So,
Round 1 at my school is broken up over two days--you visit 4 or 5 chapters the first day, and then the rest on the second day. Since we don't have houses, the sororities are in rooms around campus. Each sorority performs a short skit about their history, symbols, motto, etc.
Before I start, I'll also add that Greek life at my school revolves WAY too much around "tiers" and "rankings" and all that stupid anonymous website stuff. Since I wasn't in any clubs and didn't know many upperclassmen, I (unfortunately) relied on those websites a little too much before recruitment. I definitely went in with some preconceived notions about the chapters.
I don't remember the exact order that I visited the sororities, but I'll try my best!
Day 1!
Cake Batter was my first chapter of Recruitment. Though my Rho Chis had prepared us for the chanting, I can't say I was totally prepared when the doors opened and I heard the roar.
Cake Batter has a reputation on campus of being the "good girl, Christian" sorority...which is totally not me. I tried to keep an open mind anyway. The first girl I talked to was really friendly and sweet, and I started feeling like this whole recruitment thing was something I could handle. The first girl was then bumped by a GORGEOUS blonde, who happened to be best friends with a girl who lived on my hall. She complimented my outfit, we had a nice chat, and then she was bumped by an equally gorgeous blonde. I will always remember that she sat down and said "So, give me three interesting facts about yourself!". It kind of put me on the spot, but she was so bubbly and friendly that I didn't care! We had a great conversation, she reviewed the three facts about me as she walked me out, and I felt really good about
Cake Batter!
Next up was
Banana Split. One of the only upperclassmen I knew (my friend's sister) was a
Banana Split so I was pretty excited. The girl who picked me up at the door was AWKWARD. We sat down and she literally just stared at me for a good 10 seconds. My mind started racing..."isn't she supposed to be the one initiating conversation?". Eventually she started talking, but it wasn't a great conversation. Finally, she was bumped by another girl who I absolutely loved. She was super cute and, like me, was from the Northeast. She eventually was bumped by another girl I really liked...we talked about our respective pro basketball teams and, when we found out we liked rival teams, jokingly said how this clearly wasn't going to work out. Again, I left
Banana Split feeling good.
Peanut Butter Cup was the next sorority I visited. The common consensus on campus was that it was better for your social life to be an independent than a
Peanut Butter Cup. Again, I tried to keep an open mind. The first girl I talked to was painfully awkward. We really had nothing in common at all, and she was a little too shy and reserved. Just as she was about to get bumped, we started talking about how I was an ice skater in high school (a topic I got quite sick of discussing by the end of rush). Coincidentally, the girl who bumped her also used to be an ice skater in high school! We had an AMAZING conversation filled with funny stories and memories. It was the first truly NATURAL conversation I had during rush. Though I couldn't forget how awkward the first girl was, I also couldn't help but think that I should actually give
Peanut Butter Cup a shot.
My fourth sorority of Day 1 was
Half Baked. I knew from gossip sites that they were definitely one of the top sororities on campus; they had the reputation of being the rich, snobby, party girls. As soon as I lined up, I could see why they were a top sorority--the girls checking us in at the door were STUNNING. I was incredibly intimidated. The girl who met me at the door and took me into the room was adorable. We sat down on the floor and the skit started not long after. It was HILARIOUS (note that it's one of the only skits I actually mentioned...because it's one of the only ones I actually remember)! Then I started chatting with the girl who had picked me up. We found out we were both Econ majors, both loved the same professors, and she had tons of interesting stories and advice. She was awesome! I think
Half Baked messed up their bump because she was the only girl I talked to during the entire round, but I totally didn't care. When it was time to leave, she walked me out, gave me a hug, and said "see you soon babe!". I was so excited!
My final sorority of the day was
S'Mores. Another "top" sorority on campus, they had the reputation of being "the pretty blondes". I totally didn't connect with
S'Mores. I thought their skit was kind of conceited (guess what, every sorority has had a ton of Miss Americas/Miss America contestants) and the girls I talked to just seemed totally disinterested in what I was saying. Despite their reputation, I really didn't like them.
After an exhausting day, I went back to my room and rested up for
Day 2...and tried to avoid all the "dorm talk" (aka "tent talk").
I started off
Day 2 with
Cherry Garcia. From what I had heard, all the PNMs had been absolutely RAVING about
Cherry Garcia. Everyone kept saying that, even though they weren't a "top tier" sorority, they were definitely on the way up. I must admit, I did kind of like them. I didn't really have a connection with any of the girls I talked to, but they were all sweet and friendly. Their skit was also very cute. Again, I didn't feel the connection, but I thought (probably from what I was hearing around me) that I might fit in at
Cherry Garcia.
Next up was
Chunky Monkey. They were definitely a top, if not THE top, sorority on campus. As soon as I lined up outside the room, I could see why: they were GORGEOUS, SKINNY, and extremely well dressed. Unfortunately, the girl I was matched with could not have cared less about forming a connection. Our conversation was filled with terrible awkward pauses and we really had nothing in common. At one point she resorted to the "Oh, I really like your nail polish" line. Eek. Anyway,
Chunky Monkey's skit was kind of a hot mess and I just wasn't really feeling it.
Butter Pecan was my next chapter. On campus, they are known as the "chill" top sorority--they're really popular but they don't care as much as the others. For that reason, I was really excited to go to
Butter Pecan. I sat down on the floor with the girl who picked me up and we started chatting. Unfortunately, she was kind of awkward and we didn't have much to talk about. She was bumped by another girl who I had equally little in common with. Even though
Butter Pecan had a really cute skit and I wanted SO badly to like them, I wasn't feeling it again.
My final sorority of the first round was
Phish Food. They had been popping up on the gossip sites recently; literally, hundreds of posts were dedicated to saying that
Phish Food had now overtaken
Peanut Butter Cup as the worst, ugliest sorority on campus. Again, I told myself to keep an open mind. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The room was SO crowded and hot. There weren't enough chairs at the tables for both PNMs and actives, so the actives were kind of squatting at our feet as they talked to us. The skit was overly cheesy. It was just bad. Even though I discovered a connection with the girl I talked to (her grandma lives less than 10 minutes away from me), I didn't think that made up for how much I just didn't like
Phish Food.
I went back to my Rho Chis to rank the groups. At my school, you can go back to
up to seven sororities for Round 2. I don't remember my rankings exactly (I know the top and bottom for sure), but I think it went something like this:
Half Baked
Cake Batter
Banana Split
Cherry Garcia
Butter Pecan
Chunky Monkey
Peanut Butter Cup
And the ones I wanted to cut:
Phish Food
S'Mores
Stay tuned for Round 2 tomorrow!
