[ringpop]

Round 1 — Round Robin/Open House

I had no clue what to expect going into recruitment! I didn’t put much time into my application, thinking it wouldn’t get scrutinized much, and I certainly didn’t have any recommendation letters. I was a sophomore PNM (not uncommon at my school), and although my high school GPA was a sad 2.9, my freshman college GPA was a 3.7. PNMs were all given a shirt to wear for the first day, which I was thankful for because I hadn’t put any thought into what I’d wear for the entirety of recruitment.

Coincidentally, I ended up in line with one of my friends, who was very put-together, outgoing, and “conventionally beautiful,” as they say. I, on the other hand, can be a little awkward when I first meet people and I often don’t make a fantastic first impression when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, which I certainly was during recruitment. That friend, who I love dearly and had actually been the one to push me to sign up to rush, ended up being paired with me in most of the rounds.

I don't remember the details or the order of the chapters that day, but I remember some of my first impressions:

Boxer made a bad impression on me immediately. I was double rushed with my friend, and the Boxer girls seemed to be way more into her the second they saw us. The actives spent a lot of time talking about how many of their sisterhood events consisted of runs in Central Park, Soulcycle classes, etc. One active talked at length about her boyfriend, a professional Minor League baseball player. I found them to be very intimidating, with a completely different set of interests than mine.

Oddly enough, I didn't particularly like any of the girls I talked to in Greyhound, but really enjoyed the energy when I first walked in. I clocked multiple girls in Gucci belts, and one girl I talked to was even wearing Louboutins. They were the only chapter whose actives wore heels on the first day and we all had a laugh about how much we hated wearing heels. I remember worrying about not being able to fit in, and some of the conversations with them went alright but others felt a little stiff. Still, there was something I couldn’t place that I just really liked about them from the start. Maybe I just superficially liked their colors or their chant, I'm not too sure. When we left, some girls in my Rho Gamma group made comments about how Greyhound girls were "trying too hard" with the designer clothes, which soured my opinion of the chapter a little.

The Bulldog girls seemed very cool and down-to-earth, and the conversation flowed nicely (strong recruiters!), although I don’t remember a single thing we talked about. I remember they had sushi and all the PNMs went crazy over it. Later, rumors swirled that Bulldog actives were looking at who was taking food and would cut girls who took too much, although now, after being on the other side, I know for a fact that there’s no way they could’ve paid that much attention to what we were eating while trying to remember our names.

The Corgi and Great Dane girls were also really easy and comfortable to talk to, although I remember the room I was in for Corgi was so crowded and loud that I had to yell every sentence twice to make sure the active heard me. Nothing in particular stood out for me for these two chapters on the first day.

Labrador made a pretty middle-of-the-road impression on me; the girls I talked to were sweet but the conversations were all a bit stiff. I remember thinking about their “low tier” ranks, and in hindsight, even though I told myself I didn’t care, I know it did end up influencing my decision too much. It’s a shame because I think I should’ve given them more of a chance from the start. I had similar thoughts about Newfoundland, although in that chapter I was also very confused by the wide range of girls I talked to. I remember I loved talking to a really cool senior founding member about her internships at luxury fashion brands and our favorite Youtubers, but then I also had a painfully dry and awkward conversation with a girl who seemed either really shy, really disinterested, or both.

I don’t remember the exact order I listed, but it went something like this:
Greyhound
Great Dane
Corgi
Bulldog
Boxer
Labrador
—————
Newfoundland (to release)