![]() |
A note to the Florida PNM's
Just a word about the Florida schools' sorority recruitment, as I know we have a few Florida students on the boards.
1) Please contact your university's office of student activities or Greek Life to get the 4-1-1 on Greek Life at your university, including any questions you have about recruitment. Don't take Greek Chat as gospel. We're just giving you our opinions, based on our experiences at various schools, some of which are Florida schools. 2) Recs. Some of the Florida universities have huge numbers of PNM's going through recruitment, and others don't. It doesn't hurt to get a recommendation from an alum for each sorority at your campus. We have a thread in the Rush forum where you can contact alumnae. It is titled "Recommendations." That being said, ONE RECOMMENDATION PER SORORITY IS SUFFICIENT FOR PNM'S GOING THROUGH RECRUITMENT AT A FLORIDA SCHOOL. Six recs to one sorority do not do any more to improve your chances at that sorority. It just creates unnecessary paperwork for the sorority. 3) Attire. Dress classy, and wear stylish but comfortable shoes. Strapless sun dresses are fine, but not if your boobs are bursting out. Bring a cardigan or shawl if you go strapless -- the icy cold A/C in the houses will make you wish you were outside in the sun! Keep your make-up minimal and wear waterproof mascara. The Florida sun in August is relentless. Wear sunscreen and bring blotting papers to absorb face oil and bring water to drink. Lip gloss is your friend! Silicon styling products (like Frizz-Ease, available at any drugstore, target, etc...) for your hair will minimize frizz. Bring a discrete hair tie and a comb for fix-ups and a little mirror. Your recruitment counselor will hold these things for you as you go into each house. Yes, your makeup will melt, so keep everything in individual plastic baggies. Again, minimal makeup=less melting. It's also a good idea to carry listerine disolvable breath strips, because you're going to be talking to lots of people. Don't wear a watch; you will be tempted to check the time and it looks like you aren't interested. Florida schools also have tried to go to a "no frills" recruitment, meaning your dress is more casual. With this in mind, you can never be too dressed up. If the attire calls for denim shorts, wear khaki. Better yet, wear a sundress. You will stand out, and look classier and more polished. You might also bring a pair of flip flops to walk down the street in, and your "dress shoes" for right before you go into the houses. Don't bring a purse or cell phone into the houses. Your Recruitment Counselor will guard everything!!! Another word on clothes: the "Ann Talor" and "Banana Republic" look is a great way to define classy. You can duplicate these styles at those stores, as well as find similar, less expensive clothes of that sort at a dept store, Old Navy, Gap, etc... (Florida is also the home of the Outlet Malls, so take advantage!) 4) Conversation. You will be asked the same questions over and over again through the week. Be gracious, smile and go into this experience to make new friends. Do your "homework" by looking at the chapter and national websites to learn a little more about the sororities. This way, you can ask them questions about their programs (good questions to ask are about their social events, charities, why the sister you are talking to chose to join XYZ, etc.) Avoid controversial topics like politics, religion and drugs/sex/alcohol, just as you would with any first impression interview or meeting. Talk about your summer, your hobbies, majors, school spirit, sorority life, etc. As you meet new people, try to find something in common with each person you speak with (even if that something in common is your favorite TV show or your travels to the Bahamas). Don't allow other PNM's perceptions of sororities cloud your judgement and vice versa. Keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to talking to PNMs about perceptions of the houses, but do talk about them with your recruitment counselor. Don't ever bash any sorority to a PNM, sister or recruitment counselor. It could come back to haunt you. Keep a little notebook and record your observations at night. It will help you keep everything straight in your head as you get closer to Bid Day. Also, don't discount any of the houses. Keep your options open. With houses filled with about 70-180 women, you could well fit in at any of them! Don't be a drama queen and pout like a 4 year old if your perceived top house cuts you. There are other options. 5) Refreshments. Most of the houses will offer water or soda. Always accept. Sip, but don't guzzle, and yes, if you have to go to the bathroom, try to hold it until you have a break in the day. Why? You have a limited opportunity to meet these women, and the time you spend in the bathroom is time you could be meeting more people. Sounds absurd, but there are 1000 other women competing for the same spot in the house. Others may argue with my assessment of this very silly notion, and so be it. This is just my advice. The parties are brief, and there are a lot of people to meet. 6) Carry yourself like a classy lady. When you are out in public in the days leading up to recruitment and in the evenings after recruitment events, act like a lady. Word travels quickly on the Greek Grapevine. 7) Post-recruitment. Get involved on campus! The Florida schools have tons of great activities to be a part of. Sorority Life is just one of these ways to meet friends. Try to have a life outside of the sorority. You will meet more people who could be future sisters, too, and you will have another great hobby to enjoy! Florida sorority women, feel free to chime in! |
Excellent Advice!
|
I think it's great advice! I go to a private school in Florida, but even though we dont have a huge Greek system (four sororities) Recruitment is very competitive due to the large number of women who go through.
|
Wonderful advice!!! I know it would fit perfectly for many schools (like UGA!).
|
I think all the Florida schools rush in August - I know FSU and UF do - so be prepared for rain! Not just umbrellas, but clothes that will hold up, shoes that won't bleed colors all over your feet, waterproof mascara, hair that you can fix if it melts, etc. Also be prepared for the schedule of parties to be altered in case of thunderstorms.
|
Amen on the umbrellas. You're going to need them anyway if you're living in Florida.
And I'm not talking the little teeny ones. You need a big friggin golf umbrella (with the hurricane proofing so it doesn't flip inside out). One of those little ones will protect your hair and that's about it. The rest of you will be soaked. |
Also depending on the Florida school, try to get recs from girls who where in the chapters at that particular school. I know at UF this is true, they hold more weight than recs from other members. And I know this isnt the way it should be but it is in some chapters.
|
FYI - Recruitment at Stetson University will take place in October (as it does every year) and it will be the weekend AFTER Fall Break. Fall break will be October 11-12 so I believe Recruitment will start on Thursday, October 14th. Registration for recruitment will begin in September (most likely). Keep an eye out for flyers and banners in the CUB.
ETA: October in Florida is still VERY warm and hurricane season so watch the weather and bring a small umbrella just in case. :) I remember my sophmore year feeling so bad for the girls going through rush during hurricane floyd - not fun. Also, I know someone mentioned bringing a change of shoes. This is NOT needed at Stetson - all the houses are right next to each other - you won't be walking hardly at all. |
One more bit of advice on what to bring with you to recruitment: deoderant and body spray. It is hot and you will get sweaty which means by the end of the day you will be smelly. Especially at the big Florida schools where you could be visiting up to 10 sororities in one day (like UCF). Most Rho Gamma will give you a big plastic bag; you can keep your deoderant in there to reapply before parties. Bring body spray to give yourself an extra spritz. DO NOT WEAR PERFUME. The scent is way too overwhelming and when you're crowded into a house with a bunch of girls your perfume could be almost suffocating to those around you.
Bring a small snack to munch on between parties. It's a long day and Panhellenic doesn't have enough money to feed you (bad joke...but, in a way, it's true). After going to a bunch of parties, sitting out in the sun, and talking to a bunch of girls all day, you will have zero energy. Bring some Goldfish Crackers or Pretzels; basically, a snack that won't leave you with offensive breath and chunks of food in your teeth. Please, please, please bring something. The year that I rushed (and I'm sure adpiucf remembers this) parties got held up for an hour because a girl passed out due to being famished. All the PNMs and Rho Chis got to sit out in the blazing sun while the Paramedics came to rescue her. Not fun. |
Holy Scmoly ... what a gauntlet ... all this talk about the heat is making me sweat! Just a thought ... I don't know what they are called, but there is stuff you can buy in drugstores (I think) that you break open and they are like instant ice. Meant for a sports injury, but it occurs to me that they could really come in handy here when you need to cool down really quick. Crack it open and put it on the back of your neck and other pulse points. Could keep you from getting "dewey" ... Jeesh ... didn't know you needed a strategy just to stay dry and literally not stink at recruitment! Ha!
GOOD LUCK ALL YOU FLORIDA GIRLS !!!!! J. |
USF Recruitment
Well, since USF just got houses last year, Panhellenic decided to have it outdoors by the houses (they looked great). But August in Florida is horrible and all the PNMs including myself suffered greatly. I know this year we are going to minimize the sweating by moving the first day indoors. Not really sure about the rest of the days, but I know everything is going to be in the houses. They said something about fans and tents last year. Just make sure to bring some nice spray, an umbrella (for shade), water, towel, and make up. Good luck girls.
|
No rec's NEEDED for USF. That doesn't mean don't get them if you can.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this, I didn't see it. But along the same lines as perfume, if you smoke Please wait until the end of the day. Don't go into to parties reaking of cigarette smoke! |
UF
just a small note about uf recruitment:
you can and most probably will bring a purse or bag with all your stuff in it, and it is a tradition at uf that the sorority women take your bag and hold it for you during each round. don't be weirded out. EVERY chapter does this. your pi chi will not hold your bag for you during the round. just make sure your cell phone is off or on silent because there's nothing worse than having a pnm's cell ring or vibrate while i was holding her bag. totally distracting. edited to add: and i totally forgot...you'll get a book called "the key to the greeks" with all kinds of information on all the chapters and greek life in general and places to write about each chapter after each round. your pi chi's will remind you after each round to fill it out, and i strongly recommend it...you'll need it later! just remember to put a pen in your purse so you can write your comments. |
OK, just for clarification, are all rounds at UF inside the houses? I know you have to wait outside but you do go in right (fingers crossed)!
-Jessica |
Quote:
yes they are all inside. but get prepared to do a lot of waiting outside |
UCF
For UCF, all rounds are in the houses. They all have strong A/C's!
Sororities that do not have a chapter house will be rushing out of fraternity houses. There will be tents and chairs set up outside of the houses, so you have some shade and a place to rest between parties. In the past, one of the fraternity houses has been used as a Panhellenic Hospitality House where you can get water, etc., and rest if you have long stretches between parties. Your recruitment counselor will hold your purse for you, as well as anything else you bring (like your umbrella, etc.). You may not bring anything into the house, and you may not take anything out of the house (ie: a softdrink or even a cocktail napkin). Again, please bring water and light snacks with you so you stay hydrated and don't pass out! EAT BREAKFAST!!!!! I cannot stress this enough! You are not going to get a chance to eat lunch due to the scheduling. Whatever breaks you may get in the day, it's not enough time to get to the student union, get food, and back to Greek Park. So eat something in the morning!!!!! UCF will give you a program booklet about Greek Life that has info about all the GLO's, Greek Life programming, and sections where you can make little notes. Recommendations are not required, but they do help! UCF has a lot of women going through recruitment each year. One recommendation per sorority is sufficient. Please be on time for recruitment events! A roommate of mine went though and got cut by a house on the first day because she just didn't show up; she slept in! Also, in the mornings before you come to recruitment events, please keep your phone turned on! Your recruitment counselor might need to call you with important information, like time changes or party information!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you go out at night, or you are on campus prior to recruitment, act like a lady! Your reputation precedes you at recruitment. Again, if you have any questions about recruitment, call the Office of Greek Life! |
UF Rush:
Dont worry about food or oil blotting papers youre pi chi will have them. They also carry tampons, deodorant, breath mints, brushes, etc. If you can possibly think you might need it the pi chis normally have it. Also at UF there are rounds will you'll be in the "lounge" because of how many girls are rushing we dont have enough sororities for all the rush groups. Meaning their are 20 groups of PNMs and only 16 sororities so you'll have 4 lounges during 1st round. In the lounges there will be drinks, chips, fruit and veggie trays. |
Ok just for more clarification...b/c I know some people on here went to UF (Michael :)) Bid day: casual or dressy? I thought my roommate wore a nice black dress to bid day last year, but maybe that was prefs? Any ideas?
|
Ditto with the deoderant,body spray, and breath strips. There are no worse turn offs than that. To me, carrying those things are more important than bringing excessive make-up and perfume. When I was in school as an active, we had to pop a breath mint into our mouth before EVERY party. By the end of the day, we were sick of them!! :)
Please go light and simple on the make-up. You are not going to a club, and by the end of the day in the heat it will look messy. And this may sound strange, but it really works: putting body powder between your thighs to avoid moisture. Since I live in Miami, FIU recruitment is the week of Sept 7th (week after Labor Day). The NPC organizations there are: AOII Alpha Xi Delta Delta Phi Epsilon Phi Mu Phi Sigma Sigma Delta Phi Omega Sigma Sigma Sigma Good luck to everyone - be YOURSELF and have FUN!!! |
Quote:
|
Here are my tips for Florida PNMs: when you have a long break in between the rounds, go home & take a shower. Sure, you'll have to reapply all your makeup, etc., but you're going to reapply it anyway...might as well have a fresh start.
Also, I never thought going to parties at night during rush was a good idea. There will ALWAYS be parties...but you won't always have the chance to make a good first impression when you're rushing. To HGL: Bid Day attire is similar to what you wore for first round. Good luck! |
Bid day is cute sundresses and capri pant outfits....like rounds 1 and 2.
|
UCF Bid Day is shorts and sneakers. You'll be given a sorority t-shirt to wear at your new sorority.
In the evening, the groups meet up again, this time wearing sundresses or cutesy girly going-out clothes for a nice dinner. |
For any PNMs going through Recruitment at USF, our Greek park is brand new and full of beautiful houses that are in a small community by themselves. Your only need for comfy shoes is to walk from the dorms, or from the parking garage to Greek Park. Tents are set up for you all to sit under, but I'd recommend bringing an umbrella for a) shade and b) rain, of course. You'll be given a bag to store all your belongings in. You might want to bring a small towel to sit on the grass in between parties, or to dry off in case you get stuck in a rain shower. On info night, your Pi Chi will go over what to wear during the week...Bid Day is very casual and you will receive a Panhellenic Recruitment shirt to wear before bids are given out. Most everyone wears jean or khaki shorts, skirts or capris on Bid Day.
I hope everyone going through at USF has an unbelievaBULL experience! If you have any questions, you can call the Greek Life Office at (813) 97-GREEK! Or feel free to PM me, I was a Pi Chi in 2002 and Panhellenic Exec 2003. |
Quote:
|
Or... just forget anything we said about this not being a major hurricane.
|
I think Charley is bypassing USF/Tampa, thank goodness. All dorms/Greek Park was evacuated as a precaution, though. Recruitment should be a go for Monday night, but PNMs might want to call the Greek Life Office during the day on Monday to make sure.
I wish all the rest of the FL people on here a safe and sound night through this storm. Hopefully no one had too much damage from Tropical Storm Bonnie and that Charley will pass through quickly. Good luck with Recruitment, hopefully all schools will be able to keep on schedule despite the weather! P.S. This hurricane the weekend before rush got me thinking...a lot of schools up north (where it's freezing in January) have recruitment in the Spring semester, while we in FL have it in August/Sept. right in the middle of hurricane season! Don't you think it should be the other way around?!!:p |
Saying a prayer that everyone in Florida will be safe and dry through these storms.
PNM's, I would recommend that if your recruitment begins this weekend to call your university and see if there are any changes in recruitment parties due to the weather. They may update their websites with this information or, if you have submitted an application, I'm fairly confident they will call all those who have registered for recruitment/email you/etc. if there are any changes. |
I heard on the radio that UCF will not be opening the dorms until Wednesday which will cause a lot of problems for the PNMs. I'm not sure if recruitment will be postponed. I'm going to guess that it will be since the hurricane came during Spirit Week and UCF mandated an evacuation of the campus.
|
Quote:
It would make for a much nicer recruitment for us to have it August. For us, it just rains in January when we have it. :( |
Quote:
UCF may just have to spread recruitment out over a few weekends. |
One of our house corp members called me and told me about some of the damage. On a positive note, there are some trees on the ADPi side of the lawn between ADPi and Alpha Xi that the house corp wanted to remove anyway... ;) Little things!!!
I hope all my UCF Greek sisters and the students, families, faculty, etc., are well, and I'm thankful that the only damages are to buildings that can be repaired, and not to PEOPLE, who are irreplaceable. Be safe! If recruitment is postponed, or if it isn't, I'm just glad everyone is ok!!!! |
I drove past Greek Park today and it didn't look like it faired well. There were trees down and shingles missing from all the roofs. :( It makes me sad because UCF Greek Park is so beautiful!
|
Here are some pics of the Tri Delta house and the Pi Phi house on Greek Row...
(lets hope I post pictures the correct way) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/BellaBerlee/b.jpg[/IMG] Pi Phi back of house.. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/BellaBerlee/a.jpg[/IMG] Tri Delta |
Quote:
|
Believe it or not- they are very lucky. The roof could've come off entirely.
|
This was on the UCF Greek Life Web Site (8/16/04) regarding the recruitment schedule post-hurricane:
SORORITY RECRUITMENT GREEK FORUM WILL STILL TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 17 AT 7:00 PM IN THE STUDENT UNION PEGASUS BALLROOM. IF ANY OTHER CHANGES IN THE WEEKS SCHEDULE NEED TO BE MAKE THEY WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT GREEK FORUM. |
Or how about being a USF student going to Orlando because parts where being evacuated and parents were starting to worry? LOL.... I was one of them but luckily I was in West Orlando.
|
I thought I would bump this thread as recruitment is coming up, and we seem to have a lot of PNMs posting about Florida schools!
Please read all the tips that they women have posted here! They are extremely helpful in preparing for the hot Florida sun, and recruitment! A word about UNF recruitment, recs are not required, but are suggested for all 5 NPC sororities. If you have any questions about UNF recruitment feel free to send me a PM! |
Quote:
I want to point out something in the recs section, though. At the time adpiucf created this thread, there were several NPC alums who indicated they'd be willing to help PNMs with recs. Some offered to write, some offered to point them to the nearest alum group. Keep in mind that that list of alums is VERY outdated, and the majority of those individuals have not posted here in a very long time. Many women here will not write recs for PNMs who approach them via GC, so posting a thread in the sorority's forum soliciting help isn't a good idea either. Look to women you already know (teachers, parents' friends, etc.) in real life. They may just very well be sorority alumnae. If you still need help, visit www.npcwomen.org and contact the nearest Alumnae Panhellenic group. |
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:06 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.