Sorority Recruitment Week Survival Kit
 

Everything a PNM might need during Recruitment Week.

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1. Sturdy and lightweight tote bag to carry all your things.
2. Paper fan to stay cool in the hot summer sun.
3. Compact umbrella is great in case of an afternoon thunderstorm or to provide shade from the hot summer sun.
4. Shade hat to keep your face from burning in the hot summer sun.
5. Beach towel in case you get caught in the rain, or to sit down outside so your clothes don't get dirty.
6. Flip flops to wear between parties.
7. Band aids in case you get blisters or cuts and scrapes.
8. Pain reliever for whatever is hurting (headache, backache, leg, knee or foot pain.
9. Sunblock because there's no worse time to have a sunburn!
10. A notebook and pen to keep track of all your parties and conversations during recruitment. It can all begin to run together so it is nice to have a way to reference the different sororities when ranking.
11. Safety pins in case of a wardrobe malfunction.
12. Fashion tape to hold your clothes in place to avoid a wardrobe malfunction.
13. Breath mints so you always have fresh breath.
14. Wisps to clean your teeth if you can't get to a bathroom to brush.
15. Clean & Clear oil-absorbing sheets to avoid a shiny nose (or forehead or cheeks).
16. Lip gloss for touch-ups throughout the day.
17. Compact mirror so you know you are looking good.
18. Misting spray to keep you feeling and smelling fresh without being too overbearing.
19. Travel-size bottle of hairspray for any out-of-place locks.
20. Hair brush to keep all your hair in line.
21. Hair elastics in case of a REALLY bad hair day (emergency only!) or at the end of the day.
22. Bottle of water to stay hydrated. There's nothing more embarrassing during recruitment than passing out in the middle of a party due to dehydration!
23. Snacks like whole fruit and granola bars will keep your energy levels up. Bring enough to share and you'll be the most popular among the PNMs.

What else do you think should go in the Sorority Recruitment Survival Kit?

Wow - Great list!
I would just add a book or a game for your off round if you get one. Some schools don't let you talk during the break.

Maybe any allergy medicine you take?

Some schools don't let you carry a bag, you're only allowed a Ziplock bag for your belongings.

This might be helpful for recruitment counselors! Not everything, but maybe some of the smaller things...advil, breath mints, bandaids, etc.

What a great list! Did you have tampons listed (I may have overlooked it.)?

Add maybe dry shampoo? Especially if you have oily hair and it's a humid climate.

If you go through recruitment at Indiana...
-hand and footwarmers from hardware stores
-gloves/hat
-warm boots
-multiple layers of clothing--including long underwear and underarmor


Oh how I was jealous of everyone going through warm climate recruitments!

Also, some travel-size deodorant and some tissues might come in handy.

Tide to-go stick.

Tampons are a must. Aunt Flow always seems to turn up when you least expect her to. Even if you're sure you're not going to start your period, there may be a PNM in your group who does start and who wasn't prepared with tampons - give her a tampon and you've just made a new friend.

If you are wearing pantyhose, bring a spare pair in case you get a run. Hopefully there will be a handy ladies' room that you can duck into between parties and do a quick change.

If you're participating in winter recruitment in a cold climate, an extra cardigan never hurts. It'll keep you warm if you have to wait outside, and you can always shed it just before going into a party.

Kleenex would be very good to have.

23. Snacks like whole fruit and granola bars will keep your energy levels up. Bring enough to share and you'll be the most popular among the PNMs.

But, DON'T bring Fiber One bars or anything else high-fiber. In fact, don't eat anything like that in the hours preceding recruitment. You don't want to be experiencing any "digestive side effects"....

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I have updated the list based on the suggestions here and a few of my own ideas.

24. Tide to go pen.
25. Kleenex.
26. Needle and thread.
27. Clear nail polish.
28. Tampons.
29. Emory board.
30. Blister block.
31. Hand sanitizer.

Deodorant. If a PNM can make it through recruitment without sweating off all her DEO, I want the name of that brand.

Throat spray. My daughter pretty much had laragyntis by the end of her week and her throat was killing her from talking so much and loudly!

Singer's Saving Grace has saved my vocal chords on more than one occasion. http://singerssavinggracethroatspray.com/

Make up palette
 

I am really big on the Stila palettes; lip/cheek color and eye shadow all in one recruitment ready palette. Great for touch-ups. At $16 they are a steal.

http://www.sephora.com/search/brandR...8&brandId=3865

Last minute items!
 

We're just about one month out now - - some other things to remember.

1. Now is the time to make hair or nail appointments. Don't wait until the last minute and then not be able to get in to see your regular stylist. This NOT the time to try a new do. (Wait until after schools starts to see how you'd look as a platinum blonde.....) You don't want to risk something going horribly wrong and not have time to fix it. (Just think pink hair at recruitment....:eek:)

2. At a big competitive recruitment, you don't want to look too wildly different from the picture you sent in. It will confuse girls when they are trying to remember who was who after meeting 1000 girls. If you added highlights that's not a big deal, I'm talking about --> don't cut all your hair off right before recruitment.

3. If you have specific favorite makeup or face soap - stock up or order it before you go to move into the dorms. Don't count on being able to find it when you get there. (I regularly warn people about toilet paper shortages right when the students get back to town too... :o)

4. Finally, (just like I would tell someone going on a job interview) if you have piercings besides your ears or maybe a small nose ring (like the Indian girls wear?) consider your audience. This maybe doesn't apply to every school - but some of the southern schools can be really conservative. This might be the time to find a clear acrylic stud to wear so that its not a distraction. You want to make a great first impression right?

In the dollar bins at Target, they have a two pack of mini lint rollers. That might be a good thing to keep in the bag.

I'm beginning to think that everyone waits for me to add...

-Coffee filters, for blotting your face without smearing your makeup. Personally, I think the Mr. Coffee ones work the best.

-Purell, to use after the sniffling sister shakes your hand.


And not for your bag, but courtesy of a PNM from the past: please remember that, when you shave your legs, shave your toes! Don't be PNM Hairy Toes to any GLO!!

YES. All Macy's/Walgreens/wherever you get your health and beauty aids are not created equal. Just because there's one in your college town doesn't mean it won't be a 100th of the size of the one you are used to patronizing.

Not something tangible, but having someone not at your school who is not greek to talk to throughout the whole process is really helpful. Especially someone who knows you very well. Sure, they won't really have the full grasp of the whole thing, but you can talk and vent and cry to them without them having any bias whatsoever and only your best interests at heart. Though they may regret it later when you fall in love with your sorority and never stop hearing about it...

Ok I have one more I thought of -

Stay away from Spanks unless you absolutely have to. Its going to be 100 degrees outside and odds are at least one chapter will have their air conditioner die - you dont want to be that chick who passed out. I mean if your pref dress doesnt fit without them ok - but itll be hot hot HOT during first round.

If your pref dress doesn't fit without them - you probably shouldn't be wearing that pref dress.

Good point 33 girl - but I know girls obsessed with not having any lines under a dress.

I can totally see where a stress or that time of the month can make a dress that was perfect two weeks ago not look quite right when you pull it out to put it on. Finding suitable undergarments beats trying to find another dress last minute. By prefs things won't be so crowded and girls can usually sit down for a while, so it won't be so hot.

*bump*

The spam is killin' me.

me too!

Does anyone know a brand of gel mini-deodorants?

I know that I have seen mini deodorants in the travel bins at Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart, but I don't know if they are gel or not.

Here's something I'm doing for rush because it seems like a good idea to me. Thought I'd share!
Upgrading my antiperspirant/deodorant. Seriously. Regular old Dove Ultimate is fine for me on a normal day, but during rush it is going to be HOT. Everyone's going to sweat more than they normally do. I suggest buying a stronger/clinical strength deo for rush week. I got some "Mitchum SmartSolit Clinical Performance" deodorant/antiperspirant on sale for $2 at CVS yesterday, which is CHEAP compared to the $8-12 you normally pay for clinical strength.
I also recommend giving it a test drive first so you know it works. I used mine today and it kept me dry all day!
/deodoRANT.

My daughter is headed to prefs today. I packed a cute Vera Bradley messenger bag (love the Vera Bradley outlet in Nashville) with everything. She said she loved the messenger bag because it closes so nothing falls out. She can also use it instead of a backpack on days she only has a couple of classes. My daughter has been sharing her supplies with other girls. She has been passing out band-aids to those with blisters. She did not get blisters because I packed the band-aid blister block thing you all suggested. The one thing I wish I would have packed was Tums, Pepto-Bismal or other stomach settling medicine. Fortunately, when my daughter needed it, her Pi Chi found her some.

would it be wrong to make a recruitment survival kit for the moms that included, aspirin/excedrin, a stress ball, valium (just kidding), wine, comfortable shoes for pacing the halls at home, kleenex, chocolate (or your favorite comfort/stress food)

Boy, moms need a stress relief kit!

Actives too!!

yes to the moms and the actives needing stress relief! :)

Since we are coming up on yet another recruitment season I thought I would bring this thread back up to the top. Also I wanted to add one more thing to the list of necessities for surviving a week of Rush in the summer. It's the O2 Cool ArtiCloth Cooling Towel. It uses evaporation keep you feeling cool. You can get one at Walgreens for under $10, and it really works.

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Just picked this up for my daughter and it is amazing! It does work and feels cool to the touch. I'm still looking for a small hand held fan to keep the air moving even if it is hot. The other item I looked at yesterday was Urban Decay's All Night Long product mentioned in another thread. It is around $20. I think we will be purchasing that too.

/mini-hijack

OMG there is a Vera Bradley outlet at Opry Mills! This seriously just made my day as my mom and I are going to Opry Mills sometime next week to check out the new H&M store. I shall be dragging her to the Vera Bradley store!

/end mini-hijack

If you're looking for Urban Decay's All-Nighter Spray, they just changed their packaging and are trying to unload the old style bottles on clearance. You can get a travel size for just $6.00! http://www.urbandecay.com/travel-siz...le&prefv1=true

What about xanax (or a bottle of wine) for the stressed-out moms?

Depending on how competitive the daughter's recruitment is, and how anxious mom is about her daughter having a successful recruitment, mom might need one bottle of wine per night! LOL