How did you know?

[CeCe Newbie]

I've always heard that, like when buying a wedding dress, there will be a moment during sorority rush where you know you've found "the one". My mom told me that she knew she was meant to be a DZ when she discovered that some of the girls shared her strange sense of humor. What was that moment for you?

[DubaiSis]

I shared with my rusher that I was uncomfortable knowing that I was being talked about during rush. She said, "we don't talk about rushees." And I was sold. And, by the way, we didn't. And no, I'm not going to tell you how it DID work.

But I would like to share a caveat. Not all girls do have THAT moment, but that doesn't mean they aren't meant to join a sorority. Some girls have that moment as a pledge or their love for the sorority builds over time. Having lived through rush season on GC a couple times now, a lot of girls think there's going to be a moment where the heavens open and harp music begins to play. Rush may be magical, but it's not LITERALLY magic. It's a very formalized way of making friends. Try not to make more of it than that. The magic happens at different points in a girl's sorority life.

[victoriana]

I didn't have that "voila" moment during recruitment that so many women talk about. Alpha Sigma Tau was definitely one of my top choices, and was without a doubt the best fit for me, although I couldn't see it at the time. I was a little unsure up until preference, but when I opened my bid card and saw our beautiful crest, something just clicked. I ran home to my sisters and felt all of their love and knew that I was meant to be an AST

[hootyhoo]

I went through rush in LOVE with this one chapter all week. They were everything I was looking for in a sorority. At the same time, I was happy with a couple of the other chapters. Pref night I was at my top two choices. I cried at both parties because I was so scared of "not knowing" what to do (yeah I was that girl). I went to the "LOVE" chapter last and then sat down to sign my bid card. I put my head on the table and freaked. I literally had no clue what to do. I ended up preffing the "other" chapter. I don't know what it was, but something made me do it. I cannot stress enough to just go with your instincts. I liked the chapter all week, but wasn't head over heels. The other chapter I went to is great, but just not me. Call it divine intervention, but something definitely clicked in the last minutes for me. Listen to your instincts even if it changes the last day!

[IrishLake]

Actually, it was very hard for me to choose one chapter over the other after pref. My heart said "Theta" while my head said "Zeta." I was very conflicted. I followed my heart. It felt more like home. There was no "AH-HA!" moment though.

[AZTheta]

All week long I had a blast, I loved every minute of recruitment, it was nothing but fun for me. I seriously had no expectations, and was amazed that I kept getting invited back. I hated having to "regret" invitations (that was what we called it then). I just wanted to keep returning to all the chapters because it was one big fun party/talkfest for me. I love to talk! and I love a good party!

Then came Preference. By that point in the week, I was positive that I wanted to be a PiPhi. I went to Theta's preference first and was gobsmacked. The connection I had with the entire chapter was genuine and hit me hard, right in the heart. I went to PiPhi next, and cried through the entire Preference. It was beautiful. Yet I did not feel that same connection that I had just experienced at Theta.

I sat in front of my bid card for more than an hour, and to this very day, I cannot say why, but Theta was in the number one place, and PiPhi was number two.

So, we tell you PNMS to "follow your heart" ,and that is what I did.

[HannahXO]

For me it was also pref round. Several women, I think mainly seniors, spoke very eloquently and honestly about what Chi Omega has done for them and has meant to them over the years. It was the last party of the night, but these women were still on their game and speaking in a way that could only come from the bottom of your heart. And then the entire chapter sang "Shades," which such a beautiful song. I definitely left there feeling warm and welcome.


And then I proceeded to pref another group. The whole following your head vs. following your heart thing...well, I followed my head, and it wasn't working too well after a week of recruitment and lack of sleep. Luckily, fate took over and I ended up a Chi-O anyway! (Meaning the other group didn't see me fitting in there, and they were absolutely correct.) I am so happy to be where I am!

[UFgatorLove]

For me I hadn't connected truly with any chapter at all beyond the surface until Round 3. The videos made me really see what I was looking for in three of the 5 chapters I visited. When 2 of them invited me to pref I was so excited! I went to one, liked it, but I didn't feel anything deeper than the day before. Then I when I went to the next chapter, I literally had the best conversation of the entire week and I bawled the entire ceremony. I was hooked. I still wasn't sure a sorority was for me, but I went ahead and turned in my pref sheet with the second chapter as my number one, which has now been my home for three years. I can't say that everyone will have that, but I knew that I could easily choose between the two for ranking them.

I actually found out later that one older sister who had liked me a lot from a previous round looked to see if I was crying during the ceremony. She pretty much knew I would be on their lawn on bid day - and she was right! I thought that was a funny tidbit to the story. So, sometimes the women of a chapter will have that moment about you, too!

[honeychile]

If I'm honest with myself, I'd say that I knew on the first day. But, it wasn't my legacy chapter, so I was terribly torn. Recruitment was a month long for me, and the entire time, I was torn - so I preffed ADPi & KKG. I ranked them that way, too, and while I would have been happy in either, I'm SO glad to be an ADPi! FWIW, I wrote a retro recruitment thread a few years back - I always wished I had given DZ more of a chance, just in case!

ETA: It's here. I thought you might want to see it, if you're considering Pitt. It's changed A LOT since I was there, though!

[BumbleBeeofDDD]

When it was the only house I cried at during the video. I just felt a connection.

[AOII Angel]

I'm someone who felt none of the touchy feely "connection." I was released by everyone but AOII. My older sister was an active in our chapter, only one year ahead. I assume everyone thought I was going AOII since I asked everyone if they knew her! I thought rush was cheesy and was so thankful when it was done, but I was ecstatic to get my bid and run down the AOII hall to my new sisters. I just wanted to be Greek. My sister had such a good time her first year that I knew AOII would be a good place for me no matter what the week of superficial rush had been like (yes, it was rush back then!) I haven't looked back once and am a more involved AOII now than anyone else in my pledge class.

[psusue]

I might have said this before, but I wasn't really certain Tri Sigma was for me at first. My favorite story to tell PNMs is that the day I got my bid day bag (complete with Sigma letters on it) I turned it inside out so that no one could see that I was in a sorority! I was SO not sure I had done the right thing at all, thank goodness I was with my friend who had also received a bid at the same time.

The moment I realized I was a Sigma though was when I was headed to a new member meeting looking like a complete mess, no shower, no makeup, probably wearing jeans and a ratty hoodie. I hadn't had time to change prior to the meeting and for every event before that I had made sure to look my best because I still really felt like I had to impress these women. But sure enough, when I showed up at the meeting, no one cared what I looked like, everyone was just glad to see me and treated me just the same. That was the moment when I realized that these women really liked me for me, and that they cared about me and wanted to be my friend. That was the moment I realized I was a Sigma, and that feeling has only intensified over time.

[BraveMaroon]

OK, so I have to say - Sigma Kappa was my number one choice after round one, and it stayed close to the top all week.

That said, after round two, there were only two houses out of the eight where I really couldn't see myself.

By round three I was in love with all of my houses (I had four left), and I loved, loved, loved both of the houses I preffed.

My two pref parties were night and day - equally moving, equally sincere. But Sigma Kappa was just a tiny bit more "me" than Alpha Gamma Delta.

I ultimately believe that they could have put the names of all 18 sororities in a hat, picked one and said, "OK, you're going to ZYX" and I would have been fine there.

I don't believe that every sorority is completely interchangeable with every other sorority. But I think they're more alike than they are different.

I often tell people, "I bring fun with me" - and I think that we all do - you can't join a sorority and expect that being a member suddenly opens every door. You have to bring something to the table.

And whether you end up at KD or ASA or AEPhi or even if you bag recruitment and join the Geology Club - ultimately, you're still you.

It's not that I don't place value in my sisterhood. It was, has been and will always be a special part of me - but in answer to your question - it
wasn't just a huge moment of clarity where I said, "Ok, this is it".

[Kappamd]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Actually, it was very hard for me to choose one chapter over the other after pref. My heart said "Theta" while my head said "Zeta." I was very conflicted. I followed my heart. It felt more like home. There was no "AH-HA!" moment though.

My brother's gf is an ONU Zeta.

The first two rounds of recruitment were easy for me. There were two groups that I just didn't click with, and had I not ranked them low, I'm sure they would have dropped me as well. I was left with three other groups, two of which I had friends in and Kappa, which I didn't. After philanthropy, I chose to pref Kappa and AGD. AGD was my first pref party, and it was rough because my friend preffed me and I knew she was pushing HARD for me to choose AGD. When I left their house, I assumed they would be my easy choice. However, when I stood there during Kappa's pref and listened to my future sisters talk and cry about what their sisterhood meant to them, I knew I had found my true home. It's hard to describe why....I just KNEW.

[TriDeltaSallie]

Tri Delta was the first house I visited during informal rush. I walked in the door, saw the women singing and clapping on the stairs, and instantly felt an overwhelming sense of home.

The other big aha moment for me was initiation. The entire initiation ceremony so perfectly meshed with who I am as a person that I was actually quite stunned and overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude. Even though I hadn't doubted my choice of Tri Delta, my initiation confirmed it as the right life choice for me.