Transfer Recruitment Story
 

I'm going to give a quick background story first (it's relevant, I promise). I used to go to a tough school my freshman and sophomore years. After realizing that it just wasn't the school for me no matter how hard I tried, I went back home, went to community college to raise my GPA, and this semester, I transferred to a local university. So yeah, that now makes this an older (I'm 22), transfer, COMMUTER story. (BTW, I actually enrolled in sorority recruitment my freshman year, but I had braces and low self-confidence so I dropped out before first round. Later on, I found out one of the "cool" sororities's president had braces and I felt like an idiot. One of the worst mistakes of my life. Oh well, you live, you learn.)

Recruitment doesn't officially start until September 26, but I'm really excited/nervous and our recruitment counselors sent us emails last night. I'm in the yellow group and our counselors are planning a meeting for all of us next week. So even though recruitment is still practically a month away, there will still be events for us (such as sorority showcases, info sessions, a picnic, and the week after next the sororities will have philanthropy events).

My new campus has 5 chartered sororities and is colonizing another this semester (my previous school had 10), and recruitment is only one weekend long with orientation Thursday night, open house on Friday night, and two events each on Saturday and Sunday (my previous school's recruitment had one event/day over the course of two weekends). Because I seriously have no idea what the sororities on campus are like and I like to be fully informed about things, I've visited their websites and Facebook pages (and even looked the presidents's profiles... I feel like it's ok because they're probably creeping on me, too) and I kind of have an idea of what they're like (even though I know you're not supposed to go through recruitment judging sororities based on assumptions).

Because I'm not that creative, I'm using flower code names (obviously not the official flower of each sorority). In random order:
- Lily (I googled one of my counselors and I know she's a Lily) - I've seen a lot wearing their letters on campus so far. They're all really pretty. I probably won't end up here.
- Daisy - I've seen a lot of them, too. Based on their website and Facebook page, they seem very involved in campus and philanthropy which is what I'm looking for (since, like I said, I'm a commuter, and I want a way to become more involved in campus). (This sorority was at my old school.)
- Rose - I've heard they're party girls.
- Magnolia - I've seen a few around campus. Based on the president's profile, they seem a bit... needy. That sounds so mean, I hope they're not. If they are, I know I won't belong there.
- Tulip - Based on their website the only thing I could really tell about them was that they value academics, which would be good for me.
- Daffodil - They're the colonizing sorority. To be honest, there's not a lot of information about their colonization. There's one sentence about it in the "Welcome to PHC" blurb, but they're not mentioned under the chapter page. I've read some posts on here about failed colonies because they couldn't make quota. I hope it doesn't happen to them and that's why I'm a little leery about joining this one. I know it'd be an honor to be a charter member, but I'm going to go the safe route since I'm not getting any younger. (This sorority was also at my old school.)

I'm really excited and I can't wait to meet my recruitment counselors and rush group next week!

Good luck to you!
I'm obviously rooting for Tulip :D

Thanks for the luck! I seriously think it's either going to be Tulip or Daisy. But like I said, I shouldn't go in to it with assumptions, so who knows? I could end up a Lily even though I said I probably wouldn't end up there.

Good Luck!! I am literally doing the same thing as you right now!! 22 year old transfer I will be posting my story soon :)

Yay! Good luck! I had actually been looking all over the forums for stories of older transfer PNMs, but I could never find one. I'll be sure to check your story out!

Keep in mind that given you are older, an upperclassman, a transfer, and possibly have GPA issues, the sororities will have a lot more say in the process than you will. As you go through, look for any chapters that are obviously struggling, that have awkward rushers, that double or triple rush. IF you are lucky enough to get a bid, these chapters are likely where it will come from.

So think long and hard about whether or not you want to be in a sorority. If you do, cultivate those weaker chapters and try to sell them on what you can do for them. Mentally prepare yourself to be cut from chapters that you really, really like.

You said that it is a university that is local for you. Do you have friends in the chapters? It might help you to have people pulling for you.

Have fun with the process. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You will get to know some nice women on your new campus regardless of your outcome.

Thanks for the advice, Blue Skies. I'm interested in joining a sorority to make friends and be more involved on campus. I truly don't care if I get in a popular sorority or not. I just want to make friends with like minded people and be involved on campus.

http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

Good luck to you and HAVE FUN!:)

Thats weird. All the Rho Gammas I know deactivated their facebooks around two weeks before recruitment. Doesn't that make things slightly awkward if you know?

QFP :cool:

Agreed. Tulips are my favorite flowers. :)

I didn't find her on Facebook, hers is deactivated. But her chapter's blog didn't take down her name and that's how I found out. I don't think it's going to be awkward because I'm not going to mention it and I know it's her job to help us with recruitment and not promote her sorority. So even if I don't like her sorority or if I do like them and get cut by them, it's not her fault.

Same for me. A girl I know who knows one of my Rho Chis told me her affiliation. And it did ruin it a little bit, but I know she wouldn't be doing the job if she wasn't there to be unbiased.

Sometimes it's hard for counselors to be completely secret about their affiliations. Upperclassmen going through recruitment may have seen their counselors wearing their letters before, or like in your situation, friends of those going through recruitment know their affiliation and tell, or in my situation, the chapter may have forgotten to edit their blog as well as their official site. All I know is that if you keep an open mind about it and judge the chapters as a whole rather than on one member, you should be fine.

(even though I know you're not supposed to go through recruitment judging sororities based on assumptions).

Yet this is exactly what you are doing. As an older, upperclassmen transfer, you will get your ass kicked in rush if you do this.

I'm sorry but you're saying one thing and typing another. You keep talking about how you're not going in with a clear mind, and no judgments and willing to accept any chapter. But your whole first post was all about preconceived notions. You even went to so far as to say what two chapters you think you are most likely to end up at.

This is NEVER the attitude to have going into recruitment. Hopefully you can shake this off and truly go in with clear eyes so that you can maximize your options and have the best recruitment possible.

Also remember that each chapter trains its members to be good recruiters! They are supposed to make you feel at ease, isn't that what you would do for a guest in your home? Don't allow that to cloud your judgement.

Which chapters have the same values as you do? Some chapters place a higher priority on scholarship or philanthropy or intramurals than than others do, what values/aspects of Greek life speak to you the most? Those are the type of things you should be looking for when evaluating a chapter.

Maybe what I should have said was I share the same values as Daisy and Tulip as they are the ones who openly value philanthropy and academics. That's what I'm looking for in a sorority. That's what I was trying to say, I'm sorry I worded that wrong.

And please don't jump down my throat for what I'm about to say next but regardless of how competitive my school is or what year/age/status I am isn't the point of recruitment to find a group of likeminded people? If XYZ values high GPAs, participating in a lot of philanthropies, and I get along with them but it's also considered a popular sorority, don't I have the same right to rank them at the top as an 18 year old freshman would? If the sorority doesn't agree that I belong then I get cut from them and go to the sororities that invite me back. Again, recruitment hasn't officially started yet, I'm just excited about getting to meet the chapters. I'm sorry I decided to start early and use the resources available to see what each chapter values.

I hope yall don't think I'm a diva who thinks she deserves to be in the #1 sorority and if I get cut by them I'll drop out, because I don't and I won't.

You are absolutely allowed your opinions, and ranking and reputations on campus exist for a reason. The concern is you seem to be saying the right thing but then throwing in a few nuggets that seem to negate the good parts of what you're telling us.

To the extent that you have a choice, rush is a mutual selection process. Go ahead and describe your likes and dislikes for each chapter, and do keep that open mind as your invitations come around again. It sounds like you are realistic enough to know that you might see the Awesome Alphas as the best today, but maybe they don't see the same in you. So tomorrow the Best Betas are your new favorite. That's cool. It's how it SHOULD work, but those of us who have been around for awhile have heard it over and over that "I'm keeping an open mind" but what she means is "except for THAT chapter" and sometimes "but still, I am only going to worry about these 3 chapters because #1 is what I'm going to get but I suppose I could accept #2 or 3 out of 15."

You can't tell what a group values or is like from a blog post or Facebook page.
Social media ftw.

Gotcha. I understand what yall mean now. Like I said, I'm sorry I sounded like a diva.

Well, when their website says things along the lines of "XYZ has the highest required GPA and we reward those sisters who get a 4.0" I think it's safe to say they value scholarship or "ABC hosts several events to support their philanthropy and participates in other clubs's philanthropies" I think it's safe to say they value philanthropy.

I'm not already ranking the sororities based on their websites. Haven't you ever researched a car before you bought it and then went to the dealership to test drive it? It's kind of like that. I'm not going to just buy the car because the website says it's the best on the market.

Car buying =/= sorority recruitment.

I get checking stuff out on the web so you are informed. However, I don't see the wisdom in forming such hardcore opinions that you say you can see yourself in ABC or XYZ only. I have yet to encounter a sorority chapter that doesn't value academics, friendship, leadership, and philanthropy.

I just said above that what I meant to say was that I like that Daisy and Tulip make sure that PNMs know that they do a lot of philanthropies/reward studious members. I didn't mean to imply that I only see myself as a Daisy or a Tulip (even though, I agree, the way I worded it made it sound that way). My opinion isn't "hardcore". I may meet them and find out that I don't fit in with them at all. As of right now I am open to Daisy, Tulip, Rose, Magnolia, Lily, and Daffodil (notice how that's a list of all the sororities?) and I see myself as the one that gives me a bid.

If I admit that you win at tripping me up will you stop pointing out every time I seem like I'm picking one sorority over the rest? Congrats, Xidelt, you win. I am wrong for forming an opinion and stating it wrong. Now please let me go through recruitment by myself. :)

I think it's important to remember that just because Alpha and Beta have great websites that highlight scholarship and philanthropy does not mean Gamma and Delta don't. Using your car analogy Toyota might just have a glossier website than Honda run by a better web designer.

ALL sororities pride themselves on their commitments to scholarship and philanthropy, some just might have better designed social media sites than the others.

ESPECIALLY at the chapter level. I've been amazed at how bad some of them are and how poorly maintained. If I were researching sororities today it would really be hard to not associate that bad a website with a disorganized and disinterested chapter. I can't imagine that there are that many chapters out there with not a single marketing, PR, art, journalism or creative writing major who could use their chapter website as a resume item. But the fact is the two have nothing to do with each other. And hopefully a person going through rush can separate websites from real life.

That's what I meant with the car analogy. Like you said the Toyota site might be nice and make me really want to buy one but once I drive that one and the Honda, decide that I like the Honda better.

And I do realize that all sororities pride themselves on scholarship and philanthropy, if they didn't they'd lose their charters. But I feel like if Alpha and Beta highlight that rather than have a picture laden site about how many parties they have like Gamma and Delta do, they actually value it MORE than Gamma and Delta. Again, like I've said, I haven't ranked the sororities, I just wanted to get a general feel of them beforehand (I thought posting that information would be interesting... I guess it wasn't). For example, I mentioned in the first post that I heard the Roses are party girls, but I haven't said that I don't want to be a Rose because of that.

ALynnJ, I totally agree with you in that checking out the social media is a good idea. If a chapter doesn't update its social media often, then it's either not a priority for them or they are not detail oriented. Chapters leave an impression by what they choose to highlight on social media and because they control the content, it is a reflection on their chapter. It may not be a comprehensive look at a chapter, but it is a snippet to be taken seriously. I know that I form opinions about businesses and organizations based on their social media.

I wish you good luck and smooth sailing!

No, it probably means their national organization tells them to do it. As far as participating in other groups' philanthropies, on some campi that is a social "must" that has zero to do with caring about the charity.

Some groups have their websites more strictly policed than others. Don't be surprised if the group who has zero party pictures on their page are the ones doing lines of coke off the charter.

Websites tell nothing. Period. Maybe they did back in the day when no one knew what they were doing on the internet, but not anymore.

I think this really just highlights reality- chapters' web sites matter to PNMs. While we know that what is presented on a web site could be misleading, chapters should realize they do sway opinions of PNMs. I don't think this is unique to this PNM. A chapters' Internet presence says something.

Just adding my 2 cents..but it seems to me that we all know how much social media is used for research, etc. on anything and any topic. While I don't think PNMs should totally base any decision from what they see on the internet and FB, it seems sort of ridiculous that chapters and nationals wouldn't keep their sites updated and interesting, knowing that PNMs will be checking them out.

I don't fault this young lady for checking them out and starting to form opinions and use this as a piece of information to analyze. Candidly, I would.

While sites can have useful information and certainly the national/international sites are kept up to date - I have to say the local sites are pretty hit or miss. They could be gorgeous sites but out of date because the chapter paid someone to make it and then it is not easy to update, or it could be simple but well updated because the Communications director took an interest. From my observations - a lot of "top" chapters dont always have a great site, because its just not a priority. They are out doing what they do that makes them great. If they have been great for a while they aren't really concerned about maximizing their web presence, they are recruiting targeting people they already know.

Ok, so a month after starting this thread, recruitment has (semi) officially started!

We had orientation tonight and received our shirts. And now I'm rethinking most of the outfits I picked out. I thought our shirts were going to be blue like our counselors so I was going to wear red pants with them; unfortunately for me, they're red... so I'm just going to wear black shorts (but I don't know what to wear to make me stand out). Saturday morning's Philanthropy round is giving me the most trouble. We have to wear our group's color and I'm in the yellow group and I look terrible in yellow. I have a yellow shirt I can wear with a floral skirt or just go with a neutral outfit and a yellow scarf. And Preference round I'm debating between a strapless red and white floral dress with a red statement necklace or a red lace dress. Honestly, the decision maker will most likely be the weather. The only outfit I'm confident with is Saturday evening's Sisterhood round (it's business casual, so I'm going to wear a black dress).

During the orientation the Panhellenic officers and counselors did all of the chapter's cheers which got me really excited (which was the point). They also did a fashion show on what to and what not to wear (it was really funny). We were told that we are forbidden to drink or talk to fraternity men (or as one counselor said, "No boys, no booze, no bongs") and if we are found doing that we will be dropped from recruitment. They also told us that Daffodil (the new chapter) is holding a half hour presentation for all of the PNMs before first round tomorrow.

I think I mentioned this before, but we have two rounds on Saturday and Preference Sunday morning and Bid Day that afternoon. Because I live off campus I'm debating on whether to go back home or just stay on campus and bring a change of clothes. If I do go home I'll definitely give current updates on each round, if I stay on campus I'm not completely sure whether or not I'll update after every round because I don't know if I will bring my computer with me.

I'm excited and honestly, a little intimidated. Not by the girls in the sororities, but by the other PNMs. I have really low self confidence (as evidenced by the braces situation I mentioned before) and they're all really pretty. But I know that if I stick with it I'll end up where I'm meant to be regardless of how I look.

I also thought I was prepared, but now I'm freaking out about what to talk about during first round. I'm one of those people who are shy around new people, but really outgoing once I get comfortable around them. I think my strategy is to convince myself that I'm already best friend with the girls so I'll open up faster.

Best of luck and hope you have a lot of fun!

Who knew that talking to people would be so exhausting? (Maybe it's because I only got 6 hours of sleep last night.)

I ended up wearing navy blue short and wedges, and the first thing I noticed was that I was probably over dressed because everyone was wearing jeans! Seriously about 95% of the girls were wearing jean pants or shorts and the others were wearing white pants and shorts and they were all pretty much wearing flats or sandals. At least I figured out how to make myself memorable!

First all of the PNMs went to a presentation from Daffodil and we found out that if you receive a bid from a sorority through formal, even if you deny the bid, you may not join any other sorority for another full calendar year, not even Daffodil. I've always heard that if you accept a bid, you can't join another one for a year. Maybe it's a campus by campus deal.

Then we went to the Meet & Greet rounds.

1. Rose. I LOVED ROSE! At first I thought I would be the most awkward at the first sorority we went to, but I really liked their energy. I talked to four girls and I liked them all. Unfortunately, when we left I realized that I had accidentally name dropped! The first girl was talking to me about what I like to do and I mentioned that I coach a field hockey team and in my line of vision I saw a girl who coaches another team at the same school and I told her that and said, "She's over there." Oops.

2. Daisy was one of my questionable sororities. I had good conversations there (although the first girl was really in my face... literally), but I didn't get an "I belong here" vibe. The last girl I talked to went to my high school and I felt really comfortable with her.

3. Tulip was another one of my questionable sororities, but for the opposite reason as Daisy. I felt comfortable, but some of the conversations were a little awkward and I found myself to be the one pushing it along.

4. Magnolia was also questionable. Half of my conversations were good, and the other half were awkward. The vibe was ok, not super comfortable, but I didn't hate it. The first girl I talked to seemed really fake to me, but I LOVED the next girl who talked to me, it felt like she was already my best friend. The next girl I talked to I could barely hear so I did the "nod and say 'yeah'" thing. And the first thing the last girl I talked to asked was if I had any questions. This was the only sorority that I stuttered at, and I really don't remember anything meaningful that we talked about.

5. Lily. I also really liked Lily. The first girl I talked to was really nice but I felt like she was running the entire conversation, but she gave me all of the answers I was looking for: what she was looking for in a sorority when she rushed and how she got that in Lily. I loved the next girl that I talked to, I really want to be her sister. She was in the same situation as I am when she rushed. She's a transfer who is from the area and we kind of have the same philosophies on life and I just love her.

When I first went into recruitment I thought I'd love all of them and have trouble picking my least favorite. But I only loved two and was indifferent about three which made me really concerned. At first I thought I was going to cut Daisy because I didn't like the vibe, but as I started thinking about it, I didn't like how awkward the conversations were at Magnolia, so I ranked them last.

I should go to sleep soon because my next round is at 9 am tomorrow. I think I'm going with the neutral outfit with a yellow scarf and FLATS!

Ehhhh, oh no! I hope Tulip goes well for you tomorrow. Not going to lie: I want Tulip to be the one since I love tulips so much but I am rooting for you to find your new home wherever!

When you sign your pref card, you are agreeing to accept a bid from any sorority you have listed. If you get a bid from your second or third choice and decline, you are still bound to them for a year. This is how it works almost everywhere, as far as I know. I almost always am against leaving off a group that you've preffed. However, if you know you will absolutely not accept a bid from a group, don't list them. You will have the option of looking at the colony (which is NOT going to take EVERYONE, no matter what you hear), and it saves a group the heartbreak of "making quota" but only having a portion of their new members show up. Been there, done that. It isn't a good feeling. Just my opinion though.

I just got done with second round. I got invited back to two, Daisy and Tulip.

I liked Daisy so much more today. They were very excited which made me excited. I thought I had good conversations with the girls. I love their philanthropy and we would talk about it then relate it back to our own lives. But, what concerned me was that I talked to the same exact girls, and other girls said that they talked to completely different girls. When I asked my counselor about how they vote she said that with each round you talk to more and more girls who vouch for you and I said I only talked to the same girls and she said that wasn't supposed to happen (even though it does). I don't want to admit that I love them because the last time I did that I got cut from the ones I loved, but I want to be a Daisy. I left the room with goosebumps and wanted to cry because I'm terrified they'll cut me, especially because I heard they're picky, a lot of girls in my group liked them but got cut from them after first round.

I didn't like Tulip today. The entire time we were watching their philanthropy video I was thinking, "I don't belong here," and praying, "God, please let me get invited back to Daisy." I was also paired with another PNM and all of the girls we talked to focused most of their attention on her. I tried to seem like I was interested so I could get invited back, but it was hard. After this round I was disappointed that I didn't like them. I wanted to like them to keep my options open, but I don't know if I belong there.

When we voted, I accepted them both. But I came to a decision: If I don't get invited back to Daisy, I'm giving Tulip one more chance and if I don't like them again, I'm dropping and if I get invited back to Daisy the next two rounds, I'm suiciding them (even though it's kind of dumb to do so). If I don't get a bid at all, I'll try for Daffodil and will hopefully do well there.

But, again, I am absolutely terrified.

There are five sororities at your school, and three of them were "questionable" before you even started?

That was my opinion after first round... And by questionable I meant I didn't have a solid opinion of them right after I visited them. I had to think about them to decide whether I liked them or not.