Christi's Spring Rush @ UF
 

Alright, let's begin this one again, using some sort of system and not too many facts. (If you've been keeping up with me, you'll probably know who I'm talking about. If not, good! :p)

We have sorority Chocolate. They were polite and helpful when I went to speak to them. They told me about a few parties happening next week and said they'd call.

Vanilla girls were nice but I felt a little uncomfortable speaking to them. Probably just nerves on my part. They e-mailed me today with next week's parties and one sounds like a huge amount of fun! I'll have to get in contact.

Strawberry didn't make a very good first impression but agreeing with others who've posted, she may have had a bad day. Regardless, they were supposed to receive my phone number and e-mail to invite me to next week's parties via some form I had filled out.

I just hope that if none of these come through I still have a good shot at Fall recruitment. Hopefully, they can look past my expected graduation date and see that I'm awesome :cool:

Good luck at informal recruitment. Go Gators!

Good luck! You'll enjoy spring recruitment! Don't worry about what people will think of you if you do join a sorority, you are doing this for you and at this time that's all that matters ;) Remember, take this one day at a time, it's less overwhelming that way. :) Take care!

Have fun!

(I, am of course crossing my fingers for good ol Sigma K!)

christina, i think it is neat that you are going your own way and making your own decisions. good luck with your spring recruitment. lisa

Ditto! Good luck!

Best of luck to you!

Good luck. :) Any chapter at UF is a great chapter to join.

crossing fingers for ya girlie! :)

Good luck to you! Go Gators!!!
:D

Good luck. I hope you find a happy home! I always liked informal rush better than formal. Much more relaxed and we really got to know the PNMs better than through rounds.

And speaking as a pro-legacy supporter, go Phi Mu!

Your friend does have a point about you having more choices if you do formal rush, but if you find yourself clicking with a chapter during COB don't be afraid to pledge if that's where you really want to be. Good luck! :)

ditto what achtungbaby said. if you like a chapter that is holding informal recruitment, and they offer you a bid, and you want to take it, do.

and thank you for filling us in. can't wait for the update after the information session tonight.

I agree with the above posts. Have a great time and if you click with one of the groups, go for it!!

while it is good that you feel a connection with the girls you met so far, i would suggest waiting to share your initial thoughts and feelings with them until you have met more members and have a few more parties under your belt. you don't want to rush anything(on your part or theirs). just give them some time to get to know you. you have been non-greek for a whole semester-a few more weeks really won't matter.

look at this hypothetical- you are on a first date. would you tell your date that you are not going to date any other guys, or that you have already made up your mind, and are sold on him? he would run, not walk to the nearest exit. while the sorority members won't have the exact same reaction as a guy, it might send up a red flag that you are more in to being a member of ANY sorority, rather that being a member of their sorority.

did your sister send a recommendation for you? if not, she should,asap.

i am sorry that you had a less than terrific conversation with the member of the other sorority, and it is too bad for that chapter that their representative was not on top of her game last night.
i hope that things work out for you this semester. just take things a little slower than you intended(pace yourself) and you should do fine.

Re: Info Session
 

I hope you don't think I'm a meany when I post this, but I'm trying to give you unbiased advice.

The quatrfoil? I HIGHLY doubt they knew you were coming. It was probably just a coincidence. It's not like you have an uncommon name like Venus or something. If you want to take it as a "sign" fine, but I would recommend you do not take it as the chapter definitely wanting you and pandering to you.

I would also caution against going into a party and saying that house was the ONLY one you visited and that you feel it's "your time". That could really put the ladies off. If I was in that house I might take it as you thinking you are "owed" a spot because you are a leagcy. Also, I don't agree with your sister's assesment that they wouldn't tell you so much if they didn't want to invite you. When we did info sessions we always gave all sorts of party info to women. It's part of being a polite and gracious hostess. Just like we were always nice to the women at the parties - even if we had no intention of bidding them.

And finally, if people are advising you that you have a chance as a sophomore, I personally would wait and go through fall formal recruitment to see all the different houses. UF has a huge greek system and there are tons of women to meet. I think only going to one table and one house for COR is selling your experience short - but that's just my opinion.

Good luck!

Whether they will be upset about you not accepting the bid really depends on the sorority and also how you go about recruitment.

My chapter has encountered that situation and most of the time we understood and didn't hold it against them as long as they were honest and polite. We did have a girl come to informal events and talk about how much she liked us and when we extended her a bid she declined it cause she wanted to go somewhere else. She didn't get a bid there and went through in the spring and spent all her time in our room talking about how awesome we were. Unfortunately sister's had gotten under the impression that she had played us (whether this is true i'm reserving judgement on) and she was eventually cut.

If you're not sure if you're going to accept be careful that you're not overly into the sorority just to secure yourself a bid. Remeber inside the sorority there could be girls that are incredibly excited about you and want you to be a sister. There is nothing more heartbreaking then the girl you would love as a new member telling you that she belongs in XYZ and she's meant to be there and then she doesn't accept a bid. It can leave a bad taste in your mouth

Just be interested and honest and yourself but dont lay it on too thick if you're not 100% sure. Remeber, and this goes to all PNMs Sorority Girls Talk!!

Go to the party and be yourself. Tell them your sister had such a great experience in her own chapter and has influenced your interest in Greek Life. It's ok to tell them you are a legacy to them. Tell them about you, your accomplishments, your interests. Ask them questions about themselves, their interests, their experience in XYZ. Ask questions about XYZ as an organization.

And it is ok to tell them too, "I'm having a great time here at XYZ and I have loved meeting everyone. You've all made me feel so comfortable."

What you don't want to do is come off as desperate or psycho (that's where the first date analogy comes in-- Remember the Egg Girl on The Bachelor? She freaked the guy out. It's ok to tell them you're interested, to "flirt," but don't send out birth announcements yet!)

It's ok to take a bid if you feel it is the right thing to do. Yes, you get to see every sorority at Fall Recruitment, but if you click with a chaper at COB, go with your gut!

christi86,

I've been on GC for nearly 6 years (May is my 6 year anniversary), so I have seen and read a lot in those 5+ years. I think that this thread itself is a big risk, because you have divulged far too much already. There are people from UF on this board and I am sure that they are reading this thread with interest. That being said, UF Formal Recruitment is EXTREMELY competitive and I am not sure that you would have an "equal" chance as a sophomore vs. being a freshman. From a financial perspective, it is in a chapter's best interest to have a dues-paying member for 4 years, not 3.

As for the girl who was not polite to you at that "Panhellenic" meeting: try not to let her tarnish your perception of her sorority. You never know what is going on in her life: she might have been dumped by a b/f, or learned that her parents are getting divorced or that her grandmother is ill. You can never tell and it's likely not personally directed at YOU.

In my experience, being discreet during rush is key and I think that to be too open about your situation, particularly on these boards can be a mistake.
Just my 2 cents.

I was thinking that the moment I read the first post. I know of at least two brilliant, involved, beautiful young women who rushed at UF as sophomores and were cut heavily. While there could possibly be houses who would happily bid sophomores, I sure wouldn't count on all of them treating you the same as a freshman.

Best of luck though! You need to make the right decision for YOU and for no one else.

Chocolate just called to invite me to their formal dinner and I accepted. I have to miss my first belly dancing class, but oh well, it's worth it!

Time to go pick out possible outfits!

good luck with chocolate!! have fun and please update us.

Best of luck with chocolate. Yum Chocolate :)

I agree, chocolate is amazing. Chocoholics unite!

Best of luck to you! I'm reading this with interest as I am a UF alumna.

Mmm... chocolate ;) Good luck and have fun @ Chocolate!

Chocolate was great. The girls were all super helpful and it was a very nice but laidback atmosphere. I got to experience a formal sorority dinner including some announcing and was shown the recruitment video and taken on a mini house tour. I was so nervous, I almost made myself sick during the day, but it all went away when I walked in the doors and people immediately talked to me and made me feel welcome.

Tons of things were explained to me and I was really happy with the whole experience. I'm going back tomorrow, probably for dinner and then we're all going to watch a movie at the house.

I can't wait to continue to get to know these girls!

OH, and if I accept a bid before next week, I can try out for their dance team! (I love dancing!)

New update tomorrow night!

I'm so excited for you! You said "if you accept a bid before next week..." Did they tell you when bids will be handed out?

Either way, good luck tomorrow night with Chocolate!

continued wishes for good luck with chocolate!!can't wait to hear an update .

The way the recruitment chair made it sound was like, whenever I felt ready to join, just to come talk to her and she'd take care of it. I don't know if they plan on handing them out as girls decide to pledge, or all at once.

I've figured out while I don't want to rush into it and tell her now that I want to pledge, I do love where I am now. I want that to just be the next possible step. I want pledging to come naturally, if that makes any sense. Like "I spend a good amount of time with these girls, I've made a lot of new friends. We've laughed and I've been taught what they can teach me about this sorority. Time to pledge!"

And it's so exciting!

Unless they operate VERY different, it's up to them to decide if they are going to offer you a spot in the house. It's not up to you.

I can hear how excited you are about this chapter. I want to make sure you are properly informed.

As the above poster stated, you have to be offered a bid. You can't just say "I want a bid" and get one. It sounds to me like the recruitment chair is misinformed. This isn't unusual. She may be new to her role or to COB.

I think the best way to resolve this is to just do as she said-- in different words "Suzie, I love XYZ and I'd be honored to take the next step" or something along those lines-- this way she knows your interest and intent.

But from there, it is up to the chapter to offer you the bid. And from there, you either accept or decline.

I say if you feel comfortable at this chapter, go for it.

Taken straight from the recruitment chair's mouth...And I know there's different ways to take this.

"It's not whether we want you, it's if you want us."

Of course I wouldn't approach her and say "I'll take my bid now, thanks!" That's weird. I'm going to continue hanging out with the girls before deciding when to talk to the Recruitment Chair about the bidding and pledging process.

I just find it very hard to believe that something like that would come from a Recruitment Chair, especially one from UF.

I know Recruitment Chairs aren't all perfect, but I'd like to assume that they know what they're doing, and it's very unlikely that they'd say something like that.

...but if you say so.

I'm not attempting to make myself sound good, or make her sound bad. I'm just telling you what happened. I'm obviously not completely versed in the art of sorority life and if I wanted to lie about the situation, I would have made up something much better than that!

I wonder if she's (RC) reading this thread?


ETA: The way the statement is worded, it sounds more like she's saying, "We want you, do you want us?" Not, "You can have us whenever you want."

The recruitment chair?

If not, I'm sure we have tons o UF sorority women perusing the boards!

christi, that sounds very promising!! please realize that usually the entire chapter will vote on a pnm when they feel that they have gotten to know her well enough. one member does not decide who is offered a bid.

during the cob period, bids are USUALLY handed out after several meetings with the pnm. the sorority might offer several pnms bids at the same time, or they might hand them out one at a time, and even on different days. of course, i do not know who chocolate is, and their procedure might be different, but what i described is fairly standard. i don't mean to squelch you enthusiasim, just want you to understand the usual procedure.

good luck and please let us know what happens tonite!!

If that's what she said, then this is a sorority that's DESPERATE for members and one I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

Hey Christi!

I'm so happy you have found a house that you love and that you seem to fit in well with.

There are no bad sororities at UF, and certainly none that are desperate for members. SEC sororities are far from "desperate".

If I were one of those "UF women perusing the board" (which I take to mean -- one of the women involved with rush in the sorority you love), I would be flattered of the way you speak of its members and organization. I do think, however, that until you get that bid in your hand, it's best to be discreet. I know you're excited, but wait until it's official, and then you can shout it from the rooftops-- and we'll be here cheering for you!

It sounds like you've really clicked with one member, and she seems to be rushing you really hard-- but as FSU Zeta said, there still has to be a vote-- so it's a bit premature to think that you're definately going to get a bid. I would hate for you to get your heart set on it, and then be disappointed.

Things may have changed, but as I recall, spring recruitment had three rounds. After the final round-- that night-- a group of representatives from the sorority would come to your dorm or apartment with flowers and a bid card and ask you if you'd like to pledge. And, as I recall, most of the sororities gave out bids on that same night-- because-- I remember all the banging on the doors and screams of excitement when I lived in the dorms.
It was a special night!