So Confused about Recruitment!
 

Hi! I've been checking out this site for about a week now and I have some recruitment questions/nervousness. I am trying to follow the rules for greek chat posting, so if I offend anyone - I really don't mean to. Just trying to figure out my way around here.

So I have decided to go through sorority recruitment this year at my school. Recruitment is the last week of January, before classes start for Spring semester. We have 8 sororities and I am in the south - but its not like recruitment at UGA or Auburn (some of my friends from hs go there and they said recruitment is really hard and I read some stories on here and WOW! All those stories made me really nervous). My family moved from the north to Georgia when I was a senior in high school, so I don't really consider myself "southern".

Anyway, I have a couple questions and I don't know who to ask to get the right answers.
1) The minimum GPA to sign up is 2.75. But I heard that each of the sororities have their own GPA minimum, how do I find out what those are? I don't want to get my heart set on a sorority and then get cut because I don't have the grades. (I have a 3.0)
2) I heard that its really important to know some of the sorority "women" before recruitment so that they can fight to keep you past first round because the cuts are so heavy. I don't really know anyone in the sororities. Do you think this will hurt my chances?
3) I'm really confused about recommendations. My friends who go to Auburn and UGA keep telling me how important they are. But then I ask my friends at my school and some of them didn't even know what recommendations are. I also checked out the Greek Life page and it says that recommendations aren't necessary, but then I read in some stories on here and realized that sometimes Greek Life says they aren't important, but they really are. Two of my mom's friends said that they would write me recommendations to their chapters on my campus. So I guesse what I am getting at, is should I ask them to write the recommendations anyway, even if they might not be needed?

I'm so confused!!! And I don't know what to wear either!

In recruitment, it never hurts to cover all your bases. Recs may be unecessary, but they certainly won't hurt you. If in doubt, get the recs. Southern campuses are more likely than northern campuses to use the recs, so I'd get them if I were you. As for the set GPA for each chapter, 3.0 is likely "good enough" for most chapters. AOII's international GPA requirement is only a 2.5, so there is a lot of room to actually get to 3.0 if our chapters want to use a higher GPA than the set standard. Don't worry too much. If you don't meet there GPA standard, you won't be going to parties long enough to set your heart on them. Most chapters will release girls early for grades. Good luck.

Hi there- The minimum GPA to sign up is a good idea. That 2.75 is probably the lowest GPA a group(s) will take on your campus. It probably weads out girls who would get dropped because of a low gpa. Most sororities have a minimum GPA requirement, but for us it is a guideline not a hard rule. We sometimes take grade exceptions for unusual circumstances, legacies or well rounded women. It is usually up to the individual Chapter.

It may help to know some women, but it can also hurt. There are loads of women who go through recruitment that don't know any one in a sorority. I would not worry about that at all.

If you can get recommendations I would, but I wouldn't stress over it. At my school they are not neccesary. What is nice about a rec is you get to know the PNM before recruitment and you get to see a picture so the sorority girls recognize you when you walk in the door.

Good luck and keep an open mind. You will have so much fun. Remember it is as much your choice as the sororities. Hope this information helps you.

If you are talking about the school where I think you might be at, the 2.75 is the GPA minimum to even register for recruitment. Its set and voted on by Panhellenic, I believe. The 2.75 is based soley on Fall Semester grades and does not include your winter term grades. Rarely does the school I am thinking of make exceptions to the 2.75 gpa minimum. I believe that each sorority can set its own min GPA above the 2.75, but I don't know if they actually do this or not. I would check out the Greek Life website, and if you are where I think you are, each of the sororities have their total chapter GPA posted. From that, you might be able to come up with a reasonable idea of what each chapter is looking for grade wise.

As for the "knowing someone" - this is just rumor. It doesn't hurt to know someone in the sororities, but there are plenty of PNMs that don't know anyone in the chapters. I would not focus on this. Focus on enjoying yourself and putting your best foot forward and getting to know the sisters when you are at the recruitment parties.

Recs don't hurt, so if you have people who are willing to write them, you should go ahead with that.

PM me if you have any questions.

Most campus Panhellenics have a minimum GPA for all PNMS. This is typically posted on the school's Panhellenic website. As you have said some sororities have higher GPAs that they require. Sometimes they post these GPAs on their individual chapter websites prior to recruitment. I would check there and with Panhellenic for specifics.

As was already said, this is a myth. There are countless PNMs that go through recruitment as freshmen each year who don't know any sorority women. Just go in with an open mind about each of the sororities!

Just to clarify, a recommendation is an official letter (often coupled with an official form from the sorority) that a sorority woman would write on your behalf. In some sororities only alumnae (graduated sorority members) can write letters while other sororities also allowed actives at other chapters write letters.
While recs may not be required, if you have two women who are willing to write them for you, I would take advantage of that! It is always helpful to have letters of recommendation!

I have been really nervous about recruitment. Mainly because being in a sorority at my school is such a big deal! But yesterday I went to a holiday party that our neighborhood has and as soon as I said "sorority recruitment" there were so many nice women who wanted to talk to me about it! I feel soo much better now that I got to talk to some people about what its really like.

I also had a few more people offer to write me "recs" too! So I am up to 4 "recs" out of 8 sororities and 3 of them are for chapters that I am really interested in! (I know I know... I'm keeping an open mind! But out of all 8, there are 4 that I am really impressed with because of their presence on campus.)

I am starting to worry about clothes for recruitment, mainly what to wear for Preferance Round (if i get that far!). I was told not to wear black or white because thats what some of the sorority members wear. I had been planning on a black dress, but I think this is a new reason to convince my mom to take me shopping!

Good job! See how easy it can be!! Keep looking out for those other recommendations. As for clothes, if you end up needing to use your black dress, just find an accessory to make you stand out,ie. a large piece of jewelry, a scarf, intersting shoes so you don't look like the sorority members.

Sounds like you are on the right track with recruitment!

As an alum who often writes recs, please get your resume and picture to those women ASAP. Also, be sure to include a stamped, addressed envelope for their convenience. You can get the chapter addresses on the Greek Life webpage. Providing these items will go a long way in making sure the recs actually get sent! Then, I always encourage a PNM to write a thank you note to each alum about a week after you give her your info. This is, obviously, the polite thing to do in response for this favor, plus it serves as a subtle reminder if they haven't sent the rec in yet.

Regarding knowing a member, I agree with what is said above. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. Regardless, make the most of your opportunities while at the parties. Be friendly, alert and interested in whatever is going on at the parties, smile at all times, etc. The saying of "be a friend to make a friend" applies during this time. Be gracious - say thank you, and please, etc. Tell them you are enjoying yourself, glad to be back, etc.

Lastly, maintain discretion before, during, and after the parties. Don't talk bad about anyone or any group. This has a way of getting back to the houses - even during the actual week of recruitment - and can hurt you.

Smile and have fun - Keep your options open.

We will be anxious to hear how things go for you! Good luck.

I'm back at school now for our winter term. Recruitment is in a few weeks!

Recruitment is all. anyone.can.talk.about. All of my friends and the girls who live on my hall are obsessed with recruitment and the sororites. I'm trying really really hard not to listen to them talk about stereotypes and reputations. It makes me upset and a little angry when they say bad stuff about some of the chapters that I like, but I try and keep my opinions to myself. A few girls are set on specific chapters who are known as the "elite" ones. I am worried that some of them will drop out if they don't get the groups that they are set on.

One thing that I have heard that makes me a little nervous is that one sorority has already pretty much choosen a majority of the girls that they want even though recruitment hasn't begun. This sorority is considered the "southern elite" group that only takes girls from the south who come from money and they go out and basically know who they want before the first round starts. Can this actually happen?

I'm nervous and excited! Everywhere I look on campus I see greek letters. I don't know if I didn't notice it before, or if the sorority women are doing it on purposes for marketing or something. There are a couple sophmores who are in sororities in my winter term class. They are friendly towards me. What I like is that they seem to like each other too, even though they are in different chapters.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings! I just feel like this is the only place I can talk about this stuff without everyone craming their thoughts and opinions down my throat about recruitment, so don't mind me!

And I have a question (sorry if it might sound dumb) - If I have an outfit that has a mix of colors of one of the sororites, should I not wear it? I don't want to seem stalkerish. One of my friends said it probably wouldn't matter, one said I should wear it if its a group that I want and another friend said absolutely not. Thoughts?

Yes. Not technically, but it can happen.

I think the outfit with the colors should be fine. With 8 chapters you can hardly avoid wearing SOMEONE'S colors. :) Good job, you seem to really be keeping an open mind!

As for your pref dress...if I were you and you live the black one you have, wear it..but pair it with something like a hot pink pair of heels and a necklace and earrings to match. You will look fashionable and stand out!

Don't worry about whether or not a chapter has "chosen" who they want before recruitment. If you like them, and they like you, then you'll be fine. It doesn't change your chances in the least.

We've seen PNMs have their heart set on one particular sorority before rush. They visit the chapter, and sometimes they get very disappointed.

The same thing can happen for chapters who think they know which PNMs they want even before rush starts. They end up meeting the PNM, end up not liking her, and don't bother inviting her back to the next round.

Thanks KSUViolet. Your post made me feel better about the whole rumor that the one sorority has already chosen its new members. I guesse I didn't realize that the sorority women could have their favorite PNMs just like PNMs can have their favorite sororities!

I am trying really hard to keep an open mind. Out of the 8 sororities, there are 4 that I am very interested in, 2 that I need to learn more about because I just don't see them around campus ever and 2 that I have gotten bad/awkward vibes from some of their members. I am really looking forward to learning more about all 8 and getting into the actual houses to speak with their members.

I was going to post my recruitment story, but after a recent one was kinda shut down by the PNM was writing, I have decided to wait until after recruitment.

Oh, and sad news about one of the girls on my floor - her grades aren't high enough to register for recruitment. She is soo soo sad!