Informal Recruitment as my second shot???
 

Hi all,
I didn't have a very positive experience during formal recruitment this past spring and though my school is not known for being competitive in greek life, very few people I knew ended up with bids that they accepted. Anyway, to quickly summarize, my experience was that I loved my first days and then once the second round came, I was cut from every house but 1 (there are 7). I was HEARTBROKEN. And the 1 I was invited back to was the one I did not feel like I fit in with at all. Several people tried to tell me that I should give that sorority a shot, and while the girls were nice and everything I just knew I didn't connect with them and I couldn't get my spirits up to go to their event later that evening, so I dropped recruitment altogether. I have no idea what actually happened, but I guess the connections I made in other sororities weren't mutual.

I've decided I want to try again after seeing what each sorority did during the spring semester and after being around more sisters in each of the sororities. There are a couple I would really like to look at, and I have one favorite from what I can tell based on the girls I have met. At my school, it seems like each of the sororities does informal in the fall, but I cannot figure out how it works. Can anyone tell me anything about it, and whether or not it seems like a good fit for me? Is it like casual events? How do you get invited to them? Do other PNMS go to the same events as I will? Are there interviews or just events like during formal recruitment?

Thanks so much- sorry for the long post!!!

Informal rush can range from being structured informal, which is almost like formal with party times and a bid night coordinated by panhel, to nothing but COB where there are only a few spots open in a few sororities and a very discreet process.

Your best bet is to contact your school's Greek life office and see exactly what the setup is.

Sororities do not have to participate in COB, so it's possible some will not be participating. But why not? You can always go through formal during spring semester.

Nobody can tell you if you'll be a good fit for a sorority. We don't know you, nor the campus, nor anything else.

I can tell you that while selection is mutual, the weight of selection is on the sorority side. And that while you may not be feelin' it, that one sorority may be your only chance at being Greek, especially on the second go-round.

Obviously whatever issue there was during formal recruitment, it was pretty much important to all the chapters. You need to discern what that was. How are your grades? Did you have recs if they are needed on your campus? Did you dress and act appropriately? Were you realistic in your expectations? If whatever it was has not changed, your chances are pretty slim.

The last part of your sentence makes me wonder - did you go through rush with friends and at any time give an indication that you wanted to pledge the same group they did? If so - DON'T DO THIS. What's perfect for them may not be for you and if you send mixed signals (i.e. liking a group but seeming attached at the hip to a friend who doesn't) it won't come out in your favor.

Don't worry none of us even told each other which ones we liked! We made an agreement to not talk about recruitment at all so that we wouldn't influence each other.

I'm thinking my problems were a combo between not being involved enough on campus and being a little shy. It definitely wasn't my grades or anything disciplinary. I'm hoping that even though the things I plan to get involved in will still be new to me once informal starts (a club and a performance group), they will help me out in that territory.

First of all-- there was one sorority that wanted to take a chance and get to know you better. You should have at least gone to a few more rounds. You cannot know if you are a good fit or not after one day! If this sorority is the only one doing informal, would you be interested in them now? Have you worked on the things that you think were problematic in your first recruitment? (Have you worked on becoming more outgoing? Have you started getting active on campus?)