Fall '07 Rec. Story as a PNM!!
 

I doubt this one will be as interesting as some of the others but I know how much I enjoy reading these things so I'd assume you would too! :)
SOOO I'm going to try to be as honest as possible without making it dead obvious who I'm talking about. Also, I will NOT tell you the university, state, region of the country and so on that I'm located. If you figure it out, congrats, you're very very very knowledgeable of your chapters and locations, but I ask that you do not reveal on the thread where it is.
I also wanted to do this from my PNM p.o.v. before being on the other side of the deal.

I have a LOT of chapters at my school! I used horse breeds for names and each house has some kind of similarity to that breed (yes I'm a pony person haha).

The first day is Orientation. Each sorority comes to the auditorium to tell everyone what each day is and what you should wear. They also discuss what kind of questions you should ask and what would be inappropriate. Then the 2nd day (1st real day of recruitment) you go to your first 6 houses for the Welcoming Round and the 3rd day you go to the final 5 that you didnt go to the first day. Day 4 is the 1st time you can be cut. You can only go back to the houses (up to 6) you were invited back to where you go on a house tour and learn about their philanthropy. Day 5 is for Preference parties. Again, you back to houses that invited you (which i believe the number is less than day 4.. i dont really remember). Day 6 is Bid Night!

Ok, here are the houses. I gave a couple abbrevs. since they're long ::
Quarter Horse (QH)
Palomino (Pal)
Appaloosa (App)
Arabian
Thoroughbred (TB)
Chincoteague (ChT)
Friesian
Paso Fino (PF)
Clydesdale (Cld)
Dales
Hackney

love the horses
 

Okay, I am hooked. I would go for Paint horses but you did'nt list them, so I will fall back on Palominos since my best friend has one. Go Palomino.

Wow, I had no idea there were so many types of horses. I'm going to go for Clydesdales since I like the Budweiser commercials with them in it.

Ditto.

Awww, no Tennessee Walking Horses? That makes me sad. :(

Barring that, go Hackney!

Arabians all the way!!!

Haha yeah and there are PLENTY more breeds that I didn't use!

Ok, these are my personal impressions of the houses I went to on the first day. As you know, MY views don't account for EVERYONE'S views thats why they all turned into ponaynays!! haha!

**Oh which by the way, I guess an important fact is that I am a legacy to one of the 11 houses.

For security reasons. I'll name the 5 pnms Pony1/2/3/4/5. Sorry if that gets confusing!

Let's start with a little pre-recruitment fun, eh?!
Well. My roommate (Pony1) and I hung out with 2 (Ponies 2 and 3) other girls from Pony1's highschool who were also freshman and went to party a little bit before classes started. Well the Ponies1, 2, and 3 knew a girl who was a Thoroughbred from their old school as well. So that TB invited us all to hang out with some of her sisters and also show us around (mostly to the fraternities haha). The whole time I was just thinking how nice and awesome these TB's were! They weren't really "dirty rushing" because they weren't constantly saying things such as, "You should join TB because it's the best house and yadda yadda yadda," and they didn't say anything negative about the other houses.
So going into recruitment I thought "WOW I love theses girls! They're so nice and down to earth!"
We ended up hanging out with the TB's for the majority of the nights previous to class and recruitment. During this time Pony2 had her heart set on TB. End of discussion. However, I knew I had an automatic in (unless they had good reason to refuse me) to one of the houses. I had grown to be familiar with that house and my sister was still at the school. I was pretty torn at this point but still not too stressed. I wanted my Pony friends (haha sorry but that sounds funny) to be as open minded as I was because I hate seeing other people get hurt and I didn't want that to happen to them.

Well, orientation came and I got a little more excited but I still wasnt 100% sure I want to join a sorority, and if I did I was nervous that I wouldn't have a chance in any other house except the one I'm a legacy in because they pretty much ALL knew my sister. But as I said above, I still wasn't stressing over this because I knew I would end up where I needed to be.

Day 1 of official recruitment came and the first house on my list was TB! I was escorted in by one of the girls I had been hanging out with too!! I was sooo happy I started the whole thing with a familiar and friendly face! This made me so excited for the rest of recruitment! The bump groups went smoothly (as it did in each house) and the second girl I talked to was really nice as well. She was a little uncomfortable though because she had a wicked cold sore and she was embarressed, but I told her I didn't mind it at all and all she had to do was listen to my manly, raspy, lost voice and laugh it off! haha! (having no voice really sucks when all you do is TALK TALK TALK!!) Time passed quickly and before I knew it I was back on the bus to go back to the auditorium.

The next house, Arabian, was nice I guess. I had heard, and could tell by the way the girls looked, that it was a top house on campus. I knew the moment I starting talking to the first Arabian that it wasn't the house for me. To put it nicely, she was slightly spacey. she wasn't stupid or anything, she just seemed uninterested, bored, or something, I don't know.. it just wasn't a pleasant conversation haha! I also don't know if she was genuinely nice or if she was just fake. I can only remember talking to her and this was only because she reminded me of a much more spacey version of a friend from home. No one else stood out. This, for me, was not enough to request to come back on the third day. I heard the chanting begin a signal that it was time to leave and I was thrilled! I could NOT wait to leave! I was just bored and unintersted.

Next I went to Hackney. HOLY COW!! I'm sorry but some of the girls I talked to were quite awkward. The one's who weren't awkward were boring. I think I would explode from lack of release of energy if I lived in such a house. The Hackney's aren't simply laid back like the Dales or even the Chincoteagues (which I will tell you about next) they're just... boring. Don't get me wrong, they're very sweet girls, I just would not fit in because I like to go out and party, and they don't. This 30 min dragged on for what seemed like hours! As long as it seemed the only thing I can remember is that it was boring... which is kind of sad. BUUUUT, I was beyond happy when we went back to the bus.

Ok, Dales. The Dales' house was soo cute! It was the smallest and had the fewest girls (we're talking like 10 maybe live in?) It's more of a farming, agriculture house. I just remember walking in and feeling like I walked into my aunt's house around Thanksgiving! The smell was beyond amazing and just cozy. The girls were incredibly nice. The only downside to talking with them was that there were maybe 7 pnms to 1 Dales. As much as I liked the girls I wanted a more Greek experience if that makes sense. It just more like a group of girls rooming together..? Ya know? Not so much like a sorority. Since it was so little we all basically got a house tour that night. This house ended up feeling like another quick trip, which was nice considering the previous 2 houses seemed lie forever. So, we left this little homey feeling house and went back to the bus after that quick half hour.

Now it was time for Paso Fino. Who you talked to in this house heavily affected most people's decision. I personally did not have a good experience. The people I talked to were so different! One was nice but kind of odd.. I don't really know how else to describe her other than that. While the other was also nice but in a fake way. She didn't seem interested in me at all. I don't know if it was because I just wasn't the type they were looking for, or if she knew my sister so she felt there was no point, or if she was simply just tired since it was one house away from being the end of the day. Either way this made me feel like they were all going to be pretty fake or too diverse (which would make it clicky) and I didn't want to be a part of several groups within one sorority. The actual talking was horrific too. There was soooo much echo that I couldn't even hear the girls talking who were RIGHT next to me and basically screaming into my face! This really sucks when that person also has a breath that isn't so friendly to the nose. Anyways, as nice as they made themselves out to be I felt it was too fake for my liking and being fake is really one of my biggest pet peeves. I'm sure you've figured out where I stand with this house.

Last but not least, the Appaloosas. I loved the people I talked to! They were so easy to make converstion with and keep it going. It wasn't just "so how do you like being an App?" or "what's your major and where are you from?" It was real conversation to really get to know eachother and I really enjoyed it! When the first girl was bumped I was disappointed because I didn't think the second girl and I would click like I did with the first but she turned out being just as friendly and engaging! We laughed almost the entire time and got along great! I had a good feeling about this house because they seemed to be genuine and just fun people. I hoped I would be back for the 2nd round. I was sad to see the lights flicker when time ran out and had to go back to the bus, but also relieved because it had been a LONGGG day and I couldn't talk haha!
Oh I also found out at the end during the reveal that my Gamma Chi was an App!

Day number 2 will be in the next post and Ponies 1-5's views will probably be in the 3rd :)

Gooooo (Misty of the) Chincoteague! Basically b/c I loooved that story when I was younger!
and I can root for Appaloosa too as a second choice b/c they are so silly-looking and thus adorable.

Woohoo for fast updates! More please :)

Oooh I like it!

I'm definitely going for the Clydesdales though! They're such beautiful horses. And I AM from the Anheuser-Busch's city, so I'm sort of obliged. ;)

I'm so excited! I saw your screen name and thought, "Yay! Another girl here who rides!" Appaloosas definitely have their own personalities, I love 'em. So, they've got my vote :) I can't wait to hear the rest.

more, more, more

I need to go with Quarter Horse because my friend attended the QH Congress every year..

Awww, man! I'm so sad that Arabians didn't live up the their name! I've always wanted one of every color (or, at the very least, a jet black one and a dapple gray) Oh, well. Now I'm pulling for the TB's and the Appas!

Ok. Now for the next 5 houses.

At this point I was looking forward to seeing more houses, but I was also tired just thinking about ANOTHER full day of talking haha! Also, at the end of this day we had to choose Our top 6 choices on the computers and I was a little nervous about this because I really wanted to make the right choice.

Ok. The first house I arrived at was Quarter Horse. At first glance I thought.. BARBIE DOLL! I'm not into that so much but I was going to give them a chance anyway because I'm usually really good at getting along with just about anyone. So we all went in and started talking with our first QH. This QH was nice and it didn't really seem too fake to me.. if it was then she was very good at hiding it lol! So she proceeded to tell me about all the activites they do and how well they do in them. She also pointed out that they typically have a pretty good average GPA level. I could also tell, just by talking to her and looking at her that they clearly enjoyed partying and getting out. So they managed to have a good time but also study to keep their grades up. This was a plus. We then moved from the kitchen to the basement. While I was sittting with QH1 another QH bumped her. Turned out this girl was the president of QH. It was kind of exciting to be able to talk to the president and actually have a good conversation. It almost went as well as the Appaloosa! These two girls changed my opinion of these "barbie dolls" into a more positive one. So I left QH with a little star next to the name in my notes (for the decision making that night).

Next was Chinoteague. When they came out to sing their welcoming song I thought.... what kind of house is this exactly?? There were "Barbies" and then there were the "not-so-barbies" to put it nicely. I was kind of confused.. I can only remember talking to one girl in particular. I would put her in the dead center of the barbie/not barbie spectrum (sorry I keep using Barbie as a description). She was incredibly nice and very easy to talk to. I could tell that all them REALLY loved their house and there were great sisterly bonds! They seemed to be more divided into "parties" and "studiers" then the inbetweeners.. I didn't know if this would cause clicks or if they meerly just had that difference but still all hung out as one (which seemed to more the case). I also saw one of my TA's! So this was kind of cool being able to see a familiar face. Going back to the bus I had an alright feeling about ChT and it got a little half star lol

Mmmkk... the following house that we came to was Friesian. This house had the reputation of being the "not so popular" house. I felt bad that they had that reputation. They were nice girls but they didn't really know how to socially intereact very well. Conversations were pretty slow, they didn't really know what to talk about or how to bring up information about their house and it was just awkward. What they lacked in what society would call beauty (sounds horrible and it's sad), they made up for in good attitudes, sweet personalities, and great Friesian pride. They really weren't the type of girls that you find at a fraternity or club because they just weren't into that kind of thing. Anyway, we were off to the next house.

Now it was time for Palomino. The first thing I noticed was the actual house. I just thought it was the nicest looking. They had a really cute intro song, but again, like QH, I thought Barbie doll and hoped that they would also change my mind once conversation started. I was first picked up by a girl who didn't really look very barbie-like which was a plus haha! She was so nice and constantly smiling. This house was very similar to QH.. the only difference was that it was a different group of girls basically! They had a good balance of being able to go out but also keep a fairly high average GPA level. Even though the girls I talked to were really nice and were still able to keep conversation flowing, we, personally, didn't have anything in common. But overall I really liked this house and it also got a little star reminder.

Now, finally the last house of the day!! We rolled up to Clydesdale! I don't remember my first impression of this house at all.. I just remember talking to a girl who looked like Lily Finnerty and was so nice! She was easy to talk to and the conversation kept going. They seemed like they kind of had a weird mix of people though. Like it was a combination of different houses which I felt might result in clicks. They had a pretty good GPA average though and still seemed to go out and have fun. I don't know, the girls were cool but I just felt like I wouldn't enjoy this house as much as some of the others.

When we went back to choose houses my top 6 were::
(ones i wanted) QH, Pal, App, TB
(2 that were fillers) ChT (this was borderline) and Cld
**Next post will have the ones i was invited back to and Ponies 1-5's views and houses they went back to

P.S.
Do you have any idea where I'm a legacy or where I ended up?!?