Destination: Recruitment!

[carolinasister]

Hey y'all! With recruitment looming closer and closer I thought I would share my recruitment story as I get ready to experience it on the other side as an initiated sister. Overall I had a good freshman year of college, but always had felt as though I was missing out on something great, so when the time came for recruitment August of my sophomore year, I was more than ready to find my perfect home.

At the time, there were 10 sororities on campus with another one about to colonize.

Sorority recruitment at my school is broken down in to four rounds lasting over 2 long weeks:
Round 1, Day 1 (5 houses)
Round 1, Day 2 (remaining 5 houses)
Round 2 (up to 8 houses)
Round 3 (up to 3 houses)
Preference (up to 2 houses)
Bid Day!

Rushing as a sophomore meant I already had a few preconceived notions about some of the sororities on campus, but I tried to keep an open mind as I began day 1. I was so incredibly excited and had no idea what would be in store for me but I was more than ready to find out.

[atrianglepi]

Looking forward to your story. I have a daughter who will be a Senior on your campus. She has enjoyed her time in her sorority and has friends in most of the others.

[carolinasister]

Day 1, Round 1
For the sake of anonymity and simplicity, each house will be a country that I want to travel to!

Italy- First house! My first reaction as the doors opened was “Oh my god it’s so loud!” Throughout the entire Greek Village it went from dead silent to a deafening volume as all of the houses were cheering and chanting. (Something we’re practicing quite often now) Once I got inside it didn’t quiet down at all. There were so many sisters and PNMs talking that it was pretty difficult to hear what the girl was saying and whether it was nerves or a lack of connection, I didn’t really have a great time here. To be honest, this was also a house that I already had formed an opinion of during my freshman year, so I wasn't going to be too upset if I wasn't asked back.


Spain- Okay, so it was just as loud here as it was at the other house so I figured it was something I’d have to get used to. Before recruitment started, this was my favorite house. I had researched it online and fell in love with all of the trivial things (like symbols and colors), but I loved their philanthropy as well. By the time I left I was still so in love. The sisters had the cutest chant and I had a great conversation with a couple girls, one in particular who was in show choir like I was so we gushed about it the entire time. I absolutely wanted to be asked back.


Greece- I already knew a few girls from my dorm freshman year who were members of this sorority and who loved it. This house was known for its philanthropic achievements on campus and for having a strong sisterhood. Overall, everything was okay. I had a nice conversation and wouldn’t have minded coming back.


France- This is another one of the sororities that I had preconceived notions about, but knowing that I could be completely wrong; I was still excited to go to this house and give it a try. However, I really didn’t click with the girls I spoke with and left pretty sure knowing I wouldn’t be asked back.


Cuba- I loved the philanthropy of this house, and the girls all really seemed sweet. I had a pretty good conversation and would have loved to been asked back to get to know more about the sorority.


End of Day One! Overall, I loved every minute of that first day. Once I got over how loud each of the houses were, I felt like I had had some great conversations with some of the girls and was looking forward to meeting the remaining 5.



Round 1, Day 2

Austria- I talked to a couple really sweet girls, one of whom I had had an art class with the previous semester it was fun to talk to her about it. Overall I really, really liked this house.


Morocco- I had a great conversation with the sister at this house. I have really strong ties to dog and dog rescue, and the girl I was paired up with had done it as well, so we talked about that for the majority of the time. This is also trivial, but I love their colors and mascot, so I was really hoping I’d be asked back.


Australia- As soon as my pi chi group arrived to this house, it started thunderstorming which meant we had to be locked away in a tiny room all squished together while remaining silent until it was time for the party to begin. By this point, the hot Carolina sun was starting to get to me and I had had some pretty strong opinions about this house, so I unfortunately was not in the best of moods. The conversation felt extremely forced and I remember I repeated myself a couple times. I knew I wouldn’t be asked back to this house.


England- This house was absolutely gorgeous and had a strong presence on campus. Many people wanted to be a member of this house as the girls were known for being classy, smart, and well put-together. Every girl I talked to was extremely sweet and I felt as though we had pretty good conversations. I wanted to return to this house.


Ecuador-Finally! The last house of Round 1. I honestly can’t remember much from it. I know that they had a great philanthropy and I enjoyed talking to the girls at this house. I would have loved to have been asked back.



For the first round, we were able to rank our top 8.
I had:

1. Spain
1. Austria
1. Morocco
1. England
1. Cuba
1. Greece
1. Ecuador
1. Italy
_______________
1. France
2. Australia

[FSUZeta]

Woo hoo. Something to sustain us until August! Can't wait to read more.

[KDCat]

Yay!

Go Cuba!

[Sciencewoman]

I think I will root for Spain.

I just figured out that the "yellow house" is France!

[Jess1994]

I will root for spain and England and Moraco

[carolinasister]

Round 2! I was so excited (and nervous!) to see who had asked me back. This round we were allowed to visit up to 8 houses and I ended up being asked back to my top 7:

Spain
Austria
Morocco
England
Cuba
Greece
Ecuador

At this point I was feeling pretty fantastic and confident knowing that as a sophomore, I was pretty lucky to have almost a full schedule. With this in mind I headed to the first house of the day!

Austria- This was my second favorite house from Round 1, so I was super happy to go back! During Round 2, every house showed a video and theirs was really cute and seemed to highlight their sisterhood really well. I spoke with a few different girls, one of which ended up being really awkward as we sort of just sat there without saying anything. Luckily another one came in and the conversation picked up again. I liked this house a lot, but I wasn’t sure if I loved it as much as I did in Round 1.

Morocco- This house was also pretty high on my list, so I was excited to see what Round 2 would bring. When I walked up to the door, I was surprised to see my freshman year RM was waiting to pick me up and I felt all of my nerves go away. It was fun to reminisce with her and I enjoyed watching their video. We ended up talking for the entire party and overall I had a nice time at this house and wanted to be asked back for round 3.

Ecuador- First off, let me just say that these girls had a fantastic sisterhood video! It was so well put together and it truly seemed to encompass the girls’ love for each other. Although the video stood out, the conversations from that round didn’t. I still liked them however, and wanted to know more in round 3.

Greece- This house really didn’t stand out for me in round 1, and sort of remained neutral in round 2 as well. I had pretty good conversations with a couple girls, and one awkward one with another. Overall this house was just alright to me.

Spain- This was the house I had been waiting for all day! I had loved it during the first round and grew to love it even more in round 2. The video was cute and the girls I talked to all had such bubbly and sweet dispositions. Everyone seemed to truly care for one another. I left that house feeling absolutely great and started thinking that maybe those girls would end up being my sisters!

Cuba- This was another one of those wishy-washy houses. I really enjoyed round 1, but had an alright round 2. The conversations seemed a little forced, but I really liked their philanthropy and the girls were nice, so I didn’t want to discount them yet.

England- I was also super excited to go back to this house. The girls had an amazing video as well, and they were all very sweet and put-together. The decorations in their house were gorgeous too. I talked to the most girls here than I had in any of the other houses, about 5 in just this one round, so I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. However, I really enjoyed myself and definitely wanted to go back.

Finally, end of round 2! To be honest, at this point there really wasn’t one house that I didn’t want to go back to. However, seeing as how for round 3 we’re allowed to visit a maximum of 5 this is how I voted:

1. Spain
1. England
1. Morocco
1. Austria
1. Cuba
_________________________________
1. Ecuador
2. Greece



I feel like I should add at this point that I knew Alpha Gamma Delta would be colonizing later that semester, so I had kept it in mind as well during recruitment. Also, if we had a one party break, instead of trekking it all the way back to the Coliseum, we were allowed to go and rest in their house where they provided snacks and had a chance to promote themselves a little bit. However, I was really unsure if I wanted to be part of a colony as I really wanted more of the traditions of an already established chapter (i.e. big/little)

[Sciencewoman]

Yay Spain! I like the idea of Alpha Gamma Delta's house being open for breaks...that's a nice opportunity for them and the PNMs to get to know each other a little during formal recruitment. They weren't involved at all in Round 1?

[FSUZeta]

What a brilliant idea to use the Alpha Gam house for breaks! I really like that.

[atrianglepi]

I feel like I should add at this point that I knew Alpha Gamma Delta would be colonizing later that semester, so I had kept it in mind as well during recruitment. Also, if we had a one party break, instead of trekking it all the way back to the Coliseum, we were allowed to go and rest in their house where they provided snacks and had a chance to promote themselves a little bit. However, I was really unsure if I wanted to be part of a colony as I really wanted more of the traditions of an already established chapter (i.e. big/little)[/QUOTE]

Very wise of those Alpha Gams. They don't call it Famously Hot for nothing.

[carolinasister]

If I'm remembering correctly, they introduced themselves at Sorority Orientation but then dropped out after that. At that point a colony was not on my radar, so I didn't pay too much attention to them to be honest.

[Benzgirl]

I knew so many Alpha Gams who were there for the colonization. It was such a wonderful experience for those involved.

[ScarlettRed]

Carolinasister, are you still out there? Why start your story if you aren't going to finish it?

[carolinasister]

I’m sorry for the delay! I had the story saved on my laptop which unfortunately took a dive off the counter and had to be fixed.

Round 3! We were allowed to visit up to 5 houses. As they were handing the schedules back, the Pi Chis warned us that heavy cuts had been made. I nervously opened my schedule and saw:

Spain
England
Greece

Wow, okay that hurt as I had only been asked back to 3. Even the house where I talked to my RM had dropped me. However, of those 3 remaining groups, I still had my very favorite, Spain and my second favorite England so I realized it could have been a lot worse. Feeling a little bit better, I set off for my first house of the day.


Greece- Although I had ranked this house last the previous round, I still was happy to go back as I didn’t really have a least favorite house at the end of round 2. The girls sang a song and showed another video which was cute, and one of the girls I knew from freshman year stopped and talked to me for a little while. I could tell how much Greece meant to her, but I just didn’t get the same feeling about it.

England- This was my second house of round 3 and one I was really excited to visit again. The house really impressed me and I was starting to wonder if I could see myself as a member of England. I had great conversations with the girls I spoke with and enjoyed their video and song a lot. By this point, I was starting to feel a little bit conflicted about England and if I liked it more than Spain

Spain- Whatever doubts I had about this being my favorite house vanished as soon as I got back to Spain. I just felt like I belonged there. I enjoyed every minute of the party and didn’t realize how fast the time had gone by. I loved talking to the girls I was paired with and their video and song were so sweet. This was my favorite house by far.

For Preference Round, we were allowed to visit up to 2 houses and I had no difficulty choosing which two I hoped to be invited back to.

1. Spain
1. England
________________________________________________
2. Greece