psprincess' rush!
 

I debated a little about whether or not to post this, but eventually decided to, being as vague as possible while still giving details. All I will say is that I don't go to school in the south and there are 12 houses, which I will be naming after characters from my favorite book. In no order they are:

Jamie
Claire
Bree
Roger
Marsaili
Fergus
Young Ian
Lizzie
Jemmy
Rollo
Jenny
Gellis


Day 1 was unity day. We went to all 12 houses in one day, which was incredibly tiring. It was freezing in the morning and I had a little bit of a hard time finding a new outfit that was warm but would not be too hot in the afternoon. A brief overview:

Roger: everybody was so nice! They had a really cute skit and people were outgoing and welcoming. The girls were all so personable. They are really involved in service it seemed like, and have strong academics, both of which are important to me.

Rollo: not really a favorite. I know 2 girls in this house and we do not like each other. Not a bad conversation really, but one of the girls only talked to me about her ex boyfriend and how we were interested in the same things. Easy conversation, but not so comfortable.

Fergus: Way too crowded. I was paired with another girl which was so awkward. I had a really bad conversation with one of the girls. I like the house and would love to go back, I'm not sure it will happen. Their door chants were really entertaining.

Jamie: nice girls. Not really a favorite because there was nothing really distinctive about any of the girls, the songs, or anything. Maybe I'm just getting really hungry...

Jemmy: nothing too remarkable. Awkward rusher, I think it was her first time. There were always lulls in the conversation. I was paired with another pnm here and that was ok because I dont know if either of us would have really had enough to say otherwise.

Young Ian: Great! I knew some people in this house and was a little unsure, but I came out having had a really good time. They were all super nice and we seemed to have a lot to talk about. Again, I was paired with someone, but she was really shy, so I did most of the talking.

Lizzie: really nice genuine ladies who were very outgoing. I think I could be friends with them. They seem involved, smart, and have a strong philanthropy.

Jenny: I was surprised to like them this much. I think it went really well. I left and it felt like a happy place. I hope I get invited back!! I really could see myself here. Its classy.

Gellis: so-so. Nothing too remarkable. Lots of lulls in the conversation and it was so hot I could hardly stand it.

Marsaili: I was so excited to go here and it was great! I know I would love it in this house. I loved the girls and I left with a real smile (which for being the 9th party is pretty impressive). Can't wait to go back!

Claire: I didn't know if i would like it, but I did. I will give it another shot. I talked to some great girls who were really easy to talk to and could have been my friends. Great philanthropy!

Bree: It was good, not sure if its for me, but I would go back if given the opportunity. I really liked it and had a great conversation, but think I was really intimidating.


I ended up keeping Bree, Jenny, Lizzie, Young Ian, Claire, Roger, Fergus, and Marsaili. I ranked Jamie, Gellis, Rollo, and Jemmy.

Next up: House Tours!

Good luck! :)

good luck and have fun.

HAve a great time!
 

Let us know how things are going! And have fun!
:D

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Outlander series, and as a matter of fact, I just finished rereading all of the books again!

Have a great time at recruitment!

Oh, I love these books so much (although haven't done the Lord John series, I've heard it's awful). I'm excited to read this thread, good luck!

I never in a million years thought anyone else would have ever read them! They are so amazing and I am rereading them too! Right now I am almost done with Drums of Autumn again (in my spare time...). Thanks for the nice thoughts. I'll update again soon!

good luck!!!

Update.....
 

Please do! As soon as you can! we are waiting with baited breath ( ohh yuck that sounds awful... I'm sure they have breath mints for baited breath!)

Smiles:D

I'm really excited about this recruitment for reasons I won't reveal until later. ;)

Good luck princess! I'm rooting for you 100%!

I got really nervous that night and kept wondering if my top choices would ask me back. I hoped they would. The morning of house tours, I got my schedule back, and I was going to 7 of 8, which is not surprising for a couple of reasons. Anyways, I was going back to Jenny, Roger, Clarie, Marsaili, Lizzie, Rollo, and Jemmy. I didn't get all my top choices and 2 that I ranked, but whatever. I was still pretty happy with it.

Roger: Awesome again! I talked to a bunch of girls and I had a great convo with them about traveling. I saw a couple of girls that I know and I felt like I really clicked with everyone. Beautiful house.

Claire: I was paired with one of the same girls from yesterday which was so nice. I didn't want to do the small talk part all over again. Im still not sure if its really for me, but I like it more and more. Everyone is really involved.

Marsaili: Still really like it. Talked to some great girls. Awesome house, although a little white on the inside. I could see myself here for sure. I talked to someone who reminded me exactly of me!

Lizzie: Not too wowed, but it was not terrible either. Maybe we were both a little off because of lunch. Huge house, but the girl was just not super outgoing and I had to find things to talk about sometimes.

Jenny: STILL love it! I really hope I get to go back again. I want to be here! There were two of us for the rusher, but I feel like I shone. Again, super classy and sophisticated. You could really tell people's personalities from the rooms and the house is amazing!

Rollo: I must say it was better than before. I know its not for me, its just too glamorous. Still glad I went, but know for sure its not for me now. Diverse interests.

Jemmy: better than before, too. The girl was nice and way less awkward with me. I was paired with someone again, and we had a much better time than I did when I went to the house before. still nothing too special, and I can't really see myself being friends with the girls.

We had to cut it down to 4 for the next round and in the end, I decided to keep (in no order): Marsaili, Jenny, Claire, and Roger. I ranked Lizzie, Rollo, and Jemmy. I dont know if I will be invited back to Jenny, but I would be happy going back to Lizzie, too.

I forgot....I got my invites for the next set of parties. I will be going back to Marsaili, Roger, Jemmy, and Rollo. I am so annoyed that I keep getting asked back to Rollo and Jemmy. If it comes down to the two of them on pref night, I know I will drop. I just can't see myself being happy in either place. I'll let you ponder this until I post the next round of parties.

Even if it comes down to Jemmy and Rollo for pref, just go to the parties. You have nothing to lose, and if you still feel like you don't fit into either of them, then drop. Plus, your feelings could change during round 3. I actually wasn't sold on the chapter I ended up joining until round 3 (granted I felt so-so about it before, and not negative).

I am really interested to see where you end up because I think you are at a school that I would have loved to attend! There's always grad school I suppose;)

Go to prefs and see, even if those are your only two options.

But more importantly, be excited and focus on this round!

Don't count Rollo out just because you don't get along with 2 of the members. Each chapter is filled with so many women that no matter where you end up, there will be sisters that you don't particularly like. There is no way to like every single person, personalities are just too varied. Those 2 may be completely different then the rest of the chapter, not to mention those 2 may not feel the same about you as you do about them!;)

To play devils advocate here, if she really does not feel like she would belong in either Rollo or Jemmy, then she should drop and save that spot for a girl who really does want to be a sister of Rollo or Jemmy. If she's just not feeling like it's the place for her, why force it?

I'm mostly with this argument. Why not attend all the parties to which you're invited and then, after preference, if you aren't thrilled with any chapter, neglect to sign a preference card? Then you'll at least have given each chapter a shot and ridden out the process to see if it was right for you.

I'll play devil's advocate for the other side. Why not give it a chance? I think the view of sororities during recruitment is very artificial and false. Seeing a group of girls in what is often an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved does not give you an idea of whether or not you will be comfortable there. Unless you are turned off by the size of the chapter or the reputation of the chapter, which let's face it, cannot sometimes be overlooked, you would most probably be comfortable anywhere if you gave it a chance. You can't possibly know you wouldn't fit it by meeting a handful of members in a chapter with 50 or more members. Not every girl in a group is the same so chances are you'd bond after bid day when you got to know girls you didn't meet in recruitment. That's what the new member period is for anyway! That is why there are women all over GC who say they pledged a group they had no interest in during rush but quickly decided they loved it after bid day.

But for every girl who pledged a group that wasn't her #1 choice and ended up loving it, there's also a girl who pledged a group she didn't care for just so she could be in a sorority. That same girl is unhappy and ends up withdrawing thus, taking up a spot that could have been given to a girl who would have given her time and effort to the sorority instead of someone who attends events just because they were mandatory.

I've actually thought a lot about it since yesterday. I will go all the way through preference night, no matter what, (because that is what my lovely GCers have taught me), but based on what I have seen and felt until this point, if it were to come down to Jemmy or Rollo, I don't know if I would sign a pref card. I want to be somewhere I really feel like I belong, not somewhere just because I really wanted to be in a sorority. I know that I would be ecstatic to be in Roger or Marsaili, though, so I am hoping for the best. I do have an open mind about the whole thing now more, though.

But I don't believe anyone is telling her to join no matter what or even to sign her pref card. If she goes to pref at whatever parties she is invited to and then doesn't sign a pref card, she isn't taking the spot from anyone.

I hope you get the invites you want psprincess!

I think a pnm should give a chapter which is interested in her every chance to convince her that she would be happy there. If she still - after pref - isn't feeling at home, then no, she should not put them on her bid card.

I agree with some of the posters -- don't put a group on your bid card if you're going to be that disappointed about it. I don't think we're talking here about a girl who just wants her #1 sorority and won't settle for anything else. It seems as if Jemmy and Rollo have made negative impressions on princess from the beginning. Speaking from someone in a consistently lower-ranked sorority, while we certainly tried to do everything we could to make women feel chosen and welcome on bid day, one year we had a girl sobbing at bid day and she left early and never came to another meeting. Most of us members kind of had the reaction of like, why did you put us down if you thought we were something you had to cry about? Why show up once you saw that we were matched with you? She honestly nearly ruined bid day for the other girls that were there -- many of whom ranked our chapter #1 and started to have doubts as to their decision to do so if our chapter seemed that bad to the crying girl. Needless to say -- while I am all for maximizing options and giving every group the chance to show you who they are -- if you feel like the "crying girl" then just don't put them on a bid card. You're not doing them a favor -- trust me.

Well let me start by saying that tonight was somewhat of a surprise. I tried really hard to go into it with a good attitude. While I hold nothing against Rollo and Jemmy (they are both great chapters!), they both feel a little too polarized for me at this point. That said, I really did enjoy all four chapters I went to tonight.

Roger was first. I have liked Roger from the beginning and keep having great parties there. We did a little philanthropy project, and their national philanthropy is really strong. They all seemed to be really involved in it. I talked to a great girl and people remembered me from before.

Marsaili was second. I have also liked Marsaili from the beginning. People were being a little negative about it at the beginning but I know I could really be happy there. It was a little awkward because my rusher decided to talk to the girl across the table because they were in the same physics class. I really had nothing to say about that, and couldn't get word in otherwise. I like them so much, and I am really hoping that it has no effect on me getting asked back tomorrow.

Rollo was third. Huge surprise. I really liked them tonight. It still seems a little too glamorous and high maintenance, but I'm sure not everyone is like that. Some of the girls remembered me, which was nice. I also talked to the chapter president. Since I am really into philanthropy, I wish theirs was stronger, but it is for a really good cause. Maybe if I join here, I will make it stronger and more of a focal point.

Jemmy was my last house of the night. I finally had a really good conversation with a sister. We seemed to have a lot in common, and I really liked her, I'm just worried the house is a little bit too laid back. Even though I like just hanging out, I like to go out and do things, too. I really want to like them, but its just not coming naturally.


In the end, it was a hard decision. I feel like I would be happy at Roger, Marsaili, or Rollo, and could grow to love Jemmy. I ended up putting down Roger and Marsaili, but would be ok with it if I were invited back to Rollo or Jemmy. I feel like they are a little bit too polar for me, so I can't guarantee I would sign anything, but I'm really glad to have had an open mind the whole time.

As a side note, I was reading a recruitment thread where some posters were talking about the order in which pnms were called or the direction they went showing how much the rusher/chapter liked them. I tried really hard not to think about it, but it was a little distressing. Im just hoping it really doesn't mean anything.

Apparently, I'm really bad at condensing my thoughts. Sorry to make you all read novels each time I post.

It sounds like you had a good night and I'm glad you really looked at Rollo and Jemmy closely again. Remember that Pref Night can change the way you look at a chapter and it may make your decision really clear. Try not to stress over the nonsense regarding the order you enter the room or anything else - you have no control over silly stuff like that and all it's going to do is make you distracted and nervous. Relax and do your best to enjoy your invites and make the best impression you can! Good Luck with Pref!!! (Is it tonite?)

I agree with Sangers, don't worry about some of the comments you've read here. It is not true for all schools and all organizations. Enjoy your preference and congratulations for keeping such an open mind. It's amazing the things you begin to see when you do .... best wishes and I look forward to hearing your thoughts after preference.:)

Thanks for sharing!
 

Thanks for sharing your story, psprincess.

It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders! I can't wait to read what happens next.

Good luck!

On the glamorous/high main part remember this is recruitment and people have to look a certain way. They are trying to look their best and may put much less effort into normal days.

i cant wait to hear what happens!!! good luck!!

I've never heard of such a thing. Don't worry about this.

Also, that was at Alabama.

So no internet last night, plus I was super tired. I just came home, ate some more food, and fell asleep. I went to Roger and Jemmy, which I was initially pretty disappointed about, because I had some really good conversations at Marsaili until the day before. I really liked them and hoped that enough people would stick up for me, despite one terrible conversation.

Roger: This is it. I know it. Without a doubt. I love it more and more every day, and I have since day 1. I was preffed by a friend, which was awesome, because she could really be honest with me.

Jemmy: It was still ok. Nothing to rave about. It was just too relaxed. When all the other houses buzzed like beehives, it was fairly quiet in here. While they are great, I just really do not see myself here, brushing my teeth next to these ladies.

So, surprise surprise, I did 1. Roger 2. Jemmy. I didn't suicide, even though I contemplated it for a minute or two. I am just keeping my fingers crossed until bid night.

Good luck!
 

I'm glad you had a good Pref Night. :-) Best wishes for a Bid Day that makes you happy.

Here's thinking good thoughts for you! thanks for taking the time to post. I've been thinking about you and I'm sure others are too!

Smiles:)

I'm wishing you all the best! :)

Good luck!

Good luck to you!

Good luck.

Keeping my fingers crossed for Roger

Great thread - best of luck to you!!