Cut from all Chapters at UGA
 

I have read several of the threads here on greek chat, but I have a very specific question. I recently went through recruitment at UGA and was cut form every chapter before skits. I am not asking ya'll to tell me why this happened because I know you can't, but do you have any advice for when I rush again as a sophomore going through recruitment at UGA?

Also, does anyone know yet if any of the chapters here at UGA will be participating in spring?

I picked my outfits carefully, and made sure to look cute but conservative and appropriate. I also felt like my conversation was okay. I did not become instant bffs with any of my rushers, but the conversation was never awkward or stalled.

You need to contact the Greek Life office to find out if any COB opportunities will exist. That's a much better source than anyone here.

As for advice for another recruitment attempt, we don't know any particulars but I will venture this. If you were released by all groups before skit then there is something that is cause for concern - lack of recs, GPA, some event in your past, etc. You need to honestly consider what that might be. You didn't mention your resume or and recs so am wondering if the answer is there.

Check out this thread: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=89902

IF you choose to rush again, you must make sure that whatever caused you to be dropped from recruitment this time is not a problem again next year.

Of course, we have no idea what that might be. You need to be honest with yourself. There was a major problem... I bet that deep down, you know what it is and it wasn't your clothes. I am sure that you also realize that the chances of receiving a bid as a soph at UGA are much tougher.

We have absolutely no idea if there will be any opportunity to pledge in the spring.

Yes I did have one or two recs for each chapter, but many of them were from women who attended other universities, if that matters at all. As for some event from my past, well, I was definitely not considered "popular" in my high school because I wasn't a member of the country club or anything, so that might have caused girls from my school in the chapters to not want me. I never get drunk so it's not some embarrassing social thing. Maybe I just didn't have good connections?

Thanks, the girls in the Greek Life Office said they would put me on the list for COB, but as we know that almost never happens. I have heard that the chapters consider that even more embarrassing than snapping.

The recs didn't need to be from UGA alums. Were they from women who know you personally? Or were they information only ones? And you did not address your GPA so am wondering if that's the problem. Is it below a 3.0? If so that is most likely the overriding problem.

And every group doesn't have someone from your home town...so that isn't it. Be honest with yourself here...not necessarily with us.

Nothing embarrassing about COB. Some women are just not good in super stressful situations like formal recruitment. For that matter, some chapters just aren't good at it either.

And as for snap bidding...VERY few people in the chapter (and certainly not any of the new members) know if a new member was a snap bid or not. Really the only ones that would know are the President, vp recruitment, and an adviser or two.

No, this was not the problem.

I know sophomores who have joined at UGA. The key is get involved on campus and make the best grades you can. Make sure you don't do anything memorable in a bad way. Don't diss the sorority girls in your classes. Don't go around telling everyone all the chapters cut you. Move forward with your life.

I don't know you so I am not saying this about you but it seems like a good place to mention it. I know a girl who went through rush this year at SEC school. Her mother told me she really didn't have many girl friends in highschool. I though great, get out and meet some new people. Come to find out it was more than not having friends. She was a rude condesending b__ch to girls in high school. Well guess what, those are the girls that are going to choose the new memebers of thier sorority and you are not getting in!!! So if you went through high school being ugly and mean to other girls don't expect those same girls to give you a chance to be a member.

A bid is a bid, snap or not. It's still an invitation to join. Despite what's said on a certain greek ranking site, snap bids = regular recruitment bids. No difference.

Just be clear, I would have happily accepted a snap bid. I meant that the chapters themselves seem to find it embarrassing if they have to snap, not that it's embarrassing for the PNM. This is just what I've heard though, however it seems like snaps and COB rarely happen here at UGA.

First, stop listening to the gossip, and for the love of God, stop spreading it. This could have been your problem. Two, don't think we haven't noticed that you didn't address your gpa.

Concentrate on your classes, get good grades, behave yourself, try again next year.

Quit listening to "tent talk." No one in chapter knows if they gave out snap bids except maybe two officers. And with the way they do flex lists and other things about RFM for which you have no clue, those two officers may not even know it. So please quit repeating that. I can understand not wanting to be known that you are COBing but as far as I know the national orgs of the chapters at UGA probably will insist that they do if they are eligible to.

If sororities saw COB as a hindrance to them, they wouldn't do it. Some choose not to, because their house is full or they would rather reach total through formal recruitment, but you won't be offered a COB if a sorority is begrudging about it. I honestly couldn't tell you who in my sorority was a COB because I don't remember and it has never mattered to any of us.

As a current senior at UGA, I can tell you that getting a bid as a sophomore is more difficult than as a freshman, but I know several girls who rushed as sophomores and got bids.
In the case there is no spring recruitment or COB:
Making friends with girls in sororities will help you tremendously, as it will put you on their radar if you go through again. However, you should not go out of your way to try and get in with a group of girl in a particular sorority, because this could hurt you. Dont' force it. But befriend the girls in your hall, in your classes, etc, and if the friendship seems to be working out, do your best to maintain it. Maybe you'll meet other girls in her house that you like and fit in with, and they'll consider that for next time. Don't try and do this with only certain sororities you think you like; Make yourself known (in a positive way) to girls in all houses. Friends in the sorority will be your biggest asset.
ETA: When you're making friends, especially those in sororities, avoid saying "I got cut from everywhere." If the subject of why you aren't in a sorority, it's much better to say that you dropped recruitment, or some other way of saying it. Don't leave anyone thinking there was/looking for a reason you were released, because there may well have not been any good reason at all. Saying "Oh I didn't really find a good connection with the houses that time" leaves it open to a number of explanations, and won't reflect badly on you.

Keep your GPA up, keep your nose clean, don't steal anyone's boyfriend, etc. Look your best, not just for the next recruitment time, but for classes and around campus. It sounds stupid and superficial, but if someone recognizes you only as "the girl who wears sweatpants every day" (not saying you do), it's not going to help you. Looking your best will only help you, and if you feel that you do look your best now, then stay that way, and if you think there are things you can improve upon (I mean like getting a good haircut or starting weight training, not a nose job, etc.) then work on it. Appearances are a minor thing in the scheme of life, but in an SEC recruitment, they bear a little more weight.

Other options to consider are non-Panhellenic sororities like Gamma Sigma Sigma (service sorority) and Sigma Alpha Omega (Christian sorority). I know girls in both, and they are awesome organizations with awesome people, as are the multicultural sororities, if you think any of these fit your style.

Being Greek also isn't everything. There are so many things to get involved with at UGA, especially as a freshman, so try those out. Not only will you get to experience some new things and build your resume, but you'll probably be able to meet some more girls in sororities and decide if it is right for you. Freshman Forum, Relay for Life, UGA Miracle, UGA Heros and major-related clubs are great places to start.

and get involved.

If she's an entering freshman, I doubt that the issue was grades. To get into UGa as a freshman, you have to have about a 6.0 and a 3000 on your SAT plus be Mother Teresa.

LOL!

3.7 gpa because I have the Zel Miller scholarship.

Thank you GeorgiaGreek for taking the time to write such a detailed post! Very helpful and informative; you mentioned some things I hadn't thought of.

I have already indicated that I want to be placed on the COB list, do I need to do anything else to follow up on this?

So, recs - check; grades - check; poise, personality, presentation, reputation -?; activities - ?

No.

Actually I feel like I don't have much of a reputation at all, good or bad. I was involved in a few different clubs and sports in high school, so I talked about those a little with my rushers and asked what kinds of things she enjoys. I did feel a little nervous and maybe it showed. I kept as calm as I could but each time I walked into a house I would start thinking "OMG this is my one shot, don't blow it!" LOL.

GeorgiaGreek posted some excellent advice. First, let me start by saying that I am sorry that happened to you. The best piece of advice I can offer you is to practice chatting people up. Being a good conversationalist is a good life skill to possess and it will help you in any organization you decide to join. From reading your posts, it may be that you just didn't stand out in such a large crowd. The women in the chapters have to make decisions quickly and, unfortunately, there are some women who tend to be more reserved. Some take time to warm up to strangers. Best of luck to you and enjoy your first year, it will go quickly!

OK, the recs and the grades got you to round 2. They wanted to see what else was there. However, you didn't get you to round 3. You should have been selling yourself. Made your resume come alive to the person. I was chairman of the Relay for Life at my HS and I would like to work with it again. How active is your chapter in that event? I volumteered with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in my home town and I know that is your group's philanthropy. What all do you do with/for them? I was in charge of XXX for them.

Etc, etc, etc. This was your downfall. You didn't sell yourself....

What a helpful and lovely young lady you are! You represent the Greeks at UGA very well.

Besides Gamma Sigma Sigma or SAO, Xi Delta is another option for greek life at uga. It's a local social sorority. They are hosting fall recruitment next week.

I know that you have a lot of experience with recruitment, but why are you pretending to know what happened here in a specific case?

UGA is competitive enough that it might come down to something superficial and silly. A friends of mine's daughter got released the year before last, and she was a likeable girl with great high school involvement and a wonderful personality, but she just wasn't very cute. She was released after second, I'd say through absolutely no fault of her own.

There's no real way to know why any particular PNM was released until we've actually met her or done MS.

I certainly didn't mean it to come across that way. From her own admission, her involvement/activities are not strong and she simply chit-chatted at the parties. Her recs and grades obviously got her invited back after round 1 but she did nothing to sell herself after that - would could have made a difference. By her own admission she freaked out at every house. I went to Alabama so I know competitive recruitment - you have to have the resume to get in the door and then you have to sell yourself in order to stand out against all the hundreds of others. That would have given her a much better chance.

You have made a good point, but since you are one of us who truly knows the difficulty of SEC recruitment, I think it must also be noted that it isn't always as simple as " you didn't sell yourself". Sometimes you simply get overlooked or your conversations, while perfectly fine, were not enough.

And as you also know, many girls are released from recruitment at Alabama, who then go on to pledge sororities that are recolonizing on a campus, like Delta Gamma at Alabama.

If there must be some identifiable (negative) reason that a PNM is released from recruitment (as you have indicated), then why did your recolonizing chapter pledge them?

Surely ^this is not how you queried the girls who were released from recruitment, who subsequently pledged Delta Gamma following formal recruitment. Your chapter benefited from girls like SECglitter, who were released from rush, but who still wanted to be part of the Greek system.

I think that there are plenty of terrific girls who wind up being released -- many who do nothing specific, or negative, to cause their own release.

I thought GeorgiaGreek offered some great advice -- all the best to SECglitter.

Seriously? Are you still stalking Titchou from that other thread?

Nothing to do with SECglitter here, but just for the record, I was part of a colonizing chapter (of DG ironically enough) and over 90% of our pledge class did NOT go through formal recruitment. Of the 10% or so that did, it was pretty split between the girls being released and the girls removing themselves from the process.

Colonies are not just the "left overs" from recruitment -- though, for PNMs that slip through the cracks during formal recruitment, they can be a great way to step into the Greek system.

I assume you were not at Alabama -- and I also assume that when your colony formed it was represented by members of all classes (not just freshmen or sophmores who went through formal recruitment that year).

Please note that I had something positive to say about girls released from recruitment -- I was not passing judgement regarding why they were released.

And yes, at Alabama, girls who are released from recruitment can be very important to the launch of a chapter new to campus (especially freshmen). They are interested in joining a sorority, obviously, as otherwise they would not have participated in recruitment.

Funny. Most threads like this are filled with women explaining to the OP that we can't tell her why she was released. In this thread, the OP specifically said that she knows we can't tell her that, and she's not asking. Yet the thread is filled with women explaining to the OP why she might have been released.

lol -- great observation.

Yes, I was not at Alabama. Yes, my colonizing class was made up of women from all classes. Was the Alabama chapter that just colonized just made up of freshmen?

I know you had positive things to say about the women being released. My beef was that you swoop in this thread and immediately start taking jabs at Titchou as if to continue the tiff in a thread that has been closed. Why in the world was the DG colonization at Alabama brought up in this thread?

Of course not. Fewer sophmores than freshmen participate in formal recruitment, and far fewer junior and seniors participate. What percent of freshmen in your colonizing class participated in formal recruitment? It is also possible that some percentage of the upperclassmen participated in formal recruitment years prior. Did you?

Nonetheless, PNMs like SECglitter, who want an opportunity to join the Greek system, can benefit a chapter new to campus. A win-win.

Because while Titchou was telling SECglitter why she was released, I couldn't ignore the irony that Titchou's own chapter benefited from released PNMs, like SECglitter, when recolonizing at Alabama.

Hopefully they were not similarly interrogated regarding their release, however. ;)

I was thinking this exact thing!

And, I know nothing of the tiff mentioned above, but I thought HartofSEC made a good point that we mustn't write off the OP as an unimpressive pnm simply because she was released. And on campuses with new colonies, released pnms make up a part of their new member pool and those new members might have been pnms who were overlooked.

Hmm...I wish a new chapter were colonizing here at UGA. I know Ole Miss Panhellenic is thinking about expanding, and an AGD chapter is coming to South Carolina but because I am on the HOPE and Zel Miller scholarship, my parents won't let me transfer out of state. I almost wish I had kept my high school GPA under 3.7 just so parents would let me transfer! LOL