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University of Tennessee - 2011
I'm wondering if any other UT PNM's are on here...or any moms of PNM's??
Go Greek! round was yesterday. It was fun but I am SOOOOOOOO nervous! We have 13 chapters: ADPi AOPi AXO CHI O DDD DG DZ KKG KD PHI MU Pi PHI SK ZTA Rush schedule this week: Saturday August 13th- Move in and PNM Orientation Sunday August 14th- GO GREEK! Monday August 15th-Philanthropy Round-Day 1 Tuesday August 16th-Philanthropy Round-Day 2 Wednesday August 17th-No Recruitment--First day of classes Thursday August 18th-Skit Round-Day 1 Friday August 19th-Skit Round- Day 2 Saturday August 20th-Preference Night Sunday August 21st-BID DAY! I am trying so hard to be open minded like I've read on this board. I already have stand outs, I guess I can come up with nicknames and post about recruitment. |
good luck to you! please keep us posted as you are able.
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Ok, so I have been getting ready for this for awhile. I got recs for 10 out of 13 houses. I also have my outfits all ready. I like my gamma chi...and I only know one other girl in my group, but not well.
We visited every chapter briefly, and we have to rank them like this: ten of of our favorites get ranked as number 1; we do not have to put them in order. The remaining three are put in order of preferences as 2, 3, and 4. She said we could still get invited back to our bottom three if any of our top ten do not invite us back. I decided to use college football teams (besides UT) Razerbacks Gamecocks Hokies Bulldogs Gators Wildcats Commodores Rebels Crimson Tide Falcons Irish Yellow Jackets Blue Devils |
Let's go Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets!
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My wish list as of now:
Razerbacks Gamecocks Bulldogs Gators Wildcats Commodores Rebels Crimson Tide Falcons Blue Devils My bottom three: Hokies Irish Yellow Jackets |
Sorry GTAlphaPhi!! Names were given randomly!!!! :)
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The University of Tennessee is a good school and you seem like a really sweet girl full of spirit. Any of the houses at TENN would be lucky to have you. |
My daughter went through recruitment at UT last year and is on the other end this year. (I posted here about her recruitment throughout her week to keep myself busy!!).
She said it is just as stressful on this side of recruitment, although I must admit, not for me!!! :) She called me earlier today and mentioned that the chapters got their returns back. I forgot to ask when the girls get their invite back list, last year they did not get it until they arrived at Panhellenic. Good luck Smokey15! I'll look forward to reading your posts! |
No Buckeyes? I guess I can forgive the oversight... and root for the Gamecocks. Good luck!
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First round of parties was last night. Today and tomorrow are Philanthropy rounds. Good luck Smokey! I think I'm going to pull for the Bulldogs!
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I'm a born and raised Crimson Tide fan, so that's who I'll root for. :)
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Okay, finished Philanthropy, Day 1. I had 4 invites out of a possible 5 (could have up to 5 more tonight).
I am posting the first half of Philanthropy Round now and will post about Day 2 of the round later. I had two of my stand-outs! One that I'm not sure of yet. One that was my LAST CHOICE after Go Greek. I guess they try to fill our schedule with our top ten choices, and if any of those didn't want us back they move on to our bottom-ranked choices (if they wanted us back). I will give a run down -- but I can't really give details without giving away which chapter I vistited and I don't want to hurt feelings or burn any bridges. So, I visited: Gators - I felt a little bit intimidated at first because the girls all seemed so "together". I had already heard them labeled as a "top" group and I have to say, they were all really pretty. They all had cute matching outfits (shirts were their philanthropy) and matching sandals. I was very surprised that I felt so welcome and comfortable right away. They were all friendly and I didn't get the "snobby" vibe that I expected AT ALL. I really love their philanthropy and can tell that they do too. I guess the best way to describe them is "classy". Razerbacks: This was another that I hoped to get an invite back to. I am trying really hard to sort out the ones I really feel connected to and ignore what I heard beforehand. I heard this was also a "top" house. Again, I thought the sisters were pretty and well put together, and also another good philanthropy. But --- I just did not feel as comfortable or connected. I thought the conversations were a little more forced and the girls in general were a little more awkward. It could be that they were more nervous? I liked them, but moved them to my "maybe" pile. Yellow Jackets: This was the chapter that I ranked 13 out of 13. It was nothing personal at all! I honestly think every chapter was good and has something to offer. I just did not feel connected at all. Of course I was polite and stayed engaged, but I had to force myself to laugh and act like I was loving it. I also noticed that the the girls that did seem to love this group I had very little in common with. I don't know why I feel bad admitting that, but I just do. Commodores: Ummmm, hmmmm. Interesting. They were fun, a little less "together" than the Gators or Razerbacks but seemed comfortable and made me feel relaxed. I know this is petty, but I noticed and it bothered me so I will just say it. One sister had badly chipped nail polish. Another had the remnants of a big "X" on her hand. Not things that I would normally care about at all, but for recruitment I felt like they should at least try to look their best. I was trying to figure out if it was intentional. Maybe they wanted to just completely be themselves and not put on a show. I guess I felt like it was in poor taste and to be honest it just turned me off. Overall I did have fun and the sisters were less like clones than some others, is that good or bad -- ??? I am not going to rank until I see who I visit tonight. My mind is all over the place right now and writing is actually helpful. On another note, my roommate and suitemates are going through also. We are trying not to discuss, but my suit-ey and I have been chatting. I can ask if she minds if I post her visits too. |
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My sister is going through recruitment at UT, too! I must admit I've been a nervous wreck the past couple of days, definitely more nervous than she is! Good luck smokey15!
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I'm guessing that since she said she could get up to 5 more tonight that they get the schedules at different times.
Maybe it's to prevent girls from dropping right away when they see their favorite isn't there? :confused: It would force PNMs to take a second look at ones they might have ranked while they hope their favorite will be on their second schedule. I'm guessing they're hoping that it might change their opinions of other groups. |
Good luck!
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Good luck to you, Smokey15! My daughter went through last year and is on the other side this year for the first time. She had no idea what went into the preparations for recruitment. It's an exciting time for you and for her and all of the other PNMs and sisters. As stressful as it is, try to enjoy yourself - have fun! They're all great chapters. I'm looking forward to seeing how your story unfolds. :)
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I remember when my daughter went through last year they did not give them their schedules for the day until they arrived at Panhellenic. So they did NOT get the schedule for the entire round. The girls didn't like it this way. Some would have three favorites on the first night so they were happy, others would not have any favorites their first night of the round and would have to wait and stress out all day to see if they were on their list or not. It seemed like the heaviest cuts were made after Philanthropy round.
I can't wait to hear back from Smokey! My daughter barely gave me info when she was going through! She said it was too stressful! My daughter said the same thing, ladybug84! She had NO CLUE what goes into preparing. She said it is still stressful, maybe worse. She hated seeing girls upset last year and doesn't want to have a hand in causing that this year. |
Ditto what others said. You will be an amazing asset to any house. Goodluck!
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Sorry for the delay! I am actually typing and sending to an a friend who is posting for me. I was too scared to blog from campus in case someone traced it! Paranoid, I know! :)
Today is break day because it is the first day of classes. I would way rather keep on going!! I am going to post about my suitemate too later! She said it was fine. I just won't have many details because we are trying to avoid details when we talk about it. I would die if I told her how much I dislike one group and she ended up pledging there! Still, it is so hard not to talk! Ok, well the second day of Philanthropy round I had 4 again, but no more that were my bottom three. Two of them were ones I really hoped to go back to and two I just wasn't sure yet. I do want to say how just one or two sisters behaviors or appearance can impact an opinion of a PNM! I'm still bothered by the hand with the X on it from day one of Philanthropy. Also, I have heard over and over to ignore stereotypes. Well guess what? That is hard to do when the sterotypes are sometimes so hard to miss!!! Falcons - (for those of you wondering, this would be Air Force Academy Falcons, my uncle went there) Falcons- Another pretty group of sisters. I had liked their room in Panhellenic in the Go Greek round. I liked them, they seemed fun, I would rank them high, but... I can't really explain it. I was waiting for a "this is it" moment. I will probably go back and read this and realize how stupid i sound, but it's the only way I can describe it right now. Some of the groups are similar and it is almost easier to describe their differences from one another. Does that make sense at all??? So, I liked them a lot, compared to the two from Day 1 that I liked they are less polished than the Gators and less awkward than the Razerbacks. I DID like them, I hope to go back. Gamecocks - I loved this group. They actually reminded me as a whole a lot of the Gators. They were fun, pretty, polished, polite but did not come off as snooty. I didn't think their philanthrophy was quite as meaningful to me, but I would still list them in my top three so far. Crimson Tide- Very surprising and not in a good way. I thought going in that I would love them, I guess I heard they were good so I assumed. I don't want to give too many details because I don't want anyone to figure out exactly who they are. I felt like they rushed me hard. Maybe too much so. I had a feeling that they were almost pushy. I didn't think it was because they just loved me either. This was the one of two that I visited where I did not know a single sister in the room. I grew up in Tennessee and know a bunch of girls from school and church and several of my older sisters friends (my sister doesnt go here). So even though I don't necessarily know people super well, I have seen lots of familiar faces. Not here. I have heard that a few sororities at Tennessee are still very regionalized and I am wondering if this is one of them. I didn't LOVE them, didn't hate them. I wouldn't complain if I go back but I am just not sure. Blue Devils - Well I will tell you right off the bat that this chapters philanthropy is very close to my heart. If I were ranking just on this I would have an easy number one. Beyond that, this was another surprise. I wasn't too sure about this group going in but forced myself to be open minded. I really liked them. There was more diversity in this chapter. I don't mean ethnic diversity, but just in general the girls all seemed different, no cookie cutter here. They were all pretty chill and it was all very low pressure. One thing I do when I meet sisters is I try to imagine them hanging out with me and some of my close friends. Some of them I could totally hang out with, others probably not so much. I guess that is normal when you have a big group of people. |
So after Philanthropy we had to rank the chapters we visited like this:
Our six favorites are ranked as #1. If someone visits fewer they just list them all. If someone visited 7,8,9 or 10 they rank six chapters as ONE and the rest in order of preference. I visited 8, so my #1's were: Gators Gamecocks Razerbacks Blue Devils Falcons Crimson Tide Commodores Yellow Jackets Even though we didn't have to put the six in order, this is how mine would have been. |
Ok, my suitemate picked these after Go Greek. I do have to say, we are very similar, have a lot of the same friends, so our opinions may be more alike than two random people.
HER NUMBER ONES, REMEMBER, NO ORDER: Razerbacks Gamecocks Hokies Bulldogs Gators Wildcats Commodores Crimson Tide Falcons Blue Devils 2. Rebels 3. Irish 4. Yellow Jackets She was invited back to NINE of her top ten, plus the Rebels. Here are some opinions. Gamecocks - LOVED THEM Hokies - NO Bulldogs - LOVED THEM Gators - LOVED THEM Wildcats - LIKED THEM Commodores - LIKED THEM Rebels - NO Crimson Tide - LIKED THEM ALOT Falcons - LOVED THEM Blue Devils - NOT SURE The bolded ones were her number ones, I have no idea how she would order them, but her other three in order were: 2.Commodores 3.Blue Devils 4.Rebels (yep, she put them back on the list) We are off today and the next Round, Skits, is also divided into two days. Each day we will be given a list with up to three parties to attend for a maximum of 6. The waiting is going to be TORTURE!!!! |
Good luck and GO VOLS!
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Great story! Good luck, how many women going through recruitment? (or did I miss that?)
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Best of luck. I rushed at Tennessee way way back in the day. Those were such happy years! Bid day in panhellenic is just the best.
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Loving this story. Good luck to you!
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Wow. I am tired. And excited. And nervous. Ok, to recap, yesterday was the first day of Skits round, tonight is day 2. We can get up to six invites total, up to three each day. So good news!! I went to three chapters last night! My very favorite was not one of them, but I didn't lose sleep over that. Still, I am really hoping to get their invite for tonight. I feel very lucky to have been invited back to three, and I liked all three of them!!
Before I tell you about my visits, I want to tell you about a girl in my dorm. I did not know her before recruitment. She is very outspoken, I even heard her in the hallway on moving day discussing the good and bad qualities of different sororities. It was so hard not to tell her to please hush. Can you guess? Yes, I saw her last night crying and very upset. Apparently she was invited back to one chapter, and it was not one of her favorites. She was saying if she didn't have "anyone good" on her list tonight she would drop. I did see several upset girls last night, I think the girls who only went to one chapter were nervous. We all wish they would give us the list for the entire round instead of making us wait. My roommate went to one chapter, she liked them, but is still very afraid. Well here is my recap of the night. It is soooo hard to write about it and leave out details that could give away the chapter to someone who was there. I just don't feel comfortable doing that, even if it's good, so this is pretty limited. I decided to be completely honest even though I know I could point out a negative quality (chipped nail polish, lol) and end up pledging there. I figure if I am going to blog live during recruitment there is no way around that, and besides, everyone has some good or bad traits, right? Falcons - I still like them and I met a few new sisters. There were several individuals girls that I liked a lot. As a group, and I've thought this every time, sometimes there is a little bit of a....hard to explain....pageantry feel. Yes, like someone is going to call me up front at any time, sling a sash over my shoulder and ask me why world peace is important. I just can't figure out if this is who they are or if this is how they put on recruitment. Let's just say I don't think I'll see any chipped nail polish here, but probably no athletes either. I'm not sure any of them sweat. :) All joking aside, I did have a good time and enjoyed the entertainment. Gamecocks - My favorite out of the night. I was happy to still love this group, because if I don't get invited back to the Gators, they will definitely be my number one. I know that can change, but it's how I feel right now. Here I liked everyone I met, never felt awkward, and noticed that sisters had great interaction with each other. Different than the Falcons, seemed a little more chill. I don't want to jinx myself, but I know I would be very happy here. I hope I didn't come off as too eager. I know my face hurt when I left from smiling so much!! Crimson Tide -I have to admit that I was very surprised to be invited back here. They were the group that came off as a little pushy last round, and it made me a little uncomfortable so I thought they picked up on that. I did have a really good rec here so maybe that has something to do with it. This chapter has been the most confusing to me. I was told that this was one of the "best" sororities here, etc. Perfect example of why not to listen to stereotypes. I just can't feel comfortable here. The last thing I want is to join a sorority and then feel like an outsider. On another note, this is the chapter my beautiful, smart roommate visited and she loves them. I heard "just trust the process" so many times I've wanted to scream. Well, maybe there is something to it. Now I am not complaining, I feel very lucky. My suitemate that I was posting about is having a GREAT recruitment. She was invited back to her three favorites! I"m not going to lie. I am JEALOUS! :) She visited: Gators - She loved them, said they are still her favorite. Gamecocks - She loved them, they are a close second. She agrees with me, Gators and Gamecocks have similar girls. Bulldogs - Yep, she loved them, her third favorite overall. I think I would have liked them too...but they weren't feeling the love for me I guess. I got cut after Go Greek. I'm kicking myself for not trying harder to find a rec for them. I had one I thought, and then she had to go off and have a baby and not have time to submit it. :) Wish us luck tonight!!!!! I saved a really cute outfit for tonight so I am going to be so mad if I have no invites!! |
the good news about the (never heard of it before) way they do it there is for, for instance your loud mouth, she will have had a chance to stew and maybe re-evaluate. I betcha if she continues through she's going to be a lot quieter with her opinions, knowing she could end up pledging a less than top house. She has the chance to not shoot herself in the foot based on what she says in a fit of pique.
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Thanks for updating us, Smokey15!
All of the sororities at Tennessee are all vibrant, thriving organizations. Enjoy your recruitment and make the most of it! |
I love you're writing style! Best of luck.
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Thank you for sharing your story. I would like to politely point out that the spelling is Razorbacks not Razerbacks. Best wishes for a successful recruitment!
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Smokey, I am enjoying your story! I wish you all the best. I am a big UT fan and the daughter of one of my good friends is going through recruitment too! Maybe you'll end up in a New Member class with her!
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Tonight is pref. When do you get your invites?
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I typed this early this morning and wanted to read it again before emailing it to my friend to post. I'm confusing myself with the nicknames. :)
I am very nervous right now pacing waiting for prefs. I am all ready! So, Skits round, Day 2. I did not get invited back to the Gators. That stung a little, but I am over it. I really do love, love, love the Gamecocks and honestly, have several that I would love! I went back to two chapers: Blue Devils - I liked this group, I can't say I just LOVED them. I think I would fit in ok outside of recruitment. They are not my top three, but I can't say I would suicide bid if I saw them on my pref list! Commodores - No super strong feelings here. I wasn't sure where I would rank them, I think mostly I'm stuck on a few other chapters that I just like better? Anyway, at the end of Skits, this was my order of preference so far: Gamecocks Falcons Blue Devils Crimson Tide Commodores My suitemate visited three more chapters (LUCKY!!) and her order was this: Gators Gamecocks Bulldogs Falcons Wildcats Rebels My roommate was/is very stressed. She did go back to two other chapters and was just not happy. She is praying that she gets to pref the Crimson Tide. None of us are really saying much at this point. I think I'll vomit then head over to Panhellenic. |
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