A well traveled "live" recruitment
 

I am a current freshman about to go through a fairly non-competitive deferred recruitment at a large school. Greek life does have presence on campus, but it's not a huge part of student life. We have 8 Panhellenic sororities, which I will name after major European cities:

Paris
London
Rome
Barcelona
Berlin
Dublin
Vienna
Copenhagen

There have been many open houses and other sorority sponsored events to encourage freshmen to go through recruitment. I only went to 1 open house because I decided that I want to keep as open of a mind as possible before recruitment starts. With deferred recruitment, it is hard to not listen to other people's impressions of each sorority. Based upon what I've seen and heard, these are my first impressions of each sorority and I know that these will most likely change:

Paris: At the open house, I had a great conversation with each girl I talked to. I don't know if there was a "connection" though- it was just a nice conversation. They were enthusiastic to talk to PNMs and really tried to sell their sorority. They seem very involved with their philanthropy and excited about it. On campus, they are known as the "party girls."

London: These girls are known as the hottest girls on campus. Other than the open house, I was invited to another event they hosted. I got the feeling that their sisterhood is not that tight. However, I LOVED talking to them at that event and at the open house... so I am going to wait and see what happens during recruitment.

Rome: I got the impression that this may be a newer chapter on campus. The girls I talked to at the open house were excited about their sorority and seemed like they knew each other well. Although they were nice, the conversation was pretty awkward and we didn't have much in common- it began to feel forced, so I moved on.


Barcelona: At the open house, these girls really impressed me. They were all dressed similarly and looked classy- upholding their "campus stereotpye." The girls I talked to all seemed to love their sorority and kept mentioning how their sisters were their best friends. I felt like this was a sorority I could see myself being a part of.

Berlin: I had a really enjoyable conversation with the girl I talked to. She reassured me that academics and sorority life can definitely be balanced- something I am very concerned about.

Dublin: Honestly, I didn't talk to any of the girls at the open house. They only had about 4 members of their sorority there. I only looked at the picture display and moved on. I got the impression that they are not a popular sorority on campus.

Vienna: I laughed the entire time I talked to these girls! We talked about more than just sisterhood and philanthropy, which I enjoyed. I felt like these girls are very close and have a great time together. I am excited to see how I think about them once recruitment starts!

Copenhagen: I had a lot in common with the girl I talked to which made for a very natural conversation. She was soooo nice and I could tell that she is very happy as a member of her sorority. This is another one that I am interested to see how I think about it in the future.

I am happy that I went to an open house and found out what each sorority is all about. I was told by many of the girls that my opinions of each sorority will change during recruitment. I can tell why it's hard to form a sound opinion after an open house! I basically liked them all!

I am going to try and keep this as live as possible without giving away where I go to school and when each event is. If you know where I go to shcool, please don't say anything! :)

I can't wait for recruitment!

Good luck!

I like the ideas of using cities. Good luck.

Good luck! I think i'm rooting for Copenhagen- your opinion of them sounds a little like mine did of what ended up being my chapter when I was first starting out. Cant wait to hear more!

I think I'll go with Vienna!! :)

Yeah, I'm with Vienna too. Good luck!

I'm rooting for Copenhagen!

I'm going to go for Berlin, just because you mentioned that one of the sisters discussed your concerns :-)

I'll root for Barcelona, because classy is awesome ;)

Ok, so I decided that I'm just going to post whenever I can instead of trying to keep everything delayed. It's easier that way!

First of all, thank you everyone for reading this and giving your support. I appreciate it!

We had orientation and it is so nice to see all of the girls (and my potential sisters!) going through recruitment. We learned the ins and outs of recruitment and met with our recruitment counselors and groups. All of the girls in my recruitment group are so outgoing and kind!

I am soooo looking forward to the process actually starting!

Until next time :)

Good luck!

I don't think I'll pick a chapter, because it seems like whenever I do, they get cut the next round... :P

Good luck! Have fun!!

I just finished 1st round!!!! I am EXHAUSTED, but had so much fun :)

Here is what I thought about each chapter:

Paris: I LOVED this sorority! They were so energetic and lively when we walked through the door. I loved how they were all wearing matching outfits instead of just the plain recruitment t and whatever pants. The girls I talked to were so easy to talk to and it seemed like 15 minutes was 15 seconds. I did not want to leave and kept thinking about what it would be like as a member of Paris!

London: I had great conversations with the girls I talked to and got a better feeling about their sisterhood. The conversation was very natural and there weren't any awkward pauses. Again, the 15 minutes went by soooo quickly!

Rome: Both girls I talked to were very nice. At times, I felt like the conversation was a little thin and I would end up asking questions. Overall, I liked the sorority and picked up on their very close relationships.

Barcelona: Another sorority I absolutely LOVED. I talked to several girls, including one who met me at the open house and remembered my major and everything! All the conversations flowed very smoothly and before I knew it, I had to leave! I could picture myself being with these girls as sisters!

Berlin: I talked to several girls in the span of 15 minutes. I had a great conversation with the first girl I talked to, but after that, they went downhill with many awkward pauses.

Dublin: VEEEERRRRRYYYYY AWKWARD! The two girls I talked to barely looked at me and the conversations got nowhere. I wrote them off the second I left.

Vienna: Although I liked them in the open house, I realized quickly that I did not fit in. I didn't get a good feeling about any of the girls I talked to and felt like the girls they sent to the open house did not really represent their sorority.

Copenhagen: I only talked to one girl the whole 15 minutes. I was asked several times to tell her about myself instead of asking specifics. At times, the conversation was very awkward. I know I can't base the whole sorority off of one member though.

We were asked to give our top six and rank our bottom two. I put:

1. Paris
1. Barcelona
1. London
1. Berlin
1. Copenhagen
1. Rome

2. Vienna
3. Dublin

I wouldn't put it that way...naturally a group is going to send its most outgoing girls and best rushers to an event where they can have limited members, the same as it would have its best athletes doing intramurals. It's not as though those girls aren't still members of the chapter. If you liked the women at the open house, I wouldn't discount them totally.

Also remember you said: