A Stanford Recruitment Story

[XOcarnation]

Hey everyone,

As a rising senior I have started to get nostalgic as the school year approaches. I was going through my stuff from freshman year and found the notebook where I wrote all my sorority impressions. I figured since I can't fall asleep, I would start writing my story. Plus, you rarely get to hear about Stanford on GreekChat, so I thought I'd give my school a shout out. Unfortunately, my username gives away the ending, but I promise it is a good story.

When I was going through rush (Yes, I am calling it rush. Frankly it is just faster to type), Stanford had 6 NPC chapters. Now we have 7. Welcome Alpha Phi! They were:
1) Kappa Alpha Theta
2) Pi Beta Phi
3) Delta Delta Delta
4) Chi Omega
5) Alpha Epsilon Phi
6) Kappa Kappa Gamma

I will name them after freshman dorms in the Stanford spirit. They are in no particular order:
1) Serra
2) Donner
3) Larkin
4) Twain
5) Burbank
6) Cedro

My background:
None of my family members had ever been involved in Greek life, so I really didn't know that much about the process. And by really didn't know that much, I mean that I didn't know ANYTHING. However, lots of my friends were rushing, and I am a fairly social person, so I thought it would be a good fit. I decided to give it a try, despite the fact that my family didn't really approve.

Here were my impressions of each sorority prior to rush:
Even though I didn't know much about rush or really Greek life in general, I did have impressions of each house. Stanford has deferred rush (we rush in early April), and the undergraduate body is fairly small. This means that you are bound to know someone involved in Greek life, and tent talk abounds.

1) Serra: I didn't really know much about this chapter, except that they were unhoused. At the time, the whole housing process freaked me out (Everyone at Stanford lives on campus, and to get housing, you have to apply through what they call "The Draw." It is overly complicated.). I wanted a housed chapter, so I didn't have to deal with the whole housing situation. (Awful reason to join a sorority, I know. Looking back on my entire thought process now, I shudder).
2) Donner: This chapter was considered one of the "top" houses at Stanford. I knew a senior who was a Donner through an extracurricular activity and really liked her. She was funny, warm, and had amazing things to say about Donner.
3) Larkin: This chapter was known as the bottom chapter. It was the smallest in size and also unhoused.
4) Twain: This chapter is housed and was considered middle of the road. Didn't really have strong impressions of it.
5) Burbank: This chapter was housed, and I knew two girls in the grade above me in the house. They showed me around their freshman dorm when I was a prospective freshman. I later ended up in the same dorm and went on a dorm trip with them. I really liked these girls. They were so nice, sweet, and friendly to me. They RAVED about their sorority and did things like ask me over for lunch at the house. They essentially did everything besides promise me a bid. (All I can hear in my head when I think back to this is, "RUSH INFRACTION!"). I really wanted to be a Burbank.
6) Cedro: This chapter was also unhoused. Known for its athletes and partying, my Donner friend told me it was the strongest unhoused chapter.

Before I go on and y'all get tired of reading, I really want to encourage any woman reading this who is thinking about rushing NOT to go into rush with the mindset that I had. I know that going through rush, your Rho Gamma/Pi Chi/whoever always tells you to keep and open mind and not make decisions based off of tent talk and your friends. At the time, it sounded corny and unrealistic to me. Please, please, please take it to heart. Now that I am on the other side, I can honestly say that I would feel privileged to be a member of any sorority at Stanford. Each sisterhood has such amazing things to offer and is made up of truly fantastic women. For women that are in my situation with deferred rush, do the best to set the tent talk aside. Also know that while you may know and love girls in each house (and they may know and love you back), 2/3/10 girls that love you might just not cut it. Never assume just because you know people that you will get a bid. Truly go in with an open mind and heart and with realistic expectations, and in return, you will get amazing sisters, great memories, and no regrets.