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A Very FRIENDS Recruitment
I just went through rush week and I decided to write about my experience. For all you Friends fans out there, this is for you!
The 11 sororities at UCLA are: Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Phi Chi Omega Delta Delta Delta Delta Gamma Gamma Phi Beta Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Delta Kappa Kappa Gamma Pi Beta Phi And in no particular order... Monica Phoebe Rachel Ross Chandler Joey Gunther Janice Carol Susan Ben On the first day, the first house we visited was Monica. The first girl was really nice and we talked about how she woke up at 3:30 AM to stand in line to get tickets for a singer we both loved. The second girl was also really great to talk to, and she talked about how she loves my home city and the food there, which made me feel good because you don’t find many people here who have been to my city. The third girl was really cool too because we talked about everything. She told me what cool stuff she was involved in at my school. Overall, the house is really nice, and this was a perfect start to my rush. Next, we visited Phoebe. To be honest, this house really lacked a sparkle I was looking for. The girls were extremely nice so don’t get me wrong. However, I feel like it lacked the easy conversation that I had in the first house. The girls I talked to were really sweet and seemed to be truly passionate about their sorority, but I still felt a little forced when talking to her. The house was actually really beautiful, but this visit was just average for me. Rachel was next. The first girl was nice enough and kind of talked about why she loved this sorority so much. She explained that their sisterhood is really tight knit, and I did see that in the way the girls interacted with each other when they were bumping or just walking around. They would make silly faces at each other or call each other by their little nicknames, and I thought that was a nice touch. The second girl was really cute and I shared my experience of orientation with her. She thought it was pretty funny, which was kind of cool. The third girl was beautiful. I told her about how intense rush was from where I came from and how it was so different here than back home. Overall, I think Rachel has a close sisterhood, it impressed me. Ross was actually a sorority I had really high hopes for just because of their reputation on campus and from what I’ve seen in pictures. I know it’s bad to be judgmental like that in the beginning, but I really did expect the girls to be at another level. However, when this gorgeous girl and me started talking, I realized that most of our conversation topics were introductory and not very natural. I didn’t feel like I was talking to a friend or a fellow student, but I felt like I was being thrown into this weird interview where I had to think really hard in advance what I was going to say next. Obviously, a bunch of other girls absolutely adored the house. Maybe they already knew a girl in the house and were actually just having a conversation like friends, but for me, I was not too impressed when I walked out. Chandler was our next house. From what I had seen in the past, these girls seemed to be super fun and super awesome. They seemed down to earth, which is something I really wanted. The first girl I talked to was really cool. I talked to her about orientation and a funny story, and she was dying of laughter. The second girl was literally so beautiful. She was also from the South and we bonded over so many things. She called me her “soul mate” and seemed so genuinely interested in getting to know me better. The third girl laughed a lot with me, which is a good sign I think. We bonded over common TV shows that we both liked to watch. She told me a really funny story about her friend’s dad and I was laughing so hard. I walked out of this house feeling really great about rush and I knew immediately that this was my number 1 house so far. The last house of the day that we visited was Joey. I also had extremely high hopes for this house since the lady who wrote my recommendation letter had raved about her experience with her chapter in college. They were also really strong on my campus, so I was really hoping I would like them and vice versa. Well, the first girl I talked to was really cool. We talked a little bit about her background with martial arts. The second girl was also really nice but I just didn’t feel as natural talking to her as I did with the first. It was just kind of more forced and I didn’t laugh as much with her. The third girl had a nice conversation with me. We talked about all kinds of things but I’m not confident that we clicked very well. But all in all, they were ok. Overall, I had a great first day. I was a little disappointed in the two houses that I was looking forward to that ended up being just ok. But I can’t wait to see what the other 5 houses have to offer! |
The second day, we went through the second part of Round 1. It was still the Open House Round, but we visited the last half of the houses.
Our first house that we visited today was Gunther. I hadn’t heard too much about this house, so I was assuming that they were moderately active on campus, and I had seen a lot of girls wearing their letters around the school. The first girl I talked to was really nice. We talked about boys, shopping, and getting to know the area. The second girl talked to me about the contrasting weather here versus my hometown and their amazing sisterhood. She seemed to really love her sorority. It was a nice house, but nothing about it really truly stood out. Their door chant at the end was so cute, and they did seem to have a great bond so I would consider going back to them. The second house was Janice. People have told me that they were one of the biggest groups on campus, which wasn’t necessarily good or bad, but it definitely gave me an idea of the number of people I would come into contact with and the diversity within that group. The first girl was really nice and had been to my hometown before. She was funny and seemed to genuinely like our conversation, which I appreciated since I know the girls have such a long day to go through. The second girl was pretty and funny. She was giving me advice on boys and how it was a bad to start a relationship with somebody on the floor. The third girl was in a contemporary dance group at the school, which I thought was really awesome. I felt like I really connected with her, and she seemed to really like me. Carol was the third house we visited. I had heard some things about this house from my rush group, but I was trying so hard to keep an open mind. I tried so hard to act my best and still have a good conversation. It was hard, but I think I did an okay job of keeping my options open. I don’t even remember much of the house, but just that it was absolutely freezing in there. I really didn’t feel comfortable there, and the musty smell of the house made me feel a little nauseous. But the girls were super nice and they really seemed to care about what I was saying, which I appreciated. Our next stop was Susan. I walked in and they were so welcoming and I was paired off immediately with a girl who was so bubbly and so sweet. I don’t really remember much of this house after my first conversation, which I took into consideration when I ranked my houses at the end of the night. Everyone here was super nice and they all seemed to like me, but the house was so incredibly loud that we were all literally yelling at the top of our lungs. I didn’t really notice this issue with other houses and I felt a little like I was blindly going through the conversations because I could never fully understand what they were saying, so I left feeling a little disoriented and confused. We stopped at Ben as the last house of the day. The first girl and I talked about normal, non-introductory things such as boys, dance, shopping, and moving away from home. The second girl was also really nice, but I couldn’t really remember our conversation once she left, which I don’t think is a good sign. The third girl was a transfer and we kind of just talked about finding our place at the school. She kind of turned me off from this house though because she honestly did not seem to be like she was having fun or even loved it that much when I asked her how her experience was here. However, she did say that they had an amazing sisterhood and our conversation ended up flowing more naturally towards the end. I left this house feeling unsure about how I felt. At the end of the day, we ranked 8 houses as our number 1, and 3 houses as our number 2, 3, and 4. Those are the ones we would prefer not to visit again. My list looked like this: Monica Phoebe Rachel Ross Chandler Joey Janice Ben And my 2, 3, and 4 respectively were: Gunther Susan Carol |
YAY! A UCLA story! I'm a SoCal gal, so I love this! Can't wait to hear where you ended up!
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Yay a new story! More more :)
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And this episode is titled "The One About Recruitment".
We don't have UCLA stories that often, so looking forward to hearing more! |
The next morning, I woke up feeling a little anxious, but overall pretty good. I got ready and hurried down to our meeting spot to see what schedules our Rho Gamma, our rush counselor, had for us.
I opened my schedule and I was pretty surprised. I had gotten back: Carol Ben Chandler Janice Rachel Susan Phoebe Gunther I was so sad that I didn’t get Monica back, but I took it all in stride. I was actually kind of relieved I wasn’t invited back to Ross or Joey even though they are both strong chapters. I just didn’t really feel like I fit in and I don’t think I would have been very happy at either because I couldn’t see myself fitting into their everyday life. I went to Carol first. I really honestly did not want to be here and I still felt really uncomfortable when I walked into the house. We took a tour of the house today, and I felt even worse about the house than I did yesterday. It smelled so musty upstairs However, I was polite and made conversation. The girls were being nice and I felt bad that I couldn’t feel the same way about them. I left the house feeling a little down and not very spirited. But I didn’t let it get me down too much because I had a second house to get to right away so I didn’t have time to overthink things for too long. Ben was a strange experience. After we went through the house tour, the girl started talking about how she loved going out and clubbing. Since I didn’t really have similar interests as her, I didn’t have much to talk about. Then, another girl came and they started grilling me about if I liked dressing up in different costumes, and it made me really uncomfortable. I was so caught off guard that I don’t even think I gave a coherent answer to their questions. I left feeling really confused and not sure what just happened. But their house was super nice and I really liked some of the girls I met before the conversation got weird. Next, I went to Chandler, and I was so excited to come here. I think my energy really showed through because I hit it off with every single girl. One girl and I swapped embarrassing stories and we were both laughing so hard. When the second girl came to talk to me, all three of us ended up laughing and talking about our embarrassing moments. With the second girl, we talked about our passion for eating hot dogs and going to baseball games just for the food. I loved talking to her, and once again I left feeling so happy and glowing. I just wanted to be in this house so bad already. Plus, they have a really cool house with so many amazing traditions and I could just really see myself here. My next visit was with Janice. I saw the girl from yesterday again and again we had such a great conversation. Their house is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It’s so big and they have so many cute decorations that I absolutely loved and reminded me of my own room back home. I talked to this other girl too and we just bonded over our similar taste in jewelry. To be honest, everyone I talked to in this house was just so personable and I could definitely see myself being their sister. However, I was so in love with the previous house that it was hard for me to fully give my heart to this house. Rachel was the next house I had a party at. I absolutely loved them. I met a girl from my state and we ended up sitting in one of the many beautiful bedrooms and just talking about how we missed so many things about home. We had so many things in common that it was really just like looking in a mirror. We honestly talked for so long that we had messed up her bump schedule! When we went downstairs, I saw a girl from the previous day and we had a nice conversation too. I talked to a third girl, and her boyfriend actually goes to school in my home state, so we bonded over that too. These girls are so genuine, and I could really see myself fitting in here just because everyone is so down to earth and they don’t try to put up a front by pretending to be something they’re not. I wanted to come back here. I went to Susan next, and it was just a really strange experience. I was double rushed with another girl in my group, and it really seemed like the two of them hit it off much better than I did. The house was pretty nice but when we were standing outside waiting to go inside, we definitely saw one or two rats running around in their front yard, which really freaked a lot of us out. I really didn’t have the best time at this party, but I was glad that I got to see them again. Phoebe was my next house tour. Honestly, their house was pretty nice but I had the most awkward conversation with the girl who was telling me about their philanthropy. Even though we both liked country music, she didn’t ever have much to say about anything, so I felt like I was the one guiding the conversation the whole time. Their philanthropy presentation was really cute, and I loved how it really hit home for me. I left this house feeling unsure, because I loved the house, just not the conversation I had today. The last house of the day was Gunther. To be honest, I was so tired already and I found myself really trying to make conversation with the girl giving me house tours. She seemed tired as well, which I could understand. After she left me, another girl who was from my home state came and started talking to me. I thought that was pretty cool and we did have some things in common to talk about. Even though I was tired, that got me through the party and I left liking them a little more than I did last night. When we went to go rank, my five number 1’s were: Phoebe Rachel Chandler Ben Janice And my 2, 3, and 4 respectively were: Gunther Susan Carol |
I am really enjoying reading about your recruitment experience.
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I burst out laughing over the girl at Ben asking you about dressing up in costumes!!! How bizarre!! Really enjoying this and can't wait to hear where you end up!
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I am loving this story! I'm rooting for Chandler because I can tell you are so in love with them, BUT you have such great options and it's awesome to see you're keeping an open mind.
Han in there, you're doing great! :) |
I'm just rooting for Chandler because he's my favorite character on the show :D
Can't wait to see how things turn out! |
Best of luck! I'm partial to Phoebe!
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That is bizarre. I was wanting the OP to tell us that she replied ,"Why yes, I love dressing up in costumes. My two favorites are Elmo and Elvira, the Mistress of Dark!" |
I have to wonder if Rachel is Kappa Delta or Kappa Kappa Gamma because once on the show, Rachel says she was a "Kappa Kappa Delta." :-)
LOVE a Friends theme! Hoping the right chapter "gets off the plane" for you! :-) |
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I'm loving your story as well and cannot wait for your next post!
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If she gets Janice, will she yell "OH... MY... GAWD!" as she runs to her new sisters on Bid Day? :D |
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I'm rooting for Chandler! (I'm the Chandler in my group of friends, so he's always been my favorite!) |
Fun story! Can't wait to read more. My daughter was in a sorority at UCLA and graduated in 2012. I was wondering if ChioLu had any of the numbers for this year? How many girls registered? How many ended up accepting a bid? What was quota?
Regarding the question about dressing in costumes, it may have been asked in a vague way, but playing dress up is a really big deal in UCLA sororities. Many of the exchanges with fraternities are themed and you dress up for them. For example: "Rep your home town" means you might wear a sports jersey from a hometown pro team, "Favorite Disney movie" you would dress up as Tinkerbelle or Peter Pan, "When I Grow Up I Want To Be A..." you might dress as a doctor or a banker or a nun, etc... you get the idea. So the reference to dressing in costumes was related to that. Also....WHAT THE #*@& regarding seeing RATS in front of a sorority house?? I've been on that row many times and inside a few of the houses. The front yards are very clean and maintained as are the sorority houses! Never heard that one before! EEEWWWWW! |
I have numbers. They are good.
I'll post after bruinlove13 -- & another thread that is UCLA -- finish their stories, so I don't steal their thunder. But let's just say ... 81%! |
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Hey everyone! Sorry for posting so late. I've been having so much fun with my sisters. :rolleyes:
Here goes! Entertainment round!!!! I could not wait for this round just because I really feel like we would finally see what each sorority was really about. I was hoping for a great schedule, since I really wanted to find a good fit for me. I hurried over to my Rho Gamma and when I opened my schedule, I saw… Phoebe Rachel Chandler Janice Ben It was the perfect schedule!!! I was so happy and I could not wait to get to my parties. First I went to Phoebe. A girl I had previously talked to came up to me again and we had a nice conversation. But I could not for the life of me think of anything to say to her for some reason and I feel like I ended up repeating myself a lot. The next girl I talked to was really pretty but once again, I felt like the conversation was lacking. It seemed like they had a pretty strong sisterhood because they all were laughing and cheering on their sisters during the skit. Their skit had its funny moments and it really was cute. I left feeling pretty good about my day, and hoping for some clear indications of which houses I would love to be in. Chandler was next. I was so happy to be here. I LOVED them. I saw a girl I had met before and we hit it off instantly like I had been there the whole time. I talked to another girl but not for very long before the third girl came to take me inside to watch their presentation. Their skit was so funny, and I was laughing so hard the whole time. They also showed us a big slideshow full of sisterhood stuff they do and why they all love being in Chandler so much. I fell in love with this house even more and I just wanted to be in it right then and there. I didn’t want to set my heart on one house too much, but it was just too easy to fall in love with these girls. I went to Janice next and I was actually feeling pretty good about this house. I loved their skit because they were quoting so many of my favorite movie quotes and I thought it was pretty funny. They honestly seem to have one of the best sisterhoods on the row because their slideshow showcasing the different aspects of their sorority was just so touching and genuine and I loved that about them. I really felt like I have had genuine conversations in this house consistently throughout the whole process. I left this house feeling a little torn just because these girls were so sweet and I knew that they would make me feel at home no matter what. Next was Rachel. I could not wait to come back here again because I liked these girls more and more every time I visited. What I discovered is that the girls here are so real and down to earth, and they aren’t afraid to be casual. I realized that they didn’t try to pretend to put up a front and be something that they’re not, and I felt so relieved that I knew exactly what I was getting myself into if I end up joining here. Their skit was super funny and I was laughing a lot the whole time. However, the last part of the skit turned a little serious. They chose to sing a song that was on the radio but make it all about Rachel, and it was just two girls singing about why they called this house their home. It actually made me tear up a little, and I know most of the sorority women were crying too. I left this house feeling so good, and I couldn’t help but want to get to know these people some more. My last house of the day was Ben . Their skit was pretty funny too, and they weren’t afraid to show their dorky side, which I really liked. The girls seemed to really like me, and I got to see some girls from my previous days. But when I walked out of the house, I didn’t remember any of the conversations that I had, and I honestly didn’t know if I could totally relax and see myself here. Overall though I was still happy with what this house seemed like they could offer me. That night, we ranked 2 houses as our number 1. Then we rank 3 houses as our number 2, 3, and 4. My 2 number 1’s were: Chandler Rachel And my 2, 3, and 4 respectively were: Janice Phoebe Ben |
I always liked Chandler! Can't wait to see where you ended up.
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My vote is for Chanandler Bong.
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That's MS. Chanandler Bong!
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Preference round is finally here!! I was so happy that I was so close to being part of a new family. I felt really good about the top two houses that I had ranked as my number 1, so I couldn’t wait to see them both today!
I walked as fast as I could to my counselor and when I opened up my schedule, it said: Rachel Janice I couldn't believe it. Where was Chandler??? I was so devastated. Why did I not get invited back? We were just hysterically laughing yesterday and having the time of our lives. I thought they liked me. Why didn’t the girls want me back? Did I do something wrong? Was this some horrible mistake? I stood there in shock for a good 5 or 6 minutes with all these questions racing through my head. My Rho Gamma tried comforting me and told me that sometimes even though a house might really like a girl, it just doesn’t always work out for various reasons. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what had gone wrong. I was so mad at myself for setting my heart on one house and failing to keep a truly open mind. Now, I felt like I had to start all over again since Chandler wasn’t in the picture anymore. I tried shaking off my nerves and I put on a big smile and went over to Janice, which was my first party of the day. I felt terrible when I got there because all the girls who I had talked to the previous days were all so excited to see me and were giving me hugs, and even though I tried to show them that I was excited to be back, I still felt like I wasn’t giving myself 100%. It wasn’t fair of me to do that, and I did feel bad about that after I had left. However, the plus side is that I enjoyed their preference ceremony a lot and I thought that it was amazing how every girl in the sorority knew the words to all the songs and some girls were hugging each other. Some of the seniors were crying because this was their last preference round. Some of the girls rushing were crying too because it really was beautiful. I left the house feeling better, but not completely okay yet. I was glad I was going to Rachel next because I actually really liked them these past few days. When I got to Rachel, I immediately got paired with the girl who was from my home state and she took me to a room. She didn’t stay for very long, but I was so happy to see a familiar face that was so welcoming. The next girl that came in was someone I had really felt a connection with. She read me the creed of the sorority, and it really hit home. I told her about how I missed home so much sometimes and how this creed really meant so much to me because it really embodies all the values I’ve learned growing up, so this was such a nice reminder of home for me. I think I may have shed a tear or two, but she said that she thought it was really great of me to open up to her like that, which I appreciated. Their ceremony was amazing too. A couple of girls wrote a letter telling us about their unique experience with Rachel and how it had always been home to them even through trying times. I knew in that moment that this was what I had wanted all along. After thinking about it, I realized that even though Chandler had made me super happy, I could never have imagined it being a true home to me. I loved the connections I’ve made there, but maybe I wasn’t the best fit for that house. Rachel was where I wanted to be, and I only just realized it then. Ranking was easy, and I hoped and prayed that I would get my first choice. My number 1 was Rachel, and I put Janice as my number two. Later that night, we all went down to receive our bids. I was so nervous I didn’t even want to go for fear that Rachel didn’t want me. I had already gotten rejected once, so I didn’t want to go through that again. I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it. All the Rho Gammas revealed which house they were in, and turns out that mine was a Monica!! I was super excited when I found that out. After the big reveal, we were able to go get our bid cards. Before I opened mine, I promised myself that I would be happy with whatever I ended up with, regardless if it was my number 1 or not. Then, with shaky hands and a pounding heart, I ripped open my bid envelope as fast as I could. I flipped my bid card over, only to see that I had received a bid from… RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also known as… CHI OMEGA!!!!!!! I was screaming and jumping up and down, and I ran over to where my new sisters were holding our letters as fast as I could. I was so happy to finally go home and to meet my sisters. These past few days, we have been doing a lot of social activities and getting-to-know-you stuff, and I’ve been having the time of my life. I had so much fun at the house on bid night. All my new sisters were so welcoming and I have never felt so loved in my life. I can’t wait to get back to daily life, but I know that it’ll be better than before because now I have a second family to always have my back, girls who have made this journey unforgettable and with whom I hope to make so many great memories with!!!! (I know that was super cheesy, but I am beyond in love with them!) I am so excited for this journey and I am SO VERY happy that Chi O “got off the plane” for me!! |
Congratulations!
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YAY! CHI OMEGA!
I figured out who Rachel was yesterday. I totally teared up at the song. They are singing it when our National President comes next week. Be at the brunch -- most chapters will never have the National President visit their campus during their time in school. |
Congratulations! Now that we know Rachel is Chi Omega- What is the song?
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Congratulations on your new home!
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From "Hey Ho" to "Chi O" |
Very cool :) I was trying to think of what popular songs out there right now would be good recruitment songs. That is definitely a good one. "I belong with you, you belong with me"... clever :)
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Congratulations!
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Congratulations!
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Rachel got off the plane! (BTW, I still mist up every time I see that scene!) Congratulations to you and Chi Omega!
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I posted #s on the NPC Recruitment & Chapter Listings Thread (page 35) with more details & other info. Posting here since there was a request a few pages ago.
Quota: 66 -- 46 Freshmen, 20 Upperclass Below #s ... 1st # is amount of members in each chapter prior to Recruitment 2nd # is amount of New Members (in parenthesis is Freshman total + Upperclass total) 3rd # is total in each chapter following Recruitment Alpha Chi Omega 85 59 (48+11) 144 Alpha Delta Pi 132 66 (46+20) 198 Alpha Phi 114 65 (46+18) 179 Chi Omega 115 67 (48+19) 182 Delta Delta Delta 69 42 (32+10) 111 Delta Gamma 125 65 (47+18) 190 Gamma Phi Beta 121 67 (49+18) 188 Kappa Alpha Theta 123 67 (47+20) 190 Kappa Delta 108 65 (47+18) 173 Kappa Kappa Gamma 120 66 (46+20) 186 Pi Beta Phi 99 68 (49+19) 167 Totals: 1211 - Sorority Members Prior to Recruitment 697 - New Members from Fall 2013 Recruitment 1908 - Total after Recruitment Panhellenic Totals: Average Chapter Size: 173 Chapter Total: 170 |
Congrats! I'm so late to the party, but wanted to send some Bruin love your way.
ChioLu - you must be so excited! A recruitment story with a Chi O ending AND at the school where you advise! |
Is Carol, the musty house a thing? I think I remember reading about it (or another house that smelt bad) in a past UCLA story
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I know we have some West Coast PNMs this year who would like this one!
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