they invited me back. Anna is also a great house, though I still haven't felt that click yet. Well, we'll see what happens later!

Bummer! Continue on and see where it leads you. There has been more then one girl who has had their opinion completely changed at preference. Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out.

today is actually slideshow/video day. :)

Oh, my bad! I thought you were further along in the process for some reason. Today will be fun! Enjoy yourself!

Remember, it only takes 1! And, the judgments you have made so far have been very superficial. That's not personal - it's just the system of formal recruitment! You've talked to, what, 6 or 8 girls at each house, out of 100+? This magical "click" doesn't always happen, but doesn't mean that you will have any less special a sorority life in front of you. So go in with a fresh pair of eyes and be open to making friends where you find them. I wish you the best of luck. Preference parties are very special and should give you some insight.

I have begun to wonder what would happen if all the PNMs were just randomly split up. It very possibly wouldn't be far off what happens anyway. And there probably wouldn't be much difference in retention either. Anyway, that's a thought for another day.

sorry, my bad too. But the same still applies.

I know, and I do plan on going in as optimistically I can (which is usually pretty darned optimistically), but right now I'm not going to lie and say that I'm pleased that Captain Awesome dropped me. I am really happy about Lester (and totally willing to give Anna another shot), but my other emotions are stifling that a little right now. I'd love to be able to flip a switch and be over it, but I'm not. I keep telling myself to focus on the positives, and it's more or less working. My first party isn't for a while, so I should be much less of a mess by then. I guess it's not so much Captain Awesome's rejection that stings as the put-together rejection of all of the houses that I liked who turned me down. I am still trusting that I will end up where I belong, be it Lester or Anna, or the newly colonized house.

I have truly liked every woman I've met, albeit I've gotten along better with some than with others, but I honestly can't think of any other way to "pass judgment" on these houses than measuring how well I get along with the girls. I assure you, that is far more important to me than how nice the house is or whether it's a "top" house (if it weren't, I'd be way more devastated about Chuck, believe me). I plan on going in with an open mind today hoping to fall in love with both houses (and for them to fall in love with me, ideally :)).

ok, I feel so overly hormonal right now, because I'm on a total high right now. I was walking back to my dorm and I was thinking to myself, "life is perfect right now." I don't know, I was just in a good mood.

I've only had one party so far, Anna, I don't go to Lester until 6:20, the last party of the day. Anna is really growing on me. I wasn't as ecstatic coming out of there as I have been at other parties, but it was more of a quiet contentment. I still haven't felt that overwhelming click I've felt at other houses (who have cut me :/), but I didn't feel as out of place as I have before. I guess the best way to put it is like I wrote earlier, it's growing on me.

Still quite excited for Lester tonight!

Im so glad that Anna is growing on you. Sometimes it just takes some time to fall in love with a chapter :) Cant wait to hear about Lester!

so. Lester. I loved it! I felt so at home there, I literally had a little dance party in my seat with my rusher during the slideshow. We were singing along to all the songs, and it was just a blast. I really enjoyed it. I can definitely see myself being happy here, so I'm going to hope against all hopes that they don't cut me.

About Anna... I've been doing some thinking. They will most likely participate in informal recruitment, along with the newly colonized sorority, so if things don't work out between me and Lester, I think I'm going to check them both out at informal. I don't want to concretely say no or yes to Anna at this point, I still feel like I need more time. But we'll see how I feel after pref tomorrow.

I didn't make any cuts again, since pref is two houses.

Agh I hope I get to go back to them both!