Destination: Recruitment!
 

Hey y'all! With recruitment looming closer and closer I thought I would share my recruitment story as I get ready to experience it on the other side as an initiated sister. Overall I had a good freshman year of college, but always had felt as though I was missing out on something great, so when the time came for recruitment August of my sophomore year, I was more than ready to find my perfect home.

At the time, there were 10 sororities on campus with another one about to colonize.

Sorority recruitment at my school is broken down in to four rounds lasting over 2 long weeks:
Round 1, Day 1 (5 houses)
Round 1, Day 2 (remaining 5 houses)
Round 2 (up to 8 houses)
Round 3 (up to 3 houses)
Preference (up to 2 houses)
Bid Day!

Rushing as a sophomore meant I already had a few preconceived notions about some of the sororities on campus, but I tried to keep an open mind as I began day 1. I was so incredibly excited and had no idea what would be in store for me but I was more than ready to find out.

Looking forward to your story. I have a daughter who will be a Senior on your campus. She has enjoyed her time in her sorority and has friends in most of the others.

Day 1, Round 1
For the sake of anonymity and simplicity, each house will be a country that I want to travel to!

Italy- First house! My first reaction as the doors opened was “Oh my god it’s so loud!” Throughout the entire Greek Village it went from dead silent to a deafening volume as all of the houses were cheering and chanting. (Something we’re practicing quite often now) Once I got inside it didn’t quiet down at all. There were so many sisters and PNMs talking that it was pretty difficult to hear what the girl was saying and whether it was nerves or a lack of connection, I didn’t really have a great time here. To be honest, this was also a house that I already had formed an opinion of during my freshman year, so I wasn't going to be too upset if I wasn't asked back.


Spain- Okay, so it was just as loud here as it was at the other house so I figured it was something I’d have to get used to. Before recruitment started, this was my favorite house. I had researched it online and fell in love with all of the trivial things (like symbols and colors), but I loved their philanthropy as well. By the time I left I was still so in love. The sisters had the cutest chant and I had a great conversation with a couple girls, one in particular who was in show choir like I was so we gushed about it the entire time. I absolutely wanted to be asked back.


Greece- I already knew a few girls from my dorm freshman year who were members of this sorority and who loved it. This house was known for its philanthropic achievements on campus and for having a strong sisterhood. Overall, everything was okay. I had a nice conversation and wouldn’t have minded coming back.


France- This is another one of the sororities that I had preconceived notions about, but knowing that I could be completely wrong; I was still excited to go to this house and give it a try. However, I really didn’t click with the girls I spoke with and left pretty sure knowing I wouldn’t be asked back.


Cuba- I loved the philanthropy of this house, and the girls all really seemed sweet. I had a pretty good conversation and would have loved to been asked back to get to know more about the sorority.


End of Day One! Overall, I loved every minute of that first day. Once I got over how loud each of the houses were, I felt like I had had some great conversations with some of the girls and was looking forward to meeting the remaining 5.



Round 1, Day 2

Austria- I talked to a couple really sweet girls, one of whom I had had an art class with the previous semester it was fun to talk to her about it. Overall I really, really liked this house.


Morocco- I had a great conversation with the sister at this house. I have really strong ties to dog and dog rescue, and the girl I was paired up with had done it as well, so we talked about that for the majority of the time. This is also trivial, but I love their colors and mascot, so I was really hoping I’d be asked back.


Australia- As soon as my pi chi group arrived to this house, it started thunderstorming which meant we had to be locked away in a tiny room all squished together while remaining silent until it was time for the party to begin. By this point, the hot Carolina sun was starting to get to me and I had had some pretty strong opinions about this house, so I unfortunately was not in the best of moods. The conversation felt extremely forced and I remember I repeated myself a couple times. I knew I wouldn’t be asked back to this house.


England- This house was absolutely gorgeous and had a strong presence on campus. Many people wanted to be a member of this house as the girls were known for being classy, smart, and well put-together. Every girl I talked to was extremely sweet and I felt as though we had pretty good conversations. I wanted to return to this house.


Ecuador-Finally! The last house of Round 1. I honestly can’t remember much from it. I know that they had a great philanthropy and I enjoyed talking to the girls at this house. I would have loved to have been asked back.



For the first round, we were able to rank our top 8.
I had:

1. Spain
1. Austria
1. Morocco
1. England
1. Cuba
1. Greece
1. Ecuador
1. Italy
_______________
1. France
2. Australia

Woo hoo. Something to sustain us until August! Can't wait to read more.

Yay!

Go Cuba!

I think I will root for Spain.

I just figured out that the "yellow house" is France!

I will root for spain and England and Moraco

Round 2! I was so excited (and nervous!) to see who had asked me back. This round we were allowed to visit up to 8 houses and I ended up being asked back to my top 7:

Spain
Austria
Morocco
England
Cuba
Greece
Ecuador

At this point I was feeling pretty fantastic and confident knowing that as a sophomore, I was pretty lucky to have almost a full schedule. With this in mind I headed to the first house of the day!

Austria- This was my second favorite house from Round 1, so I was super happy to go back! During Round 2, every house showed a video and theirs was really cute and seemed to highlight their sisterhood really well. I spoke with a few different girls, one of which ended up being really awkward as we sort of just sat there without saying anything. Luckily another one came in and the conversation picked up again. I liked this house a lot, but I wasn’t sure if I loved it as much as I did in Round 1.

Morocco- This house was also pretty high on my list, so I was excited to see what Round 2 would bring. When I walked up to the door, I was surprised to see my freshman year RM was waiting to pick me up and I felt all of my nerves go away. It was fun to reminisce with her and I enjoyed watching their video. We ended up talking for the entire party and overall I had a nice time at this house and wanted to be asked back for round 3.

Ecuador- First off, let me just say that these girls had a fantastic sisterhood video! It was so well put together and it truly seemed to encompass the girls’ love for each other. Although the video stood out, the conversations from that round didn’t. I still liked them however, and wanted to know more in round 3.

Greece- This house really didn’t stand out for me in round 1, and sort of remained neutral in round 2 as well. I had pretty good conversations with a couple girls, and one awkward one with another. Overall this house was just alright to me.

Spain- This was the house I had been waiting for all day! I had loved it during the first round and grew to love it even more in round 2. The video was cute and the girls I talked to all had such bubbly and sweet dispositions. Everyone seemed to truly care for one another. I left that house feeling absolutely great and started thinking that maybe those girls would end up being my sisters!

Cuba- This was another one of those wishy-washy houses. I really enjoyed round 1, but had an alright round 2. The conversations seemed a little forced, but I really liked their philanthropy and the girls were nice, so I didn’t want to discount them yet.

England- I was also super excited to go back to this house. The girls had an amazing video as well, and they were all very sweet and put-together. The decorations in their house were gorgeous too. I talked to the most girls here than I had in any of the other houses, about 5 in just this one round, so I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. However, I really enjoyed myself and definitely wanted to go back.

Finally, end of round 2! To be honest, at this point there really wasn’t one house that I didn’t want to go back to. However, seeing as how for round 3 we’re allowed to visit a maximum of 5 this is how I voted:

1. Spain
1. England
1. Morocco
1. Austria
1. Cuba
_________________________________
1. Ecuador
2. Greece



I feel like I should add at this point that I knew Alpha Gamma Delta would be colonizing later that semester, so I had kept it in mind as well during recruitment. Also, if we had a one party break, instead of trekking it all the way back to the Coliseum, we were allowed to go and rest in their house where they provided snacks and had a chance to promote themselves a little bit. However, I was really unsure if I wanted to be part of a colony as I really wanted more of the traditions of an already established chapter (i.e. big/little)

Yay Spain! I like the idea of Alpha Gamma Delta's house being open for breaks...that's a nice opportunity for them and the PNMs to get to know each other a little during formal recruitment. They weren't involved at all in Round 1?

What a brilliant idea to use the Alpha Gam house for breaks! I really like that.

I feel like I should add at this point that I knew Alpha Gamma Delta would be colonizing later that semester, so I had kept it in mind as well during recruitment. Also, if we had a one party break, instead of trekking it all the way back to the Coliseum, we were allowed to go and rest in their house where they provided snacks and had a chance to promote themselves a little bit. However, I was really unsure if I wanted to be part of a colony as I really wanted more of the traditions of an already established chapter (i.e. big/little)[/QUOTE]

Very wise of those Alpha Gams. They don't call it Famously Hot for nothing.

If I'm remembering correctly, they introduced themselves at Sorority Orientation but then dropped out after that. At that point a colony was not on my radar, so I didn't pay too much attention to them to be honest.

I knew so many Alpha Gams who were there for the colonization. It was such a wonderful experience for those involved.

Carolinasister, are you still out there? Why start your story if you aren't going to finish it?

I’m sorry for the delay! I had the story saved on my laptop which unfortunately took a dive off the counter and had to be fixed.

Round 3! We were allowed to visit up to 5 houses. As they were handing the schedules back, the Pi Chis warned us that heavy cuts had been made. I nervously opened my schedule and saw:

Spain
England
Greece

Wow, okay that hurt as I had only been asked back to 3. Even the house where I talked to my RM had dropped me. However, of those 3 remaining groups, I still had my very favorite, Spain and my second favorite England so I realized it could have been a lot worse. Feeling a little bit better, I set off for my first house of the day.


Greece- Although I had ranked this house last the previous round, I still was happy to go back as I didn’t really have a least favorite house at the end of round 2. The girls sang a song and showed another video which was cute, and one of the girls I knew from freshman year stopped and talked to me for a little while. I could tell how much Greece meant to her, but I just didn’t get the same feeling about it.

England- This was my second house of round 3 and one I was really excited to visit again. The house really impressed me and I was starting to wonder if I could see myself as a member of England. I had great conversations with the girls I spoke with and enjoyed their video and song a lot. By this point, I was starting to feel a little bit conflicted about England and if I liked it more than Spain

Spain- Whatever doubts I had about this being my favorite house vanished as soon as I got back to Spain. I just felt like I belonged there. I enjoyed every minute of the party and didn’t realize how fast the time had gone by. I loved talking to the girls I was paired with and their video and song were so sweet. This was my favorite house by far.

For Preference Round, we were allowed to visit up to 2 houses and I had no difficulty choosing which two I hoped to be invited back to.

1. Spain
1. England
________________________________________________
2. Greece

I'm still rooting for Spain!

Please show us more

Preference Round!
Getting ready for Pref Night was such an exciting, nerve-wracking, and weird time (How often do you get the chance to wear full cocktail attire at 10am?) I was praying that I would be invited back to Spain but didn’t want to get my hopes up too high in case it didn’t work out. I also had spent the night before waiting for the dreaded phone call that I had been released completely (which thankfully never came) so I was super tired and jittery with nerves. I found my Pi Chis and quickly scanned my schedule:



Greece





I couldn’t believe it, both Spain and England had dropped me. I kept looking at the paper to see if I was reading it wrong or if it had miraculously changed. I had felt so hurt that Spain had dropped me when I had been envisioning myself running to them on Bid Day. At first, I debated not going to Greece and waiting to see if I would get a snap bid, or possibly go through Alpha Gam colonization. However, after talking with my Pi Chis, I decided to go to the party anyway so I could be sure I was making the right decision.

More please

Question: if you decline your Preference invite, and effectively drop out of Recruitment, are you still eligible for a Snap Bid? I think not. Titchou? Any other RFM experts?

If you drop out of recruitment, at any stage, you are eligible for a snap bid. However, I'd think the chances of getting a snap bid from a group that dropped you would be small.

I think I know who Greece is, but hope you come back soon and finish up? Still wondering if the AGD colony is a possibility?

Yes, you are eligible for a snap bid. Snap bids are not some magical thing, they are just a COB that happens on bid day.

Something changed for me when I stepped into Greece’s house for Preference Night. The girls took turns sharing stories about how much Greece meant to them, and how dear their sisterhood is. At that moment, I could see what my friend meant when she spoke about her love for Greece. I’m not sure how exactly it happened, but after I left the party I knew that Greece was home for me. I went straight to voting and signed my name on the card to accept my bid to Greece without any hesitation.

Although I had thought Spain would be where I would end up at the beginning of recruitment, I have no doubt in my mind that Greece is the perfect fit for me and the best decision I’ve made. It’s everything I have ever wanted in a sorority and more. I can’t wait till August to go through recruitment on the other side and bring more girls into this amazing group of ladies and the lifelong bonds of sisterhood known as…………………………….



































































GAMMA PHI BETA!!!!!


Thank you for letting me share my story with you all! I honestly had such an enjoyable recruitment experience and I wanted to show just how important it is to trust the system and follow through recruitment all of the way until the end as it does only take one house to find your perfect home!

I can't believe I was rooting for Spain all along! Silly me!

Welcome to Gamma Phi Beta, carolinaSISTER!!! Best wishes to your chapter for a wonderful recruitment!

Congrats!

You had a great attitude! So happy that you found a home!

Thank you for sharing your story!

While I understand the concept of COB, I was wondering if there is a policy or guideline (campus by campus, or maybe an NPC Unanimous Agreement) regarding snap bids.

Are only women who participated in formal recruitment - yet dropped during the process - eligible for snap bids? Or can a chapter extend a “snap bid” to a student who didn't sign up for or attend any of the formal recruitment?

Also, if a chapter made quota during formal, yet is still under chapter total, are they allowed to extend a “snap bid”? Or would those bids “technically” be a COB bid?

Bottom line, even though they serve the same purpose – to get a chapter to quota and or to total - is there some sort of specific criteria (restrictions, guidelines on when and how it may be extended) that differentiates a “snap bid” from a “COB bid”? Or are “snap bids” simply the name for a “COB bid” given on bid day?

Does this make sense?

My answers in red.
I only know a little. Titchou knows all! Until she comes back, here's this:

First, a COB bid is made after recruitment has concluded. COB actually begins a week or two after formal recruitment ends.
Quota is set on pref day.
Total is a whole other thing.
The whole idea of quotas and totals is to keep the big, popular chapters from getting bigger and to give the smaller chapters a chance.
Yes, RFM is rendering this concept meaningless, but it's taking a while, and may never totally work. There's also such as thing as getting a bid from your least favorite house and not even showing up for bid day, or resigning soon after.
I've probably already screwed up. I'll let someone else explain.

Strictly - Quota is the number of women that signed a bid card divided by the number of chapters.
It is usually set so that as many women as possible get their first choice and as many chapters a possible get quota.

Quota additions are made before snap bids. Someone that is a quota addition and the chapter (except for maybe Dir. Recruitment with a calculator) will never know who exactly which girls were QA only that the chapter pledged more than quota.

A chapter would usually only make a snap bid if they did not get quota. If they made quota but not total - it is usually better to wait and COB (after emotions have died down.) If they were below total even after QAs - a chapter MIGHT choose to try to snap bid, but this would usually be only to get a legacy or someone known to the chapter that had to drop out of recruitment for something like a death in the family or a major illness.

By the RFM agreements - total is recommended to be adjusted to be the average chapter size after formal recruitment. This happens about 2-3 weeks after formal recruitment is over. That way at any given time - roughly 40-50% of chapters would be below total and then would have the option of pursuing women for COB.

Thank you, HQWest!!

Is this in part to remove some of the stigma of chapters having to COB at some schools, while giving mid-size to smaller chapters an opportunity to catch up over several years? (Not saying anything is wrong with COB. I was a COB, and grateful to enjoy an extra semester instead of waiting for formal recruitment. But some groups definitely looked down their noses at chapters that COBed on my campus.)

Actually - I believe the rationale is to place as many women that may be interested in Greek Life as possible in chapters, and to allow smaller chapters to catch up.

I think some schools are more cautious with how much they raise total, because they want to be sure that they are retaining members.

I'm making the assumption that England was ADPI, but what was Spain??

We typically do not ask to have chapters named in recruitment threads, for diplomacy, tact, and privacy reasons. If the OP wanted to reveal those names, she would have done so. You are always free to private message her and ask.

I didn't realize I had started a discussion on snap bidding! I knew a few girls from freshman year who had dropped out of recruitment even only after the second round and then reappeared on bid day with bid in hand to groups who had dropped them originally. Being the naive girl I was towards some of the aspects of recruitment, I had assumed it was the norm which is why I had considered dropping. Obviously, I'm glad I didn't do that!


Sorry, but I would rather not say as I know a lot of these GreekChat ladies are quite adept code-breakers. That's to say if they haven't figured it out already!

This is not true everywhere. I can say with certainty that there were numerous bids given out by my chapter and others late on bid night, after all was said and done. Women who SIP'ed or dropped out prior to pref would see everyone running to their chapters and feel left out and reconsider, and it was really common for those with an existing or new (e.g. roommmate just pledged) connection to a chapter to be scooped up that very same night.

When I think about it, I guess the difference between a snap and a COB is that the snaps are issued PRIOR to bid distribution, and COB after, but I think it's splitting hairs, especially when I recall that we were allowed to issue women who hadn't participated in recruitment bids the morning of bid day.

Congratulations, sister!! It's wonderful to read your story and see how the chapter has made such a positive impression on you after all, even if they might not have stood out from the crowd on day one. Best of luck with recruitment school and recruitment this year, they will be here before you know it! :) Sounds like you'll have some powerful stories to tell the PNMs about your chapter's sisterhood. :D