Need Help With Recruitment
 

Hello,

I have just transferred to MTSU this summer. I am 23 and am 3 credit hours short of being a Sophmore. I had originally went to college for a semester when I was 18 but wanted to be out in the "real world". For the past 2 years, I have been working full-time and attending a community college 1-2 classes/semester. I have been working up the corporate ladder for the past few years until I hit a dead end in my career due to not having a degree. I decided to go for it and head back to school. So, here I am. Ready to rock!

I am really excited about recruitment. Though to be honest, I know next to nothing about sororities, except what I have read on a few websites. I am the first to even attempt college in my family, so that has been a huge accomplishment to me and my family. Any information anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated. The sororities on campus are:

Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Chi Omega
Zeta Tau Alpha
Delta Zeta
Kappa Delta
Chi Omega

I need help with what to expect, what to do, how much it cost, anything and everything sorority related. Thanks for all your help in advance! It is greatly appreciated!
Vanessa

Man, all of you MTSU girls! Must be a good Greek system because you girls seem to be beating down the sorority houses doors! :D

It's also nice to see so many non-traditional students rushing there. Welcome to GC, devoted04!

I would do a search for you, but I think you can simply get a lot of information from two resources:

1. Two other girls are going to be going through Formal Recruitment there also. MTSUgurl is one of them... she sticks out because of her ID and the fact that she is a regular here!

2. Read through the first page of threads. It may seem overwhelming, but you do have a month to do it.

Sorority costs depend on the chapter itself and many other factors. Please keep in mind that, for the most part, ALL of your costs are included, and include (inter)national membership dues (which are usually not much more than $50/year). Sometimes living expenses are also included.

As for dress... well that's been the hot topic lately! I'd talk to one of the girls at your school or see if they offer a Recruitment catalog there. Sundresses seem to be rather popular at this point in time, so you won't have to get a new Prom dress or anything, but just make sure you look nice... no need to try to be Barbie!

Whew, I hope that helped.

congrats on rushing!!!! and on being the first in your family to attempt college, that's so inspiring :) you should expect a lot of fun from recruitment, it's a great way to meet all kinds of people and get involved...a lot of girls buy lots of clothes and shoes and jewelry especially for sorority recruitment, but my advice is that, if you're going to buy new stuff, make sure that you'll actually wear it down the road...one of my friends went through recruitment last year, bought a ton of stuff and never wore some of it again...i would also definitely contact the sorority council leadership if there is one and get some more information about the chapters on your campus...they can also tell you more about the rush environment and what to expect every day during rush...GOOD LUCK! :D :D :D

Rush advice
 

That's so awesome you want to rush while getting the degree you need.
I would recommend to focus on what grade you are in school-wise -- that you are almost a sophomore, because that shows you will be there a while.
At my chapter (Zeta Tau Alpha at UW in Seattle) being 23 looks kinda different though; we still took a 22 year old junior one year, but I heard rush is a lot harder down south. Just make sure you are prepared for a hard rush, and DO NOT get disappointed! :) Get as many references as you can, visit alumnae chapters; there are listings on most national sorority websites. I'm an RC this year, so my advice is to just be yourself and have fun; it all works out for the best!!!

minizeta
 

Minizeta, I tried to PM you but it wouldn't let me. I wanted to talk to you about your living in Washington.

Good luck with recruitment in the fall from a fellow Tennessee PNM!

Hi, Vanessa~

I am a ZTA Murfreesboro Alumna. I can give you a little insight about the MTSU greek system. Feel free to contact me, and we can chat.

Minimum GPA is 2.5 to go through recruitment. Also, your first semester will be the most expensive, but then the dues will decrease. However, since we do not have sorority houses on our campus, dues are not all that expensive.

Good luck, and just have fun!

Heather

Yes, definitely keep this in mind! Pledge semester costs look staggering (you should've seen the look on my parents' face when they saw my bills! :D ), but it will decrease.

Good luck and have fun!

AWWW YAAY! Wow there really are alot of us MTSU girls on here now I remember when it was like just Jessica(zetaluvbunny) and I! anyways Vanessa, have you gone to the greek life office and gotten an application yet? The application also tells a little about recruitment and the requirements and also the dates of rush. If need anything else at all....just give me a shout! I will be more than happy to help!

Nichole

Vanessa - I cannot wait to get started! Can you? I am so excited that there is more PNMs other than just me from MTSU
on here - we have all got to get together and be excited and neurotic in one place.

Thank you!
 

Thank you all for your support. I am SUPER excited...and super nervous.

Crystal-DEFINITELY excited! I can't wait to start!!!

Nichole-I just read about your "situation"!! You poor thing!!! Good luck!!!

I tried to swing by the greek life office this evening but the building was already locked up. I am going first thing tomorrow.

This may sound silly, but do the girls usually start dressing up from the beginning (information meeting on Aug 15) or can I go casual and just be myself?

thanks....and you gals ROCK!
Vanessa

Questions
 

Someone suggested that I check out some of the other threads for information...and boy, did I get a lot of info! I do have a few questions though....

What is pref night?? How many different sororities can you list as your top choices? I read something about suicide pref, what is that? If you only prefer for 1 sorority, can another sorority still choose you? Or can you only be chosen for the ones you prefer? I am so lost on this whole process. I know it will all be explained during recruitment....but I can't wait that long!!!! :)

Thanks!
Vanessa

I'll try to go in order lol.

Preference Night is the final night of Formal Recruitment. The chapters that invite you are seriously considering you for membership. It is a beautiful night where all the sororities appeal to you to join, and basically, it's how you decide to rank the groups.

At the end of the night, you will rank the sororities you were invited back to. Some girls rank only one, and that is called suiciding. It's considered bad by some, but either way, it should only be done if you decide you are only comfortable with ONE sorority, and you would be miserable with the other ones. If you suicide, that one sorority is the only one that you can possibly receive a bid from. If you rank more than one you are eligible for a bid from any one of those groups on your preference card. Depending on where you appear on bid lists, and the order in which you rank the sororities will determine who you receive a bid from.

I'm not going to even get into bid matching, because even though I've been a sister for nearly 3 years, it's still just so incredibly complex.

Re: Thank you!
 

I know that I am not going to dress up for orientation*if I go* thats just not really me. I hate having to really dress up in the first place only because i feel it shouldnt matter what clothes you wear but who you are, I didnt really DRESS UP when I did recruitment but it was informal then too. but I will probably dress casually at the orientation meeting.

Nichole

bid
 

So at what point during recruitment can you be dropped?

What is usually involved before pref night?

I'm assuming you get to visit each sorority and learn about them...will that only be n the informational meetings?

Everyone keeps telling me to slow down and enjoy it! hehe BUT I AM JUST SO EXCITED!!!

Vanessa

Ok the first night is Values night and you usually go to the chapter rooms of each sorority and youre there I believe 30 mins Im trying to remember how long it was from last fall anyways you meet one or 2 girls usually sometimes more but you dont have too much time for that.

night 2 is the philanthropy night which is usually held in the JUB and each sorority tells you about their philanthropy. and of course you talk to some more girls you wont get the same girl back that you met the last night because of course they want as many girls as possible to meet you and you want the same!

Night 3 is the theme night. These are my favorite! each sorority has a certain theme to their nights and they are usually really cute good and funny. anyways you usually dont have as much time to talk durring this night b/c most preform skits and things.

the final night is preference night this night is one of the sweetest and most emotional nights I have ever seen! Its a very special night where the sorority tells you how they feel about their sisters and the sorority and all that. I cried:) but thats just me. lol

anyways after each night you narrow down your choices and the soority narrows down theres. I believe you can only attend 2 pref parties and then you put your top choice down and if they decide on you also then its a great thing and a wonderful bid day:) hehe

I know this doesnt explain too much and Im sure everyone will be able to help a little more but I havent done it in a year lol :)


Nichole

Nichole, I am so glad that we have someone on here with a little bit of insight to Recruitment at MTSU. We seem to have a lot of PNMs from there on here and I hate not knowing what to tell them!

Vanessa, don't worry about being so excited! We are very happy to see women who are enthusiastic about Greek Life in here (and of course, guys are welcome too, but they don't seem to make as many threads).

Good luck to all of you MTSUers!

I think Nichole pretty much covered everything. I, personally, would not dress up for the orientation. If there is one thing that I can stress, be yourself! Also, relax, and have a wonderful time.

I think most anything else you want to know,you will discover in orientation. Good luck, ladies!

heather

Yeah, i wouldn't stress about dressing up for orientation, but i would be conscious of who you're around, i.e. don't dress like a TOTAL bum ;) but make sure you're relaxed and comfortable...it's all about how you carry yourself and if you come across some greek girls, make a good impression by being your fun and casual stuff...that way, they can see that you're intelligent, articulate and fun whether dressed down or dressed up :D

When I went to the orientation last year, there were girls in dresses, skirts, jeans, I wore khakis, I saw girls in workout clothes... I don't really think it matters. I prefer to dress up a little because I feel more confident and at ease when I do. I won't be wearing a dress, but I will definitely give a little more thought to my appearance than I would if I were just going to class. Then again, dressed up for me means anything other than jeans...

great!!
 

You all have been so helpful! THANK YOU!!! :) I guess I'm just really nervous because I've been in the corporate world for the past 2 years and it's not really all that social...unless you find the right people! So it's not a completely new thing to me...it's just been a long time since I've tried to "make friends". I'll be fine though. My boyfriend keeps telling me I'll do fine as well. He'd know best, right? haha

Ok...so I guess my last question is this.....

SparkliiMTSU said:
anyways after each night you narrow down your choices and the soority narrows down theres. I believe you can only attend 2 pref parties and then you put your top choice down and if they decide on you also then its a great thing and a wonderful bid day hehe

So I have to choose 2 sororities out of 8 for the pref party, and then 1 for my pref? If that is so, then what happens if you don't get your choice? Can another sorority bid on you or can you bid on another sorority? Or do you have to wait until next year and do it all over again?

Again, Thank you all for being so sweet and so helpful. I really appreciate it. I hope my "possible future sisters" are as sweet as all of you!

Sincerely
Vanessa

Re: great!!
 

Vanessa... if they say you can only attend 2 prefs, at the end of the night you rank how you liked those 2 sororities. Say you attend ABC and DE. You like DE best, but still like ABC, so you rank DE first and ABC second. When they do bid-matching, you will hopefully either be placed with DE or ABC.

If you don't get a choice you are happy with, well, you can choose not to accept the bid, but you are bound to it for a year, and have to wait that long until you could accept a bid from another group. If for some reason you do not receive a bid, you are up for grabs for any group that did not make quota, or did make quota but is still below total.

Dress
 

I am so bummed! I shopped EVERYWHERE this past weekend and today...and I couldn't find 1 dress that I liked. Would it be bad if I didn't wear a dress? Could I wear a skirt and shirt or even dressy slacks?

I know this sounds like a funny note to be adding to my thread....but I'll be giving almost EVERY insight to how rush is going and what I am feeling! :) It will be a funny thread though because some of you may get to see how emotional I am! haha

FYI-I filled out my application and dropped it off today. I am still so excited! I am ready for the next 3 weeks to go by.

Hi, Vanessa!

I am happy to hear that you are so excited about recruitment. You do not have to wear a dress on pref. HOwever, I would wear a dressy skirt, no pants.

That is just me. However, most all PNMs wear a dress or skirt for this particular night.

Hope I helped! Good luck!

Heather

yeah you dont have to wear a dress but I would warn you to wear something a little colorful or that has some color to it. Ive noticed that most of the sororites if not all here wear black on their pref nights. And you want to stand out *not too much lol* but enough to be noticed and remembered of course.


Nichole

Dress part 2
 

Great! Thank you just1STA and SparkliiQTMTSU.

So, another silly question, what about the other nights? I know I shouldn't go as casual as torn jeans and a rock t-shirt :) but do rushees usually get all dressed up each night (I think we established other than orientation). Don't get me wrong, I love dressing up...I do it every day at work! I just didn't know if a jeans skirt and nice shirt would suffice.

Thanks again for all your help and support. This is the best website I have stumbled across. You guys are so much help!

All my love,
Vanessa

Most of the girls Ive seen go through rush here do dress up a bit.. not talking fancy smancy or anything just like kahki skirt and nice shirt or a cute little dress something along those lines. Im trying to remember if I saw anyone wearing jeans last year I believe a couple of people did but they were nice jeans with nice shirts that offset the fact that they were wearing jeans.


Nichole

HEY! I was just wondering if you found out who your Rho Sigma was or anything yet? :)

***5 MORE DAYS!!!***

Nichole

And it begins....
 

So, it is the beginning....

I received a letter from my Rho Sigma describing each night where I need to be and/or explaining what we will be doing. I then receive a phone call from her today asking me to stop by to pick up a packet she prepared for her group. We met, she is so sweet, and went over all the stuff in the packet. It got me more and more excited for recruitment to begin. FRIDAY!!! YAY!!!

Not too much else has been going on other than my last day of work is Wed and then recruitment begins Friday. I am so nervous too. I really like my Rho Sigma so far. She is very sweet and I feel at ease talking with her. I think that is going to help. She seems a little shy or overwhelmed, I couldn't really tell which...but I'm sure that will die down some.

Anyway, I'm sorry it's not too exciting yet. But I am getting excited...there is so much going on around here right now. Crazy! If anyone is in Group 29, send me a message!!! Or if you are in another group and are as excited (and nervous) as I am, send me a message as well! :)

Im definitly starting to get just as excited as you :) seeing as how we pretty much only have 3 more days left :) EEk now is the time when i need to start picking out my clothes :( grrr I swear I have nothing to wear lol


Nichole

good luck....and have a ball.
you never know what might be ahead.

Best of luck to you this week! Have a blast!

hope you have fun today!

Just another post to wish you luck at MTSU! :)

Rockin' Recruitment
 

So, as most of you know....today was the first day of recruitment. Let me start by saying, I had a BLAST!!! I really didn't know what to expect coming into this. When I was younger I was sort of "anti-greek" due to all the rumors you hear when you are younger. I think now that I am older and wiser, I am able to let myself just be myself and enjoy the recruitment. So far, I totally do not regret any decisions I have made.

We started with an orientation meeting where I learned a lot about the recruitment process, what to wear, what to expect, etc. Then we met with our Rho Sigma to go over some more information.

Later, we met up and went to Greekfest which was a huge "free food" festival with all the greeks. We are able to mingle and meet people. This was the best time for me. I met a lot of girls from different sororities which was great. I got a small insight to which sorority sisters I felt comfortable talking to...and which sisters were there because they had to be. Don't worry. I am not basing my decision on just this day, but it did help a lot.

Then we met up with our groups again and watched a movie in the knoll. Most of our group left and the rest of us decided to head out half way through the movie since we had a) seen it already b) had a long day tomorrow.

So that's about it. I don't think I will be posting names of sororities until after only because I don't want to jinx it and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings either. I think it's just better that way. But I will say that I had a great time tonight and I looking forward to tomorrow, as well as the days after that! Wish me luck....and good luck again to those of you going through recruitment as well! :)

Love, V.

Glad you had fun at orientation!!! We are so glad to have so many awesome PNMs from MTSU this year!! YAY!

Sounds like you had a great time at orientation! Can't wait to hear more tomorrow!

Keep us posted hon