briteyes' recruitment story!!
 

Ok so i'll start by saying that I grew up in the south and always knew I wanted to be in a sorority. My mom got a bid from a sorority when she was in college, but dropped out when they were making the pledges clean the house the day before one of hre finals. Even though she never became an active, though, my mom always spoke very highly of sororities and it was always kind of assumed that I would join a sorority. All throughout highschool I had a very close group of girlfriends, but I went to a small private school where the kids went to good colleges all over the country and didn't just stay in the south to go to the big state schools. None of my girlfriends were really preoccupied with greek life as much as we were with academics, so I went to school not realizing recruitment was such a labor intensive proccess. In fact, my cousin, who was a sorority active at a school in the midwest that was close to the university I would be attending, is the only reason I even knew about recomendations. She, thank god, sent me an email right before rush asking about my highschool gpa, activities, and interests and wrote me a recomendation to her sorority. She also had her friend and her mother-in-law write me recomendations to two more sororities about a week before rush. I don't think recomendations are that important at my school, but it certainly didn't hurt me.

About my school...it is in the midwest, is small to mid-sized, and had 11 sororities when I went through rush last year. I'm going to name the sororities after hollywood starlets

1. natalie portman
2. lindsay lohan
3. christina aguilera
4. scarlett johanson
5. jennifer aniston
6. drew barrymore
7. sarah jessica parker
8. jessica biel
9. kirsten dunst
10. mandy moore
11. kate hudson

While rush isn't as competetive as the big southern schools, it is still pretty intense at my school, and over the years there has been some buzz about our rush.

Recruitment is deferred to the winter for freshmen, so I had to wait a few months before I could begin recruitment. During this time, I obviously heard rumors about the "top three" at our school. The top three, in no particular order, were considered lindsay lohan, natalie portman and christina aguilera.

Before winter break, we had philanthropy round and meetings with our rho chis to talk about all the details of rush. As soon as those meetings started, recruitment was absolutely the only topic a group of girls could talk about. Everyone wanted to be in the "top three" and seemed to forget that there were 8 other sororities that had to make quota. Quota for each of the eleven sororities ended up being around 36, and i think a little over 100 girls dropped out of recruitment.
So as soon as winter break came, I went home and began shopping for recruitment. It was hard, because where I'm from it is about 65 degrees in december, but at my school it is like -10 degrees. I had a very cold rush ahead of me.

I went shopping, and spent all my christmas money on clothing. I finally settled on some outfits: for the first set, which was casual, I wore citizens jeans and a fitted, light pink lily pulitzer sweater. For set two, which was slightly more dressy, I wore black express dress pants with a cuff and a light grey pinstripe that ended just below the knee. I matched those with some killer black franco sarto boots and a fitted white button down. For set three, informals, I wore sevens and a jcrew top. And for pref night, I picked out a gorgeous red, satin, rouched nicole miller dress.

I knew my recruitment was going to be a little complicated, because I had some conflicts. I had cheerelading practice for one night, had to cheer a basketball game on another night, and had a very important lab for one of my classes on pref night. I decided that recruitment was too important for me to miss, and that while i might miss one class or make my cheerleading coach mad that I would skip everything for rush. Well, I did make my coach very angry, and we (me and the two other cheerleaders who missed for rush) had to do tons of conditioning, but it was definitely worth it. I decided I had to skip since I wanted to be on an even playing field with all the other girls and get the opportunity to be seen by all the houses. Not to mention, I knew that if rush went poorly for me than I would always blame it on missing days for cheerleading/class. I knew that if I skipped and had a bad rush then I wouldn't be able to regret missing and always ask myself "what if."

Soooo...round one came, and it was certainly freezing. Set one was split up over two days...the first night we went to five houses and the second night we went to six. My rush happened about a year ago, so I don't really remember the order, so I'll just list them all.

1.Scarlett Johanson- The house was beautiful, but I must admit that I went into rush being a little bit more superficial than I had wanted to be. The Scarletts were all very sweet, and i had alright conversations, but something was missing. The Scarletts were by no means unpopular on campus, but they weren't a top house and they seemed a little discouraged and insecure about that. Still, I decided that I liked them enough and would try and go back the next round to give the Scarletts another chance to wow me.

2.Mandy Moore- The Mandy Moores were known on campus as being very sweet, and put together, but a little too goody goody for my tastes. In the time I had been at college, I had not met any of them. One even lived the same floor of my small dorm and I had never heard of her. I decided I wasn't very comfortable at this house, but would still put them in my top 8.

3.Christina Aguilera- This was considered a "top three house," though it was probably the 3rd ranked out of the top three. Christinas went out alot, and were very "friendly" with guys, but they also had a tendency to dirty rush pretty hard. I had been dirty rushed by them since I had been at college and it really turned me off. A senior in Christina who knew one of my girlfriends had even taken three of my freshman friends and I to get coffee the night before rush started to talk about recruitment. What is even wierder is that I had never even met this girl when we went to get coffee...it was super awkward. Still, I had pretty good conversations during rush, and their house was beautiful and big. I was going to put them in my top eight, but didn't really see myself there.

4. Sarah Jessica Parker- SJP was known on campus as not being very popular and was kind of labeled socially awkward. I know that is horrible to say, but as a freshman going through rush, most people consider reputation. I had alright conversations with the girls I met, but was certainly not wowed. I would not put them in my top eight.

5. Jennifer Aniston- I had not really heard much about the Jennifer Aniston's on campus, but when I got to their house I was very pleasantly suprised. I talked to some really sweet, pretty and cool girls. I really liked the house and their philanthropy and the Jen Aniston's made me realize that would still have a great experience if I didn't get into a "top" house, and that the houses that were considered the most popular by a few guys weren't neccesarily the best houses on campus.

6. Natalie Portman- A "top 3" house, I LOVED natalie portman! The girls were all so beautiful and well-spoken, and I could immediately see myself in this house. The Natalie Portmans seemed like they were so proud to be in their house and really cared about each other. Their philanthropy was great, and everything seemed perfect. I was definitely going to put them in my top eight.

7. Jessica Biel- Once again, these girls were known as being socially awkward, and the ones I talked to certainly were. I didn't have any good conversations, and felt like I had to carry the conversation. There were so many awkward silences that I excused myself to the restroom during the party. I would not be putting them in my top eight.

8. Kirsten Dunst- These girls were sweet, but boring. A girl on my squad who was not very nice or interesting was a member of Kirsten Dunst, and she came up to me during the party and acted so overly nice and friendly. It was so fake and really gave me a bad feeling. I decided I would not put them in my top 8.

9. Drew Barrymore- Again, the girls at Drew Barrymore were nice, but were't very known on campus. They looked like they really liked each other, though, and my conversations weren't too terrible, so I decided to put them in my top 8. I knew I would not be happy if i ended up at this house though, and couldn't see myself being a Drew Barrymore.

10. Kate Hudson- The Kate Hudsons were a really great group of girls. They were considered an up and coming force to be reckoned with and there was a buzz that they might end up replacing the Christina Aguileras in the top three. I had a few friends in Kate Hudson who I saw out all the time. There girls were fun and well-liked. I knew I could fit in at this house and would put them on my top 8.

11. Lindsay Lohan- One of the "top 3." Lindsay's were known as being very beautiful, but very stuck-up and kind of bitchy. There was talk on campus that Lindsay Lohan's rushed by looks and would never cut a pretty girl, regardless of reputation. I have to admit that I was very anxious to go into the Lohan house, but I was confident that I could hold my own with these girls. However, I was not sure that I would ever feel at home in the house, and that I would always have to be on my toes around them. I didn't want to live in a house where I had to put on my best designer clothes to eat breakfast, however there was just something about the Lindsay Lohans. It may have been superficial, but I wanted to be liked by the Lindsay Lohans, and they were definitely going on my top 8.


So, my top eight ended up being Natalie Portman, Lindsay Lohan, Christina Aguilera, Kate Hudson, Mandy Moore, Jen Aniston, Scarlett Johanson, and Drew Barrymore.

I didn't put SJP, Jessica Biel, and Kirsten Dunst in my top 8.

I voted and went home. I tried to get to sleep, but was just too excited and ended up recapping the night with my roommate and friends.

More to come later and Merry Christmas!!

Yippee, some Christmas entertainment

woop woop! Nothing like a good recruitment story to start your christmas!

Yeah a recruitment story to get me through the hump. LOL. :D

Merry Christmas!

gotta love recruitment stories!! what a great christmas gift :) lol

I'm excited to read this one! It'll get us junkies through until deferred starts in another 2ish weeks. Happy Holidays!

Great story! I can't wait to hear more. So far, I'm rooting for Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson. :)

Lindsey could never be stuck-up or bitchy (LOL)

Oooo This is good! I want more!!! :)

more please!

Ok, so the next day I met my rho chi to see which 8 (or less) houses I would be going back to.
She handed me a piece of paper and congratulated me saying she thought I got all the houses I requested.
When I looked at the paper, I was very pleased, but saw that my rho chi wasn't exactly right.
I was asked back to all of my top 8 except Mandy Moore, which was not a huge suprise, because I knew I wasn't goody goody enough for them.
Instead of Mandy Moore, I would be going back to Kirsten Dunst, the house with the cheerleader who I wasn't a huge fan of.

So here is how set two went:

1. Christina Aguilera- I still was letting the reputation of the Christinas get to me. While they were in the "top three" most people were saying that they were barely holding on to that place, and their tendency to dirty rush made me feel like they were desperate. Still, I still would have two more sets before I got my bid, so I tried to keep an open mind. I talked with a very pretty girl who I had met at a few fraternity parties and bars, but I couldn't remember where I knew her from. It was kind of awkward because she knew exactly who I was and I could barely recognize her. Still, she and the rest of the girls seemed pretty sweet. I would put them in my top 5 later that night.

2. Kirsten Dunst- I'd like to beat around the bush on this one, but I really can't...the Kirsten Dunst girls were just kind of lame. I know that sounds terrible, but I knew that I wouldn't be proud to wear Kirsten Dunst tshirts around campus or to tell people I was a Kirsten Dunst. The girls were sweet, but I didn't really give them as much as a chance as I should have. I now have a friend who is in this house and she is amazing and really enjoys her house... I regret making choices based on reputation, but I did not put them in my top 5.

3. Scarlett Johanson- Kind of the same thing going on at this house as the Kirsten Dunst house. I really didn't feel like this was the house for me, and had heard that there was alot of drama between the girls in this house. Apparently, most girls who ended up in this house were dissapointed that they didn't end up in a "top" house, and they had the chips on their shoulders to prove it. I would not put them in my top 5.

4. Jen Aniston- the girls in this house were as a whole pretty solid. There were a few wierd girls, but aren't there in every house? The one thing that stood out in set two for the Jen Anistons was that I met one girl who was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. I mean, she seriously might have been the prettiest girl on our campus. They also put on a pretty good rush and looked like they were really having fun...I would put them in my top 5.

5. Lindsay Lohan- I really liked this house but was still pretty intimidated by their "holier-than-thou" reputation. Still, Lindsay Lohans were hot, and what freshman girl doesn't want to be a part of one of the top houses? I would put them in my top 5, but still had doubts that I would ever be truly comfortable in this house. Sure, it would be great to strut around in a Lindsay Lohan tshirt, but I wasn't sure if that would be worth the potential drama and bitchiness.

6. Kate Hudson- The Kate Hudsons put on a great recruitment once again. They really made me feel special and I had great convos with all the girls. I could tell that they really had their act together and were really trying to get into the top 3. I would def put them in my top 5.

7. Natalie Portman- I loved this house again...They were "top three" and you could see why. They had recruitment down to a t- and apparently 100% of the girls had put them in their top 8 after set one...this meant that they couldn't take as many girls back as other houses for set 2, so the parties were much less crowded, which was nice. I felt really special in this house, and really looked up to the Natalie Portmans. Not to mention, it felt great to be one of the few that was asked to come back to their house. Definitely a top 5 house for me.

8. Drew Barrymore- Once again, I was not wowed by this house. They were sweet, but I didn't see anything really special about them. More over, some of the things they did just seemed annoying...some of the chants, etc. I would not be putting them on my top five.

So when I ranked the houses, my top five were:
Natalie Portman, Lindsay Lohan, Christina Aguilera, Kate Hudson and Jen Aniston

I didn't decide to go back to: Drew Barrymore, Kirsten Dunst, and Scarlett Johanson

(Just so everyone knows, the top five that I put down did not have to be ranked...we didn't have to rank the houses we wanted until after pref night)

I will update soon!!

ooh exciting...and inspiring--i think i will post my recruitment story now :)

i am in love with this thread---

Yes, can't wait to hear more!

I can't wait to hear more.

more more more!!!! :o

More please!

Helllooooo?

i really like this thread... maybe its because im celebrity obsessed!

Sorry about the wait!!

OK, so i met with my rho chi the next morning to find out which five houses I would get to go to for the informal round (set 3). Once again, my rho chi congratulated me on my invites back before giving me the envelope. I opened my envelope and saw that I got all my top 5 choices!

I was so excited to see the skits at each house during informals, and the parties in set 3 were much longer, so I was excited about meeting more girls.

I got ready, grabbed a coat and was ready for set 3.

Christina Aguilera- They had an adorable skit. I absolutely loved it, and their rooms were decorated beautifully too. I was pretty much cracking up the entire time they were singing. However, I realized that even though they could think of creative lyrics, this was pretty much the end of the road for the Christina Aguilera's and I. I knew I didn't see myself in this house, and didn't really want to join a house with a reputation that was slipping. I thought I might still put them in my top 3 for pref night, only because since I had arrived at school I had heard about the "top 3" sororities, but I would still have to see the rest of the skits before deciding.

Jen Aniston- Their skit had alot of potential. I loved the musical they picked, but the girls in the skit were not very enthusiastic. Moreover, the Jen Anistons were the only house I was going to that was not "top 3" or "up and coming top 3." I didn't think I would be happy if I ended up as a Jen Aniston and was not going to pref them for my top 3 choices. (side note: two of my best friends ended up as Jen Anistons- they were really dissapointed at first when they got their bids, but they stuck it through and now they love their house. I've been to a few Jen Aniston events and crush parties, and I love the girls. If I had ended up in Jen Aniston, I now know I would have been very happy)

Lindsay Lohan- I was not too impressed with their skit. They picked a pretty mainstream musical to spoof, and I felt like they could have done much better performing. They were having fun, however it was more like they were having fun laughing at each other when they messed up. During this skit, I was sitting next to a freshman I knew and didn't really like. As we were sitting there, smiling and laughing at a pretty mediocre skit, the superficiality of rush really hit me. I didn't really feel comfortable at this house, and deep down I knew that. Still, based only on reputation I knew I would pref them in my top 3.

Natalie Portman- Their skit was really cute and put together. They managed to look like they were having tons of fun while still being really put together and on point. After the skit, a Junior who I had met at philanthropy rounds before break came up to me. She was absolutely gorgeous and really well known on our campus. After the first time I met her she facebook friended me, which made me feel really special(something that isn't quite following the rules, but is pretty tame for my school. She never creepily invited me anywhere or clung on to me when I saw her out, like some of the other sorority actives from other chapters). Anyways, this girl ran up to me and said how she was dying to introduce me to her pledge daughter, a sophomore. After I met her, I was even more smitten on the natalie portmans. I really wished I could be in their pledge fam, and knew I would put Natalie Portman on my top 3.

Kate Hudson- Kate Hudson put on a good skit, and I still liked all the girls I had met before rush and in the previous rounds. The Kate Hudsons were really rushing me hard, and I knew that. Still, I decided that I would judge by reputation, and while the Kate Hudson's were pretty much considered the 4th best sorority at my school, I didn't love love love them. I really liked Kate Hudson, but since I could only pref three, I decided not to put Kate Hudson on my list.

So, my preference list was:

Keep- Natalie Portman, Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera

Drop- Kate Hudson and Jen Aniston

I know, looking back on it, I would try not to be superficial in my prefs. Simply choosing the "top 3" at my school because of reputation was not a moove i'm too proud of, but with deferred recruitment it is what most girls (that have the opportunity to) do.

I appreciate your honesty.

I second that. Almost makes me want to do my story over but I won't :o

Enough with the giant time lapses between posts! I want to hear the ending of the story.

I also really appreciate the honesty - i go to a school where there's also a well known "top group" of chapters and so many girls do the same thing and end up either disappointed when they get their pref invites because they didn't think about how pledge classes only have 45 girls in them or unhappy because they didn't think about where they felt comfortable. In any case, please continue!

Ok, so I met with my rho chi and found out which three houses I would be going back to for pref night. I opened the envelope and it said...
Natalie Portman, Lindsay Lohan, and Kate Hudson.

So, I got two out of the "top 3." I was a little bit dissapointed, but when I really thought about it, I didn't feel very comfortable in Christina Aguilera in the first place.

So I ran back to my dorm, curled my hair, and changed into my nicole miller for pref night.

As I mentioned before, I had a very important lab from 5:00 pm- 9:00 pm on pref night. I was supposed to be at my first house at 6 pm, so I decided to go to the first hour of my lab, decked out in 4 inch heels, and a tight red dress. Kind of embarassing, especially when I had to excuse myself at 5 to six and run to the sorority quads.

the first house of the night was...
Kate Hudson- their ceremony was really sweet, but I remember not feeling as much as most of the other girls around me. My roommate, who I loved, wanted to be a Kate Hudson sooo badly. During the ceremony, we were sitting in chairs in a circle, and a girl who I knew from going out and considered a friend kneeled down in front of me. She started tearing up and telling me how I had been her rush crush since school started and that she could really see me as her sister. It was really nice, but I knew that out of the three, Kate Hudson was probably my last choice. I left feeling like I really liked the house, but I still had two more parties to go!

Natalie Portman- I had loved Natalie Portman the whole way through recruitment. They were a solid group, a top house, and everything I wanted in a sorority. The first girl that I talked to that night I had met at a fraternity date party earlier in the year. She was really sweet and very supportive. Then I went upstairs and talked to one of my absolute favorite girls. She was gorgeous, so sweet and from a city really close to where I'm from. I loved talking to her and she told me how much she wanted me to be a Natalie Portman. Then she handed me a note from the Natalie Portman I loved the most. My fav. junior couldn't be there, but she wrote me a note just so I'd know she was thinking about me! I still loved the Natalie Portmans, and right now, they were the house to beat.

Lindsay Lohan- I had liked this house the whole time because of reputation, but their pref ceremony was amazing. Seriously. I had never really been able to see myself as a Lindsay Lohan, because, even though they were gorgeous, they all seemed a little conceited. However, during their pref ceremony, something changed. Their president came over to talk to me, and was so sweet. I knew that I would be proud to be a Lindsay Lohan and left the house loving it more than I had throughout all of recruitment.

So, that was it. It was time to vote on the most important decision of my young life, thus far. We made our way through the cold and snow to the building where we would vote. We were split into our rho chi groups, and all the girls were so excited, nervous and loud! I seriously did not know what to do...it was between Natalie Portman and Lindsay Lohan, the "top" 2 houses on campus. I went to the back of the line, to buy time. When my rho chi called my name to come vote, I still wasn't sure. I had talked to a bunch of girls, who I knew had attended both of their prefs. Some were die hard Natalies and others were positive they were Lindsays. MY rho chi told me to stop talking to everyone else and to think what was best for me...she said it didn't matter how long it took, that she would wait all night for me to be comfortable with my decision.

Finally, after hours of going back and forth I put in my preferences. I decided to go with the house I had loved all along. I voted:
1. Natalie Portman
2. Lindsay Lohan
3. Kate Hudson

I would have to wait two long days to find out if the Natalie Portmans felt as strongly about me as I did them...

yay! ive been rooting for Natalie all along...cant wait to see what happens!

I'm glad you went with Natalie- you loved them all along :) Sounds like you had a great recruitment... Can't wait to see where you end up!!!!

You had to wait TWO whole days???!!! I wouldn't be able to stand it!

yes, waiting two days was absolutely terrible!!
sooo i won't make you all wait any longer...

Two days later all of the girls going through recruitment gathered together outside. All the rho chi groups made little circles and as soon as the rho chis passed out all the envelopes all the girls began screaming a countdown...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...

I ripped open my envelope and saw that I was invited to join........

NATALIE PORTMAN!!!

I was now a new member of
KAPPA ALPHA THETA!!!!!
and couldn't have been happier! :)


thanks for reading!

A great story! Belated congratulations to you and Kappa Alpha Theta, Briteyes! It sounds like you found a home that is a great fit for you. I'm glad that even though you said some of the decisions you made were silly (i.e. not being proud of cutting chapters based on reputation), it all worked out in the end. You got the most important decision right, a chapter you liked all along, and that was Theta!

Are you going to post the code, or at least say where else you attended preference? (Understandable if not)

A belated congratulations to you and Kappa Alpha Theta!!

Congratulations to you and Kappa Alpha Theta!!!!!

great story!! congrats!!

Congratulations on Theta! I'd love to at least hear the other two houses you preffed at - I think you told a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it!

Heck yes for Kappa Alpha Theta!!! Way to fly that kite with pride!