Fall 2008 Competitive Recruitment

[purpleparrot]

I am really bored so I thought some of you would like to read my recruitment experience from fall 2008-I have kind of always wanted to put it on here. I attend a very competitive (in Greek life and everything else lol) SEC school with 16 sororities and a formal weeklong recruitment in the fall. I knew how competitive it would be, so I got a good amount of recs ahead of time and researched the recruitment process so I know what I was getting myself into. Most of the girls that went to my university from my high school rushed, so I knew a lot of sorority women and a lot about many of the houses, but I still wanted to go into it with an open mind and just go where I felt I fit which was very hard to do while knowing about most of the houses already. Although all that research helped, only the actual experience could really prepare me. At orientation we found out our rush groups and met our Pi Chis, so round 1 we just checked in and headed to our first party. I am gonna start with round one and leave ya'll hanging for round 2 which I will post tomorrow! Round 1 was 16 20-minute parties and it was almost 2 years ago so bare with me since some of it is hard to remember and gets a little vague. I am doing the sororities by color cuz I couldn't think of anything else haha.

Lime Green
Yellow
Magenta
Lavender
Navy
Sky Blue
Teal
Forest Green
Silver
Gold
Dark Purple
Orange
Black
Coral
Crimson
Brown



Orange=This was my first party and I could tell that the girl rushing me was as nervous as I was, if not more. I was blown away by how gorgeous all the girls looked, and how rehearsed and perfect everything was, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We toured the house and had a good conversation, then they did a cute skit which I certainly was not expecting. The party wasn’t really enough time to tell if I really fit in there but overall I enjoyed myself.

Magenta=I had a really good friend in this house and I already knew I liked these what I had seen, but I wasn’t totally certain I would fit in here. However, the girl who rushed me was really cool, and we had a really funny conversation.

Lime Green=I really knew nothing about this house or even that it existed, so I went in blindly. I could tell the girl who was rushing me was super nervous. She was nice, but the conversation was just ok. I got bumped off to another girl that I clicked better with, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt here. Once again, the party was too short for me to really tell.

Yellow=This was the house where all the girls from my high school generally went. There was probably 10 girls from my high school in each pledge class and some girls rushing with me I knew were going to end up their because they had active older sisters. I knew it was a great house, and I am friendly with most of those girls, but I didn’t see myself wanting to be sorority sisters with them. I tried not to let that get to me, and I went into the party and ended having a really good time with one girl, but not so great time with the second girl.

Lavender=The girl who rushed me in this house was really funny, but we pretty much had nothing in common. They all seemed really party-oriented and a different style than me and I could sense that I probably wouldn’t fit in here.

Sky Blue=This was a house that I had been interested in prior to recruitment, and I really enjoyed my time here. I talked to a really laid back girl, and I am kind of that way myself so it was an easygoing time and a lot of fun.

Navy=I had heard this house was really athletic and I was into sports in high school, so surprise surprise that ended up being what our conversation was about. It was a good time but not too memorable.

Black=I had a pretty good time here. The girl who rushed me was super sweet and we clicked rather well, but once again it wasn’t terribly memorable.

Forest Green= This was a weird experience for me. Their house was absolutely gorgeous but all the girls seemed very robotic. They had their arms behind their backs the ENTIRE party and their skit seemed really cheesy and they mentioned something about being “future soccer moms” which really turned me off.

Dark Purple=The girl I talked to here was super sweet, and she had at one point been a cheerleader for my school. I couldn’t really share that in common with her, but we talked a bit about being athletes and our dedication to it and all that. She was so sweet that she almost had a maternal quality to her, but I really enjoyed it.

Teal=I had a great time here. The girl I talked to had a lot in common with me, was so sweet and so funny and we had a funny conversation about both being yearbook staffers in high school. I knew a few girls in this house (acquaintances), and I could certainly see myself here.

Brown=This house had a great reputation, but I ended up being rushed by a girl that wasn't really like me. She was sweet, but conversation wasn't that great. I had a slight feeling I wouldn't end up back here next round

Crimson=This was another house I had kind of an awkward time because the girl who rushed me was so intense. It was like she was playing 20 questions with me and barely let me get a word in. Then she passed me off to a girl who didn’t talk much at all.

Coral= I started off being rushed by a girl who didn’t have much to say and kind of said awkward things because she must have been nervous, but then I got bumped to a hysterically funny girl and ended up having a really fun time after that.

Gold=The girl I talked to was very nice, and I ended up having a very good time here. We got on topic of food because their philanthropy was oriented around it and that was a funny conversation.

Silver=From what I knew of the house I was almost certain I wouldn’t fit in, and although the girl who rushed me was very nice, It kind of ended up being how I thought it would be. Great girls, just not for me.

It was a crazy two days, and now it was time to rank. We rank them in the order we like the best with our bottom 5 being our "drops" because we have 11 parties during round 2. I don't remember exactly what order I ranked them in but I do know my bottom 5 so I will give you those (least favorite to most favorite):

5. Crimson
4. Forest Green
3. Silver
2. Black
1. Lavender

I tried to drop the houses I had the worst time at, but since I was a naive freshman I did take reputation into consideration a little bit and I'll admit I was more inclined to give the "better" houses a second chance. I just hoped I would come back tomorrow with a full schedule and see my favorite houses on it!

[FSUZeta]

more please!

[nittanygirl]

i'm liking dark purple or teal.
can't wait to read more

[purpleparrot]

Here comes round 2!! I got my schedule back in the morning and I was very nervous/excited. I took a look at it and here is what it said:
Gold
Coral
Navy
Forest Green
Orange
Lime Green
Hot Pink
Teal
Crimson
Black

It was bittersweet. I had 10 out a possible 11 which was good for such a competitive school, and I liked all these houses and was very happy Teal was on there, but I was upset not to see Sky Blue and Dark Purple. I was a little surprised about Yellow not being there, but not terribly disappointed, and I kind of expected not to see Lavender, Silver and Brown. I was still very positive and I started the round 2 which was the “philanthropy” or “craft” round and consisted of 30 minute parties:

Lime Green= I really liked it here this round. The girl who rushed me ended up being my friend’s cousin who I had never met before, but she asked what high school I went to and it basically unraveled from there. She was super sweet and down to earth and someone I could definitely see myself being friends with.

Hot Pink=this wasn’t as exciting of a time. I was still convinced I wouldn’t fit in here and didn’t get any special feelings about it

Black= I had an ok time this round. The first girl I talked to was very sweet and then I got bumped to a girl I went to high school with who I hadn’t really liked that much but it was refreshing to talk to someone I already knew and not have the same conversation again.

Navy= I had a really good time here. The girl I rushed looked exactly like my cousin which was very funny, and we talked about how I was living with my best friend and she had done the same freshman year and assured me it would be awesome unlike many people said. The girls seemed really sweet and easygoing, which I liked.

Forest Green=I hadn’t liked this house first round but this time it was a lot of fun. The girl I talked to was very goofy and animated and I felt like I could be myself around her. We had a funny conversation about food (seemed to be a popular topic ha) and how we both played soccer.

Crimson= I liked this house a lot better than I had first round. The girl who rushed me was very sweet and funny, almost a little ditzy but pretty entertaining to talk to and we clicked really well.

Orange= By far my favorite this round. I had a lot in common with the girl who rushed me. It was literally a very involved, nonstop conversation about anything and everything and we seemed to share the same opinions on many things. She was so funny and I thought she would be someone I would love to call my sister. The other sister at my table I didn't get to talk to as much, but she seemed really nice and sophisticated

Gold=I liked this house again. Not my favorite but I definitely enjoyed it and thought the girls were all sweet and cute and that it would be a house I would certainly fit in with. Everytime I told this to my friends all of them told me they didn’t see me fitting there which bothered me, but I really like the house nonetheless.

Teal= Not as great of an experience this time. The girl I talked to really didn’t have too much in common with me and it was not such a great conversation. I really wanted to have a good time here since I liked it so much first round and was already interested in this house before recruitment, but it just didn’t happen for me. I still had some hopes about going back here though.

Coral= This was an ok time. The girl who rushed me was very sweet but we didn’t have much to talk about and she didn’t seem too interested in me.

At the end of the two days, we had to rank. There would be a possible 7 parties next round so we had to “drop” 4 houses. This was a little tougher this time around, but I tried to used my best judgment to make my bottom 4:
4. Black
3. Hot Pink
2. Coral
1. Crimson

Stay tuned for round 3...it starts to get weird but also things begin to fall in place

[DGAnchorGirl]

I really like this retro story! I can't wait to read the rest!

[nittanygirl]

since dark purple is gone...
i think orange and teal now. lol

[33girl]

did magenta turn into hot pink?

[purpleparrot]

Ummm yea it did, my bad lol. Thanks for pointing that out...switching the names into colors has been a tad confusing.

[Pirouette]

With the name purpleparrot, I totally thought you'd end-up in dark purple! Oh well. I guess I'm rooting for lime green! (Which is color of the living room in my new apartment. The previous tenets painted it, but it's really starting to grow on me.)

[kchaptergphib]

I'm hoping for Orange, but also Gold- good for you for liking it, whether or not your friends could "see you there"

[purpleparrot]

So heres comes round 3. I started the day really positive that I would see my favorite houses on it, so I headed to my Pi Chi to get my schedule and this is what it said:
1. Lime Green
2. Gold
3. Black
4. Crimson

I was so upset. I really liked Lime Green and Gold, but Crimson and Black didn't have me as convinced. Mostly I was shocked not to see Navy, Forest Green and Orange (major letdown!). I thought I made good connections in those three houses and would surely be asked back. I was also upset not to see Teal, but not as surprised due to my experience the last round. My good friend in my rush group had the same exact situation as far as being cut from her favorites, so we sulked a bit and talked to our Pi Chi about how upset and shocked we were that those houses we thought we really made a connection at had cut us. I wasn't at the point of dropping out of recruitment or anything, I was just really bummed about my favorites dropping me but my Pi Chi put it into perspective (Her advice: "if you thought you made a connection and you didn't get asked back, those girls were probably just being fake...and wouldn't you rather not be in a house like that and be in one that saw something in you and wants you to be their sister?"). But I still had good options and I went on with the day trying to stay positive again and hoping that I would be able to find a home (I am little miss optimism about everything, so I tried to maintain that during recruitment, or at least pretend lol)

Lime Green= This is the round I fell in love with this house. I had liked it enough every round, but it was never my favorite. However, they did an amazing job with their video; it was really funny, sweet and really made you want to be part of their sisterhood because they looked like they were having such a great time together and being themselves. There was a lot of candid footage of them goofing around together and a ton of super cute pictures. The sisters also showed you photos of their time in Lime Green, but I clicked with the girl so much that we basically just chatted through that portion.

Black= I wasn’t so impressed this round. The video was cute, but just ok and the girl who rushed me was very nice but not terribly interesting. For some reason I didn't feel as comfortable here. I wasn't convinced about their sisterhood.

Gold= I also really loved it here this time. All the girls looked so amazing in all Lilly Pulitzer dresses (I am a sucker for that lol), and the girl who rushed me was super sweet. She was the best friend of a girl who had previously rushed me which I think I figured out from pictures, and she was just great to talk to. Their video wasn't as much candid and was more posed photos, but it still managed to make everything they did look fun, and it just seemed like such a genuine house.

Crimson=I had a good time here, but nothing made me completely fall in love with it. I felt pretty comfortable here, but I didn't necessarily feel at home. I honestly don't remember too much of it.

Now after round 3, we ranked our top 3. Next round was prefs, so we chose the ones we would most like to pref at and then ranked the rest of them in the order of what we would want the most if we didn’t get our top 3, and there were a max of 3 pref parties. This was kind of an easy decision for me after this round, and I ranked:
1. Lime Green
2. Gold
3. Crimson
4. Black

I was still trying to maintain my optimism, but after that morning I had this major fear that my favorites would drop me again, so I was completely jittery and freaked out in the time between round 3 and prefs. I started to tell myself that my life would be fine if I didn't end up in a sorority, just so incase anything happened I would cope well.

[FSUZeta]

more please!

[purpleparrot]

Time for prefs! Now I didn’t mention this before, but our rush had been a little crazy due to weather, so prefs was now at 8 am the same morning as bid day. It would have normally been the night before. I was pretty much in a daze from not sleeping well (nerves) and having to wake up and be pretty at 8m. I still had that horrible fear that I would come back and only see my least favorite house on my prefs schedule. I met up with my Pi Chi and got my schedule:

1. Lime Green
2. Crimson
3. Gold
Woohoo! I was so relieved to see the 3 I had chosen! I was eager to see what prefs was like.

Lime Green= Loved it again. I was already biased, but the girl who prefed me was incredibly sweet and told me she had heard about me and was excited to pref me. The ceremony made me cry (the sisters were bawling). Two seniors who had been best friends during their 4 years in the sorority read letters they had written to each other and they were so meaningful and beautifully written. Their ceremony also had a lot of music that the sisters sang, more than the other houses (from what I have seen and heard most had like 1). I think they had a Lime Green specific song and then another that was just really beautiful with lyrics about love and friendship (would normally be cheesy but in that setting it was really meaningful). It was a really touching pref ceremony and I pretty much knew I would love to call Lime Green my home.

Crimson= This ceremony was nice, but still no connection. This is the house I have the least memory of from prefs. The sisters were all in long black dresses and they sang one kind of repetitive, but cute song that was their chapters pref song. The same girl who rushed me round 3 prefed me and she was very sweet, but I still didn’t think I was completely comfortable with this house.

Gold=I liked this house a lot, again. The girl who rushed me round 3 preffed me and I already knew how well I got along with her. Their ceremony was really amazing (I wish I could give you more details than that but it will definitely give away what chapter it is). The only thing that bothered me was that she didn't seem to give me as much of a look into what sisterhood meant to her, it was more of a normal conversation. However, I still had a really good feeling about this house and would definitely be happy to end up here.

After prefs, we ranked and had to sit and wait the whole day until bid night started. I ranked (if you couldn’t already guess):

1. Lime Green
2. Gold
3. Crimson

After that it was a waiting game until bid night. I ate lunch with my friends and basically sat around watching the clock until it was time to go to bid night. Finally 5 rolled around and we all went to the student union for bid night to start. In the student union, our Pi Chi’s revealed themselves to us. Mine were in Teal, Crimson, Black, Dark Purple and Forest Green. I had guessed them totally wrong except for the Forest Green, because I had met her the previous spring. After that, we all collectively walked over to sorority row (there was a hall nearby where we would receive our bids). There were TONS of people lined up by sorority row waiting to watch us run to our houses. It was actually really funny, mostly frat boys, but it made the night much more exciting. We waited forever for every straggler to get into the room where my rush group would receive our bids and for girls in other groups to find their classrooms, then our Pi Chi’s handed them out and we waited for everyone to get theirs before we ripped them open. I was sitting near a good friend and a high school acquaintance who I found out had both put Lime Green as their first choice. I was really nervous and feared I would get my last choice, but I ripped mine open (literally ripped the bid card in excitement) and saw that I had received a bid tooooo:





























LIME GREEN which was ALPHA CHI OMEGA!!!!! I was seriously so relieved and ecstatic. My good friend had gotten her second choice, but my high school acquaintance also received a bid to AXO so we gave each other the look of “got it!” and basically grabbed each other and dashed to the house for our bid day festivities. After all had gone through that week it was really nice to find my home. Now 2 years later, I literally cannot imagine my life in any other house and am in love with AXO. It was definitely the right choice for me.

[IrishLake]

Congrats to you and Alpha Chi Omega! Great story, thanks for posting!

[LucyKKG]

Aww, congrats! I know a couple of very special AXOs so I have a soft spot for them!