Californiagirls's Recruitment thread!
 

Hi everyone!

I have been browsing this site for awhile, and I decided that I want to share my rush story. I have been excited about joining a sorority since I found out what one was. My older sister and my mom are both legacies (I won't say where yet.) So I have a lot of experience with greek life. Now it's my turn to find my home and have as much fun, hopefully even more, than my big sister.

There are 11 sororities at my school. I won't mention the name, although you can probably guess if you are from Cali.

They are:

Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi

Both my legacies are at this school. I got recommendations from my mom and sister, and a few from my sisters friends. I have recs to six of the eleven.

Anyway, I am getting so excited! Rush starts on Tuesday with round one (a visit to all the houses). My RC told us to wear jeans and sandals, but I think I might go a little dressier. Any Suggestions?


Thanks for listening. I can't wait. If you have any advice, let me know!


Lots of Love,

Cali Girl

Dress it up a little, but don't show up in a fancy dress if they call for jeans! A cute top and casual skirt will work, too.

Recently a mom shared some advice she gave her daughter with regard to recruitment. I think it is the best advice I've ever heard: Remember applying to college? You probably applied to a group of schools that you knew you would like and could see yourself at. You didn't set all of your hopes into one university and say to yourself, "If they don't accept me, I'm not going to college!" That would be silly!

Go into recruitment with this same mindset. Instead of getting fixated on one chapter based on some brief meetings with the members and the gossip you hear from other prospective members, go in with an open mind and look for a few sororities you could see yourself at. You'll be much happier and have more options open to you.

Good luck this week! Be yourself and have fun!

Good luck with recruitment!


I already know what school your at (which you said people would probably figure out), so I would suggest making very non-specific comments. For example, I wouldn't say "so I decided to wear jeans and a pink top with flowers and sandals and my blonde hair was in a ponytail" or "so I went to ABC and they wore a blue top with white bottoms and I really didn't like them". These are just examples, but the more specific the comments the easier it is for people to pick you out. :D


I am pretty sure a few GC members go to this school. :D


Have a wonderful time! Keep an open mind!

Good luck!
 

Best of luck California Girl!

Be yourself. I know it sounds cliche, but it's the best advice I can offer. If you pretend to be the person you think a sorority wants, you are going to end up unhappy when it's not the right fit for the REAL you.

Also, I went through rush in the south, so I may be mistaken, but the clothing they suggested for recruitment was very very casual compared to what other girls wore. I suggest asking someone who has been through recruitment at this school before you follow what your RC told you.

I'm sure you'll do great!

Gook luck, OP! I absolutely love La Jolla and miss it dreadfully!

Thanks guys!
 

Thanks for your support everyone! I'm so glad to have people I can share my experience with. All my friends are going through recruitment, and we decided not to share opinions, and only discuss which houses we decide to pref. I think this is best to keep jealousy and gossip at bay.

About what I'm wearing: I'm thinking a cute knee-length printed skirt, a cami and kitten heel sandals. What does everyone think of this?

I know most people can guess which school I'm at, but there are so many PNMs going through and I will be discreet about how I look and the descriptions of each house. I do promise to reveal each house after bid day!

Thanks for all your advice. My sister has been giving me some too. :)

Obviously, I'm going for ADPi! It'd be awesome to have another San Diego ADPi!

I added you to the big friggin' list :p

Rush at the school she is at is pretty casual, clothing wise. Not like the south. But it never hurts to be a bit dressier/classier than the other girls.

And CaliforniaGirl7, I echo others in wishing you luck and advising you to be discreet. I also knew instantly where you are rushing. :)

I just checked out the school's panhellenic website as I instantly knew too. I am shocked that they don't have pictures of what to wear! I figured if any of the So Cal schools would have one that school would. :shrug:

Google is a wonderful thing!
 

I did some searching on Google and found some links to various schools that have the sense to put together pictures of what to wear. The Southern schools tend towards the dressier side but I think the links will give you an overall idea of the "feel" you should going for, but done in your own style. Personally, I think the University of Arizona photos would likely be most appropriate for your school.

http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/gr...whattowear.php

http://www.students.uidaho.edu/defau...pid=35453#wear

http://department.monm.edu/stuserv/greek-life/dress.htm

http://www.uca.edu/divisions/student...ecruitment.htm

http://www.cofc.edu/~greeklife/pdf/what_to_wear.pdf

http://union.clemson.edu/student_act...wear_print.asp

http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Gr...o%20wear%22%22

http://www.southalabama.edu/campusin...o%20wear%22%22

http://www.greek.tulane.edu/document...o%20wear%22%22

SoCal girl - fun list, thanks!

That said, one of the links showed a girl in a brown pref dress. Not only was the dress low cut, but the model had an enormous chest and the cleavage was "impressive". I would warn anyone to NOT wear a low cut dress, but especially large chested women. I fall into that boat and know that sometimes the dress that is super cute on the mannequin can be a bit vulgar on me.

Good luck and have fun with recruitment, CaliforniaGirl!!!

I know what school you are at as well. Good luck! I have a lot of friends who were greek there and they LOVED it! :)

Actually everything that model wore was, uh, wrong for her body type. Release the hostages!

Um, am I the only one who had a problem with Monmouth having "white dress night" after Labor Day? DOH! That's one of my pet peeves. *lol*

um...5 days after labor day.

besides, i think that rule is kind of passe now.

I don't think the rule is passe, but I think sorority functions and weddings are exceptions.

The University of Florida has a nice section on what to wear too!
http://www.ufpanhellenic.com/wear.html

Good luck! :p

I really don't think it is that difficult to figure out which school this is, hell I work down the street from this particular school....

Regardless....

Have a wonderful recruitment, enjoy yourself, be yourself and hopefully you will find yourself in the sisterhood that you were meant for!

Good luck! I'm looking forward to reading your story!

It's not difficult at all to figure out where I go to school. But like I said, there are so many girls rushing nobody is going to know it's me. I decided to name my houses after my favorite celebrities. This is Southern California afterall!

So here they are:

Reese Witherspoon - legacy through sister
Jennifer Anniston - legacy through mom
Natalie Portman
Mischa Barton
Rachel McAdams
Scarlett Johansson
Sarah Jessica Parker
Beyonce
Gwenyth Paltrow
Cameron Diaz
Kate Hudson


I'm getting so excited. Thanks for your support.

While what you say is true, you really should not assume this. AT ALL.

I am going to root for Natalie Portman b/c from that list...I like her best....

GO! Natalie GO!

:)

Also take what OTW says to heart, while one of the best recruitment threads have used names outright, it is something that you have to tread lightly on...people are very picky and pricklely....esp in *this* city....

I thought I would never say this: discretion is key....

Thanks for the tip, but how would they know? I'm not planning on revealing what I wear, what I look like, who I talk to, or what I did at any of the chapters. The only thing I plan to post is the impression I got from each chapter. Besides, all the sororities are so awesome at my school I don't think I could really have anything negative to say about any of them. With all that privacy I really don't see what could tip someone off about who I am.

On your rush application, did they ask you whether you were a legacy of any NPC sororities? If so, that's an easy way for them to identify you, since there probably won't be too many women with legacy status at the same two orgs. as you.

Good luck to you! I know many of the chapters at your school mingle every once in a while with their sisters at my school.

Good Luck with your recruitment! I can't wait to read more!

But I'm not revealing which 2 orgs I'm a legacy at?

Well, I guess that's true, but I'd still be careful. Also, I'm not sure how many multiple-legacies go through at your school. The school was kindof seen as anti-greek for a while (several orgs. have left and some have come back), so it has a different feel than the system at, say, a certain rival school. :) But I could be off, so others may correct me.

Regardless of the fact that you don't reveal their identities, the fact that you've already said you're a legacy to two houses already puts you in a unique group. I don't know how many double legacies will be rushing on your campus, but the fact that you are one singles you out.

I suppose in that case I won't post my recruitment story. Maybe I'll just post where I end up taking a bid instead.

I'm relatively new here
 

I've been reading for about a month I think. This might sound jerky, but I mean it more in exasperated good humor.

Some girl will start her rush story and either a concerned citizen or a killjoy will jump in and tell her "Oh don't tell us that! People can figure out who you are."

I don't get what the problem is. It's a public forum. Posters have to know that. If they search for their schools, they'll see people from their campus.

If the PNM chooses to tell her story, she's probably aware that anyone could read it. If she says bad stuff and people can figure out who she is, she runs the risk of getting cut. It's hard to see how she wouldn't know that.

If she's not saying anything bad, what's the harm? Even if people could guess who she is and who her favorites are, so what?

(Really, people, couldn't you guess the favorites of any PNM at your campus? First round, you know they love XYZ. Second round, if they get cut by XYZ, then they'll probably look at QRS or ABC. If you don't know how the groups in your greek system rank up, a PNM Greek Chat rush thread is the least of your worries. )

(Why do bad sports even have to guess? They kind of say, "it could be harmful if anyone figures out who you are. Let me do it for them by outing your campus." What the hey, people? Why do you do this? Sure, I suppose if someone had access to all of the information forms they could count the double legacies, but until you suggested it, how likely was it to happen?)

If you rush was ruined by your Greek Chat thread, please speak up. I want to understand what happened.

JESUS H. CHRIST.

NO ONE FREAKING TOLD YOU TO NOT POST YOUR RUSH STORY.

All I said was to not assume that no one will figure out who you are. That's it.

I doubt that the most famous one will post, sorry. She hasn't posted on GC since she depledged her sorority.

Tell me about it.
 

What happened in the most famous case? What got her into trouble?

I know they didn't tell me that. But a couple people certainly implied that it could somehow be dangerous if I post my story. So why should I bother writing out my entire story on here if it could somehow jeapordize my rush. I'll post where I end up so anyone who is interested can see if they have a new sister. I don't see why you're so up in arms. I've just rethought my original plan of posting my experience, and keeping it safe by simply posting where I eventually end up. That's what's important afterall.

Out of respect to her and to the two sororities involved, I'd rather not discuss her situation publicly. Longtime GCers know what I'm talking about, though.

I only do this because she and I exchanged PMs quite a bit back then and it was a heartbreaking situation all around.

All I will say is that "DISCRETION IS KEY!" started around the time this PNM depledged her sorority.

How's this for a suggestion?

Why don't you post your rush story AFTER you're done?

I don't see how that would help. According to my understanding this unfortunate girl was found out after she already received a bid. This is why she was forced to depledge. If I post my story afterward, they could still find out who I am. Is this correct?

That's kind of a frustrating answer.
 

It's not that I doubt that you, OTW, have the PNM's best interests at heart, but really now, why'd you bring up the most famous case only to say that you can't discuss it?

I understand that your knowledge may go beyond what was public, and so, in good conscience, you don't want to fill me in, but why post an enigmatic reference in the first place?


Maybe we can try this instead:
Can a rush story be told in such a way as to:
enhance the PNM's rush experience,
captivate Greek Chat readers,
provide feedback to chapters during rush (even in a general sense)?
If so, how? If not, why?