My LIVE Recruitment Story!!!!
 

Hey I've been lurking since I decided to rush and now I'm finally starting my own thread. I know some of you can investigate and find out which colleges have deferred recruitment, and if you feel the need to do this and guess mine please don't post it here! I'm going to be pretty honest about how I'm feeling through all of this, but I'll be careful not to post anything compromising! Rush isn't until after Christmas but I have a couple of things to post before.

I’m a freshman who has formal rush this January, no one in my family has ever even rushed before, much less pledged. And I’m not just talking my immediate family, I have no Greeks among my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents or anything. So I’m basically clueless! I’m really wanting to join a sorority because in high school I had huge group of friends, and I like having a bunch of people to hang out with and want really good friends that I consider to be my sisters! I’m a pretty shy person when I’m not around my friends, but once I get to know the people around me I become much more confident.

Initial Reactions After Open Houses
In September all of the sororities have an open house (and again in October) for house tours. This is not part of recruitment and is not required of PNMs. So I wrote my reactions to all of those and added what I had heard about the sororities. With rush not starting until January, it is hard not to hear things about each sorority, even though I tried. Still, I'm reserving all judgement because I know opinions can radically change during rush.

Britney Spears: One of the last houses I went to so I was already tired, but I got a good vibe from them and really liked the house itself. Was contacted on Facebook to set up a lunch visit. I heard the girls in this house were super-religious.

Michael Jackson: One of my favorites, had the best rooms and my tour guides were really nice. Was invited to lunch here as well. They don’t really seem that big into Homecoming because they didn’t really decorate too much, but they seemed involved in most things.

Tara Reid: I am in love with their philanthropy and all of the girls seemed really excited about being a Tara Reid. Received a hand written card from my tour guides and an invitation to lunch. I heard that this is seen as the “slutty” sorority.

K-Fed: The house is really pretty, but I don’t know if I’d fit in. The girls didn’t seem very fun and the conversation was awkward. Lots of silences. I’ve heard that these aren’t the type of girls who are fun to “hang at the mall with,” whatever that means.

Paris Hilton: My tour guides were super personable and sincere. The house wasn’t one of my favorites but I’m choosing house based on the sisters, not the house. I have heard that this is the “rich girl” sorority. This and Tara Reid are supposedly the most popular sororities.

Tom Cruise: Not too memorable, I know a couple of girls in Tom Cruise but I can’t remember anything specific about how I felt about it. Was contacted for a lunch invite but the only times PNMs can come are times I can’t make it. I love the Tom Cruises I know.

Lindsay Lohan: I remember really liking this house, but not why! Was invited through e-mail to visit for lunch. I heard that this is where girls go if they don’t get into Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton, or Britney Spears.

I'll post lunch visits later!!

When I rushed, NO ONE in my family had been Greek. In fact, on both my parents' sides, my sisters and I were the first to go to college (out of over 4 dozen first cousins). This had more to do with the fact that we were first generation born Americans.

I think that if you can secure RECs, try your darndest. Use SEARCH and learn as much about the process as possible. I knew nothing, knew no one, and still received a bid. Honestly, when people say to "be yourself", recruitment is a place where this phrase is very appropriate- you have to be able to see yourself with these girls.

Don't pay attention to what other people say, about where girls end up as a "safety". Keep and OPEN mind, have fun, and keep us updated!

I can't wait to hear about the lunch dates! I'm impressed with your school's Panhellenic Association, since they have organized times for PNMs to visit all chapters. The fact that there are two opportunities would help for some PNMs to convince their friends to also sign up for recruitment. Plus the lunch dates are great for PNMs and chapter members to get to know each other in a more authentic way than formal recruitment! This sounds like a great place to be Greek!

I know DePauw does the lunch dates too. I think that is a great idea. Beats the 20 minute first impressions.

This should be an interesting story. Best wishes to you for a happy ending.


(Just wondering why you chose such vile people to represent the chapters....no offense.) :D

I think when someone else was going to do a retro thread, people were suggesting themes for the code names, and one of the ideas was celebrity disasters. Maybe she got the idea there?

Is anyone else dying of laughter that "Britney Spears" is "super-religious"??:D

I second the "don't listen to what people say a house's reputation is" idea. Keep an open mind and look for where you will fit in - that's what is most important.

Often times, a chapter's "reputation" is just based on what stupid nicknames/phrases people can come up with.

For example, before I went through recruitment, I thought Tri Delt was slutty because my dumb friend was like,"Try Delta, who hasn't?"

Once I actually met them, I realized that couldn't be farther from the truth.

haha hahahahahah at these code names. I don't even know who to root for!

I hope LittleCareBear is enjoying her Recruitment experience! :)

I also hope we didn't scare her off with the silly comments about her code names --and I started it! I'm sorry, sweetie.

I love her code names. Go Wacko Jacko!

Yeah, I go my code names from that thread, I couldn't believe no one else used it! I think it is hysterical.

After open houses, some of the sororities send some girls invites to come over for a meal to get a better picture of the sorority and meet some new members. This is also not a part of rush and it isn’t required.

Meal Visits
Michael Jackson: Conversation was okay at lunch, there were some kind of silent parts, but the girl who invited me did a good job of including me in conversations and everyone I met during the mini-tour was really nice and funny. I really really love the room set ups.

Tara Reid: I really adored all of the girls I talked to, and it was not really ever awkward. Everyone seemed very close in this house. A girl I met while eating saw me about a half an hour later and remembered me and said hi, so that made me feel good, like they were actually paying attention.

K-Fed: Everyone was extremely friendly to me. However, the girl in charge of me started talking bad about our cafeteria staff, which kind of made me uncomfortable, and I heard another girl telling some other freshmen that “You don’t have to pretend to be someone else at our sorority unlike the others. We aren’t judgmental like them.” It is all well and fine to be proud of your sorority and think your is the best (they all do) but to actually say mean things about the others just made me think twice.

Lindsay Lohan: I really liked that the girl who invited me met me at the dorm and walked me over to the house because I’m still not so confident about where all of the houses are and it was really nice to not have to worry about it. The food was really good, but conversation didn’t flow as well as I would have liked. The girl’s little was actually the one who talked to me the most and she made me feel much more comfortable.

Britney Spears: So I wasn’t at this house very long at all, the girl who invited me kept saying that she would let me get back to my homework and stuff, when I didn’t even tell her that I had any. Of course my first instinct was that she was just trying to get rid of me, but she was really nice besides that and invited me to come back, so I don’t really know what to think. I didn’t find this house to be as pretty as the others on the inside.

Maybe what the K-Fed girls meant was that they are different than the sorority stereotype. Then again, you were there, so you'd know better than I the context of "them".

I hope you're still around LittleCareBear! Does recruitment start anytime soon?

LOL. When I read the thread title, it makes me think she is carrying the computer with her to all the parties giving us minute by minute info. :)

lol No the laptop won't be coming with me to the parties! I just got back from our first meeting and met my recruitment group and counselor, who seems really great! I'm so excited about tomorrow and totally nervous...not to mention I feel that getting up early after being a lazy bum all Christmas break is going to be rough!!

lol well good luck and keep us posted!

I found that it was kind of like Christmas or the first day of school, I woke up early without really feeling tired because I was so excited. Good luck tomorrow!

BREAK after 3 houses
 

Tara Reid-LOVED IT! The conversation flowed just fine and all three girls I talked to were amazing, plus they seemed like they actually cared about what I was saying. Being the first house I went to, I was super nervous but that quickly faded!

Lindsay Lohan- The first girl I talked to was really nice and it was great to meet her, but I can tell from some of the things she said that she isn't the type of person I would usually hang around with. The next two were just really awkward, and sounded as thought they were just reading questions off of a script. Not to mention that I found out that living in the house is optional and most choose not to-seems off to me.

Tom Cruise-Adored this house, the two girls I knew came over and said hi and all of the other girls I talked to just seemed very genuine. I actually had a good time talking to them and laughed a lot. This one definately moves up the list for me.

I know a lot of people will tell you to use ask the question, "what sets your chapter apart from the others?". I personally hate this one for the reason you stated above. The answer always is scripted.

Surely several of us could chip in and get her a Blackberry so she could actually update us while at the parties!

LilCareBear -- you have fun.

I know! We can have a stable of Blackberries to lend out to PNMs to feed our habit!

I was wondering how long before someone suggested this.

I can imagine.

Sister: We're all indivudual at this chapter.
PNM: Really. [Looks down at BB]
Sister: Yes, we have people from all...
PNM[interrupting]: Hold on, I'm only on "at".
Sister: What?
PNM: These obsessive chicks on this website told me that if I kept them up to the second, they'd make sure I get into a Top Tier Chapter. I have to type everything you say.

tongue in cheek, tongue in cheek!

I know - have "PNM cam", and have live feed!

More, more, more! I love recruitment stories.

****Cheering**** Yes, Yes, Yes

Lololol! Actually, it wasn't so much laugh out loud; more like guffaw out loud, but gol just doesn't flow.

Paris Hilton-I just didn't feel that comfortable at this house. The girl I was with wasn't awkward or anything but it just didn't feel right for me, and I can't really pinpoint the reason why. This surprised me because I really liked it at the open house. I know a ton of girls who said that this house was their favorite, so maybe it was just the girl I talked to that I didn't click with and not the whole sorority, we shall see.

K-Fed-I got paired with a girl I knew from class, so that was fine because there wasn't any awkward ice to break, but she did violate the no talking about boys rule. It was nice that she was completely herself because I would have known right off the bat that she was putting on a front. The next girl was nice but nothing really stuck out to me. I'm not feeling the love at all in this house, and the first girl I talked to told me that she didn't know many people in her sorority because most girls keep to themselves and keep their doors shut.

Michael Jackson- I really liked this house, I had a lot in common with the girl I was paired with and we played a little getting to know you game in little groups which was fun. This house was much more informal than the other houses and everyone just seemed really laid-back and low stress, which is good.

Britney Spears-By the time I got to this house all of my nerves were gone and I was just really cold and tired, so I was just totally relaxed which was good because the seat I was in was really comfortable and I was just completely me with no fake smiling or anything. I really liked everyone I met and I just really liked being here.

Tomorrow we can go back to a maximum of 6 houses and we won't find out which ones until tomorrow morning. We only rank one house as number 2 and the rest as 1. I was having a hard time deciding on ranking either K-Fed or Lindsay Lohan number 2, and finally went with K-Fed.

Ooh good luck!

Sounds like you're having a great time, except for the hard time you might get from your bf and/or mother. Good luck!!

i love these recruitment stories.....

:::::tapping foot:::::

OK!!! It's tomorrow morning, already. Where is our live update? :)

maybe her gc blackberry has not arrived yet?

I think a camera concealed in earrings would be better. :p

Good luck today, LittleCareBear!

HEHEHE .. when I was reading this I was thinking about the camera that was in the flag pin worn by FBI Agent "Gracie Lou Freebush" in Miss Congenality ...

so pin camera with streaming video up on greek chat along with a blackberry to record thoughts and impressions - just want every PNM needs

:-)

Yeah, but what kind of pin would we put the camera in? If it was a GC logo, that'd be too obvious.

HHHHmmmmm ... how about a breast cancer awareness pink ribbon ... ... no .. to closely associated with ZTA ...

I was thinking a flower pin of some kind ... but that might be one of the chapter's flowers ... no roses, carnations, irises, pansys, or violets, etc..

putting thinking cap on ...

maybe a cat or dog pin with the camera in one eye?

or just a decorative pin of abstract shape ...

It rained so my mini camera shorted out! I knew you would all be disappointed, so I whipped out my Blackberry which was also ruined by the rain.

I was pretty upset this morning because Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson cut me, and these really were my favorite houses. While I was waiting to get my schedule I jst thought to myself that as long as Tom Cruise was on there I would be fine. But I knew exactly how I was going to feel and react from reading the stories on these boards, so I didn't dwell on it that much.

Tara Reid- Still really like this house, their philanthropy is my favorite and the girls I talked to were incredibly aborable, however I wouldn't be that surprised if I was cut because I felt like I didn't have the opportunity to talk that much and show my personality because my girls just talked a lot. I really hope they don't cut me though.

Lindsay Lohan-More awkwardness, not as bad as yesterday but still I would not say the party went well. This house dropped to my least favorite, and I learned more about how most of the girls don't live in the house and they are all sort of off doing their own things. I rushed to get in a really tight knit community, so this isn't what I was looking for.

Paris Hilton-My new favorite, yesterday must have been just an off day because I LOVED everyone I talked to and had such a good time. Plus the philanthropy is sort of related to my career path which is good. I would be devastated if I'm cut tomorrow because I can see myself here.

K-Fed- I had more fun today than yesterday and everyone I talked to was very interesting, but I just don't feel like I fit in. I appreciate their bond and why they chose that house, it just isn't for me.

Britney Spears-I liked this house a lot again today, both girls seemed really interested in what I was saying and just made me feel good about myself. I would really like to go back tomorrow.

So after I went to the houses I felt much better and decided that getting cut from my favorites would just make my end decision easier because I could potentially be choosing from like two favorites rather than 4.
Of course bad luck is upon me as my umbrella got broken and it won't shut now. I thought about leaving it outside!