Recruitment Story!! Lilly Print Themed
 

I went through recruitment last year during the spring semester, but haven't gotten around to posting my story! Now I have some free time so here it is!!

Background Information:
I went through deferred rush at a fairly small school in the southeast where over 60% of women are involved in greek life; thus, it was fairly competitive. We have five sororities on campus, and I went through rush with all of my friends. Because sorority rush is deferred, it was hard not to know the stereotypes of the sororities, but I tried to keep an open mind.

Pre-recruitment impressions:
Everything Nice: This sorority seemed to be the "well rounded" girls who are involved and lead everything on campus but still have time to be social. This house was one that my excellent friend was adamant was perfect for her.

Spring Fling: This sorority doesn't have much of a stereotype. All of the girls seem extremely bubbly and very athletic. I had never met one that wasn't in love with her sorority.

Written in the Stars: This sorority was known as one of the "top" houses and was known as the gorgeous girls who love to party.

Lucky Charms: This house was known as the smart girls that were not very social but always seemed very nice. I knew one upperclassman in this house that I absolutely loved.

Crown Jewels: This sorority was known as the girls who loved to party but they also gave off a closed off vibe the entire first semester unlike all the rest of the houses.

Day #1: I was very nervous for recruitment because I wasn't a legacy like many of my friends, but was also very excited to see what greek life had to offer me!

Everything Nice: I was extremely nervous and my nerves were heightened by the loud banging and screaming on the other side of the door. When the doors first swung open the girls got even louder (which I didn't previously think was possible) and I was picked up by a girl I had met several times at parties throughout the semester. After an excellent presentation the conversations began. I talked to several girls and had what I thought were great conversations; I really clicked with the last girl I talked to who was a junior. Overall, I loved the energy of this house and thought I could really see myself standing among them in the future.

Spring Fling: I was much less nervous at this house because I had met several of these girls throughout the previous semester and they were not intimidating at all. I ended up getting picked up by a Junior I knew and after their presentation had a great conversation with her. Unfortunately, the following girls I talked to were extremely dull and I felt like I had to prod them to continue the conversation. The only highlights came from girls I knew coming up to say "hi" throughout the round.

Written in the Stars: Looking around the room when the round started, I as completely in awe of how pretty all of the girls were. They seemed extremely put together and I was excited to hear about there sorority. I only knew one girl in this sorority (but she didn't really hang out with many of her sisters) and I didn't see her anywhere. All of the people I talked to seemed fairly shallow and I didn't like that there were up to three people talking to me at once. It seemed very overwhelming and was difficult to converse equally with them.

Lucky Charms: I got picked up by a random girl at this house and was disappointed I didn't get to talk to my friend. The presentation here was noticeably less "put together" than the other sororities'. The girls I talked to seemed fairly nice, but the only good conversation I had was with the girl I know's big who was abroad the previous semester. Overall, I didn't see myself in this house, but still was trying to be open because of my friend.

Crown Jewels: By this last event my voice (and enthusiasm) was dwindling, but I wasn't too worried because I never got a good vibe from this sorority anyway. To my surprise I got picked up by a girl that I met several times who happened to be from my hometown. After a great presentation, I was defiantly warming up to this house and when I began to talk to the girl that picked me up I liked it even more. Several other girls came up to us, but we were so involved in talking about things from home I didn't focus on them. Overall, this house was a huge surprise to me and was defiantly towards the top in my mind.

At the end of the day we had to "cluster" four sororities and "rank" one:
I clustered these (the numbers is where I thought they stood):
1)Everything Nice:
1)Crown Jewels:
2)Spring Fling:
3)Written in the Stars:

and Ranked:
4)Lucky Charms:

I would find out the next day who invited me back!!!

You know, I never knew that Lilly prints had names (other than the sorority ones, of course!). I can't wait to read your story!

Can't wait to read the next round! I'm rooting for Crown Jewels since I am in love with all things British! (and I love Lily!!) xo

eep... *lilly! hahah

Cute idea! Looking forward to reading your story.

Go Everything Nice (in Shorely Blue)!

http://www.splashofpink.com/prodimag...-default-S.jpg

Loving the color coding on this story--makes it so much easier to follow!

Day two:
I was so excited to meet with my rho gamma! I talked to all of my friends about which sororities we liked (we knew we were suppose to but let's be realistic). We were all over the place, but pleasantly surprised by all of the sororities. When I finally met with my rho gamma I looked down on the sheet of paper I was handed and saw three names. I was shocked. I heard that the first round of cuts were never severe and I started questioning whether I really wanted to go through sorority rush in the first place.

On the sheet of paper were the names:
Spring Fling
Lucky Charms
Everything Nice

I was shocked I was cut by Crown Jewel! I really thought I connected well with the one girl that I talked to, but before rush I told myself that if I had one of my two favorites I would be happy. After talking to my friends I was more relieved. Although some of them got all of the sororities they clustered, others were right along with me, and some got cut by all of their favorites. At least I didn't have the chance to get too attached to a sorority I wouldn't end up in anyway. I was officially excited to visit all of the houses I was invited back to!

First up was Lucky Charms! I was super excited about rush now because I felt all of the pressure had vanished and I could finally be myself. I was picked up by a nice girl that I didn't know, but eventually my friend came over to talk to me after we watched a video on their philanthropy. We had a great conversation and I met her whole family along with the president of the sorority. They all seemed super nice.

Next round I went to Spring Fling! I was picked up by a girl I knew through my two other friends. She was extremely nice, but I felt like I needed to keep the conversation going. After learning about their philanthropy we made a craft and it was slightly awkward because all we talked about were my friends. We weren't a very good match because we didn't have much in common, but some of the following girls I talked to seemed more similar to myself.

Everything Nice was the last house I went to and it was hard not to have high expectations. I got picked up by a girl I didn't know, but after watching a presentation and video on their philanthropy (which was so touching I almost teared up) we had a great conversation. It seemed very natural and we talked about much less superficial topics. Three of the girls I talked to in the previous round came up and talked to me, which I thought was a nice touch. Every girl I talked to at this house seemed great and I was thrilled to feel so comfortable.

My decision tonight was easy because I didn't have to cut anyone but in my head the rankings becoming more and more clear.

I love your story theme; I am Lilly obsessed! And I love your attitude about the cuts--I know it's rough to be cut, especially by ones you like, but you did the right thing and took it as a chance to get better connected to the chapters you still had remaining. I always kept in mind that in the end you just want one! =)
I'm excited to hear what happens next--I'm wishing for the best of luck for you!

Is this the language they use on your campus? I haven't heard "clustered" before, but I love it! I think this is a great way to convey to PNM's that they aren't picking sororities or cutting sororities, but rather, "clustering" their favorites together and then ranking the rest.

More please!

Waiting to hear about the next round!

Yes, this is the term that many campuses are using. I agree with you that it makes more sense than saying ranking or prioritizing...much less releasing or cutting.

I'm rooting for Lucky Charms! I love that print. :) But it sounds like you really like Everything Nice, so I can root for that too!

It has been a couple of months, but I thought I might as well finish my story.

Day Three: I was much more nervous to meet with my Rho Gamma because of what happened after the first cuts, and it seemed to me more and more obvious, which chapter I felt the most comfortable at. When my Rho Gamma handed me my sheet I was completely relieved. On the sheet were:

Spring Fling
Lucky Charms
Everything Nice

I was so excited to have the opportunity to go back to all of the chapters that I clustered after the previous day! This round was Sisterhood night!

Up first was Everything Nice, and I couldn't have been more excited! I got picked up by a super nice junior and we really hit it off. She was amazing and we instantly got along really well, and our conversations started to become more and more focused on how exciting it is to be apart of that sorority. A little later a friend I knew since the very beginning of school came up and joined our conversation. Once again during this round all of the girls that I thought I connected with came up to me and told me how excited they were that I was back, which once again I thought was a great touch. An alumna from this chapter spoke about how much college was impacted by her sisters and I could tell how much everyone in this sorority really loved each other from the other girls that made speeches. Before I knew it the round was over, and I left feeling like that was the place where I belonged.

The next round I went to Spring Fling. I got picked up by a nice girl who I apparently met at a fraternity social the semester before, but I didn't really remember much about her. She was really sweet, but she kept referencing her friends in other sororities that both of us knew, and she didn't seem to be very involved or even comfortable in her own sorority. Later we sat down and sisters took turns talking about how much they liked that their chapter was huge and had no stereotype. I thought that it seemed much less personal and unfortunately kept thinking that these girls seemed much less sincere than the ones that spoke at Everything Nice. When the round was over I didn't feel the same disappointment that my time was up as I did at the last round and frankly was ready to move on.

Finally it was time for Lucky Charms! I was ecstatic to get picked up by my great friend and we talked about normal things so it didn't even seem like sorority recruitment. I ended up talking to her entire family again and the previous president and the future president who all seemed nice. Then my friend brought me to a circle where sisters took turns talking about their bond with each other. They all seemed really genuine and like great girls, but I just couldn't picture myself standing amongst these girls sharing stories about our time together. When the round was over my friend hugged me goodbye and I moved on to my designated place with my rho gamma.

When it came time to cluster and rank I put:
Clustered:
Everything Nice
Spring Fling

Ranked:
Lucky Charms

It was an incredibly difficult decision between Lucky Charms and Spring Flingbecause at that point I didn't feel a strong connection to either of them. I ended up ranking Lucky Charms because I didn't want my friend to be led on through pref night (I know this probably sounds really bad).

Please submit the next update a little sooner! I thought we would never hear more.

More please!!!

Day four: I could not have been more excited/nervous (until bid day) to meet with my rho gamma. Everyone was gossiping about sisterhood night saying that they were the most dramatic cuts and that if you make it to pref night you are on the sorority's bid list, so basically I was about to pee my pants. When I got my schedule it read:

Spring Fling
Everything Nice

I could not have been happier, although I still felt a little bad about my friend and her sorority.

First round I went to Spring Fling and was picked up by a girl I have never talked to before (which I thought was ridiculous). They did a ceremony about how each girl that was invited back would bring a different thing to the sorority but it all seemed very impersonal. Then several girls talked about their relationship with there bigs and bid day. One girl stood out when she told a story about how she lied to her entire sorority to make them like her more and then eventually had to come clean. That was a huge turn off because honesty is the only policy in my mind. Once again this sorority seemed large and impersonal, two traits I wasn't thrilled about.

When it was time for my second and final round I was extremely excited. When I walked in to Everything Nice all of the sister were wearing beautiful cream dresses and singing an angelic song. They all looked extremely put together and excited to be in their sorority. The same girl picked me up that picked me up during sisterhood night and I was thrilled to talk to her again. Right from the start she asked me if I had any questions that would help with my decision and that nothing I asked would effect my chances because that sorority wanted me to be a member. I told her how much I loved them and that when I was there I looked around and saw the older girls I aspired to be like as well as the girls I wanted to go through the rest of college with. After we both talked about the serious stuff we sat down and realized that we had actually met each other at a fraternity social the previous semester! We also had a bunch of mutual friends, which was great. A lot of girls I knew from recruitment and the social scene came up to me throughout the night and talked to me as well which make me feel really at home. Later in the round we all stood in a circle and my friend (who also talked to me during sisterhood night) shared with the chapter why I would be a good fit for that sorority. On out way out we were suppose to make a wish, and I knew exactly what mine would be.

Ranking came extremely easily for me
1.Everything Nice
2.Spring Fling

I also got the opportunity to talk to a lot of my other friends some of whom had a much more difficult decision. Interestingly enough every one of them went to pref night at Everything Nice, but most of us didn't share which sorority we actually preffed.

Bid Day!!!

I don't think I have ever been more nervous in my life. All of my friends were freaking out because they kept on pushing back the time that we would get our bids. We did basically everything to make the time pass by faster (including getting coffee which just made us more jittery). Finally it was time and we were all splitting up to meet with our
rho gamma groups. When it was finally time for me to meet with my Rho Gamma I went into the room and was handed a envelope. After ripping open the envelope I saw an invitation to Everything Nice!!

I almost started crying, hugged my rho gamma and ran to see my friends while calling my parents to tell them the good news. I even accidentally split coffee on my bid, oops!

After running to my dorm I found out that the majority of my friends also went Everything Nice while the rest went Written in the Stars. All but one of us got our first choices !! As cheesy as it sounds everything really did work out the way it was suppose to, and all of my friends in both sororities are just as close as we were before recruitment.

Congrats on finding your home!

Can you tell us who Everything Nice is?

Yes, please share!