Retro Disney Princess Recruitment

[Retrorush09]

This recruitment story takes place several years ago in a snowy college town in the Northeast. I was a bright-eyed freshman with no greek relatives and no idea how recruitment worked. The only thing I did know was that I definitely wanted to be a part of greek life. Right before college I had had a falling out with my best friends and I was really lonely; greek life seemed like the way to make fast friends who I could count on AND get involved on our big, uninviting campus.

At the time, my campus had six sororities and a seventh was colonizing that spring. The parties followed a 6-6-4-2 structure, so there were no cuts after Open House. The sororities on campus were:

Aurora
Rapunzel
Snow White
Tiana
Ariel
Cinderella
Mulan

As a brand new student on campus, I had no idea about sorority reputations and I honestly heard very little ‘tent talk’ before recruitment started. However, I did notice a lot of girls sporting their Aurora letters in the dining hall and I was pretty sure that the really pretty, intimidating senior that sat next to me in a class was a Rapunzel.

[Kelsium]

can't wait to hear!

[Retrorush09]

Pre-Recruitment

Honestly, I did not do very much prep for recruitment. I didn’t secure recs and I didn’t go shopping, but I did obsessively look at the national and local websites for the chapters on my campus. By the time the first day of recruitment came, I was so excited that I literally could not talk about anything else. I still hadn’t had very many interactions with sorority women except for my classmate from Rapunzel.

Open House

Our first chapter of the night was Tiana, which was the new, colonizing chapter. We attended presentations in our Rho Gamma groups and were allowed to speak with and ask questions of the national representatives. I was definitely impressed by Tiana's presentation. The representatives were very well put together and very charismatic. The only con I could really see was the price. Dues for the colony would be nearly double the dues for established chapters. Tiana dropped out of formal recruitment after this round, so in order to rush this group, a PNM had to drop from formal recruitment before signing a bid card.

Cinderella was up next. For the first 5 minutes of the party I think I was absolutely useless because I just could not get over how loud everything was. There were over 100 women trying to converse in that one room and it took me a while to adjust. The girls I talked to at Cinderella were friendly and very pretty, but I didn’t really feel much of a connection.

Aurora’s party was next and I felt MUCH more comfortable here. All of my rushers at this house were so friendly and I remember laughing a ton. They had done a great job decorating the room and I was really impressed by how much effort they had put in. I definitely wanted to get to know them better throughout recruitment.

Unfortunately, after Aurora, my next party was a dud. I don’t remember much about Mulan except that my rusher (only one for this party) talked at me for just about the entire time. Instead of asking me questions and having a conversation, she just talked about the various room decorations. I had a bad taste in my mouth after this party.

Ariel was a bit better than Mulan, but not by much sadly. The women here were nice and welcoming, but I just didn’t click with any of the ones I talked to. Maybe the women I talked to the next day would be more my speed?

Snow White brought my mood back up, although my energy was starting the flag. I was double rushed here, which I didn’t like, but the sisters were upbeat and excited to talk to us, which made up for it. I left with a good impression of the chapter, although I was confused as to what it meant to be double rushed…was it just a style choice or was there a reason?

My last party of the night was Rapunzel and by the time it started, I was completely dead. Luckily, my rushers seemed to understand how tired we all were and a few of them made jokes to try and get me laughing and back in the moment. The conversations here were really fun and relaxed and I felt like each girl I talked to was actually interested in getting to know me. I was excited to see them again tomorrow.

Because there were no cuts after this night, we did not rank. Aurora and Rapunzel were clear favorites though; however, Tiana intrigued me, too. I was exhausted but so excited for Philanthropy Night the next day!

[scrapinfificat]

More please.

[Retrorush09]

Philanthropy Night

I was so excited to continue on with recruitment! Philanthropy night was another set of 6 parties, but this time both PNMs and chapters would rank at the end.

Snow White was my first chapter of the night and I was happy to be back. We sat at round tables and talked with sisters who rotated into 3 empty seats. In the middle of the tables, there were pretty flower arrangements and slips of paper with conversation topics on them. To be honest, I did not like this arrangement at all. It was hard to connect with the sisters because they were each talking to several women at once and I thought the slips of paper were kind of silly. The women I talked to were really sweet though, so I had a hard time deciding how I felt about Snow White. I liked the girls, but the chapter seemed less organized and prepared than many of the other chapters and that bothered me.

Cinderella was up next and I although I had a nice time talking to some of the sisters, I left feeling not so great about my chances at getting a return invite. The first two sisters I spoke to were very nice and friendly, but then they called over a sister from the wealthier town next to me and she made a really rude joke about where I went to high school. I honestly think she thought I would find it funny, but I was upset by it and our conversation kind of tapered off after that.

Aurora’s party put a smile back on my face almost immediately, thankfully! Every sister I talked to here was very sociable and I really enjoyed talking about their philanthropy. Looking around, I felt like I didn’t necessarily fit their “type,” but they were all so welcoming and sweet that I thought that maybe that wouldn’t matter. I left Aurora’s party with a huge smile on my face and I was really hoping that I would get invited back.

Rapunzel’s party was next and my smile stayed. Like at Snow White’s party, the PNMs sat at round tables, however at this party each of us was assigned to a sister. During the party, I got to talk about Rapunzel’s philanthropies and how involved this chapter is with charity. We also did a fun, easy craft, which I appreciated after having to do really tedious crafts after other parties later in the day. Right before I left the party, the Rapunzel from my class came up to say hi and I really appreciated that.

Unfortunately, my happiness started wearing off at my next party. Once again, while the girls at Ariel were nice, we just didn’t have anything in common. We were given a very involved craft to make, which added to the difficulty of carrying a conversation. I didn’t think I would be invited back.

Last up was Mulan and honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it. This was the only house that I didn’t enjoy at all on Open House and I went into this party with that in mind. I only remember one sister from this night and she and I just didn’t mesh. She was very loud and excited and I was a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. In my mind, this chapter clearly was not for me.

Ranking was surprisingly easy for me this night. For sisterhood we would be returning to up to 4 parties. I ranked as follows (top 4 in no particular order):

1. Aurora
1. Rapunzel
1. Cinderella
1. Snow White
2. Ariel
3. Mulan

[DG Illinois]

Looking forward to the next post!

[Retrorush09]

Sisterhood

I got my schedule the next day, right before parties were about to start.

Mulan
Snow White
Aurora
Rapunzel

Honestly, I was shocked that I still had Mulan on my list. I thought I had cut them? If I ignored Mulan though, I loved my schedule and I was ecstatic to continue recruitment.

Mulan was my first party of the night and I have to admit that I didn’t have the best attitude. I was polite, but distant and my mind was definitely elsewhere. The only thing I really remember from this party was one of the girls rushing me mentioning that the sorority had a religious affiliation that I was not previously aware of and that I didn’t fit in to. I was happy to leave.

Snow White’s party was much more pleasant for me. I was still a little bummed out by Mulan’s party but I was picked up by a really sweet girl who I got along with very well. She showed me her family tree which was on a large poster and explained that Snow White had been on campus for a very long time and that she could trace her family back almost to the chapter’s founding. I really liked hearing about the chapter’s traditions and I was finally feeling happy to back in recruitment. Unfortunately, my lovely rusher was replaced by a girl who I just did not get along with. She was very overbearing and made me a little uncomfortable. I left with a good impression of Snow White, although the little things I didn’t like over the week were starting to pile up.

The second half of the night, I was much more bubbly and myself. I really felt that I belonged in Aurora or Rapunzel and at this point, I would have been overjoyed to end up in either. That changed a bit after Aurora’s sisterhood party. I walked into Aurora’s party with a huge smile on my face and I was picked up by a very pretty and very funny girl. The room was decorated beautifully and every sister looked really happy to be there. I was having a great time until we sat down to watch a short video about Aurora’s sisterhood. The video started like a normal recruitment slideshow, but I quickly noticed that nearly half of the pictures had solo cups in them. I had heard some tent talk that Aurora was a “party” chapter, but I had ignored it as gossip. Maybe I shouldn’t have. As a student who was exceptionally concerned with my academic performance and a girl who was only 17 and just beginning to explore parties and drink, this slideshow just made my stomach drop. I suddenly felt over my head and a feeling of doubt about Aurora crawled into my brain. I left the party confused and unhappy. I still loved the girls I met in Aurora, but their reputation suddenly became extremely important to me.

Rapunzel’s party was last and I tried to go in with fresh eyes, but I was tired and just overwhelmed with the recruitment process. I really think that I was a complete dud for the first five minutes. I vividly remember blandly talking about cooking shows and the food network when a random Rapunzel sister behind us exclaimed “Rachel Ray is my soul mate!” and butted into our conversation. The conversation just flowed from there and then all of a sudden it was time to leave. As I walked out of Rapunzel’s party, I realized that of all the chapters that were participating in formal recruitment, this was the chapter for me. They had managed to make me forget that I was upset and I just felt comfortable with them. After sisterhood night, I knew I wanted to be a Rapunzel.

We could attend up to 2 parties for Preference. I ranked as follows:

1. Rapunzel
1. Snow White
2. Aurora
3. Mulan

[Jess1994]

More Please. I love your story!

[KSUViolet06]

I just wanted to interject and clarify something, when you rank a chapter lowest on your list, that does not = "cutting" them. You're simply indicating your preference for them in relation to the others. You don't actually cut anyone. The chapter you rank lowest could still appear on your list. You probably know that now, but I wanted to add that for any other PNMs reading.

[Retrorush09]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I just wanted to interject and clarify something, when you rank a chapter lowest on your list, that does not = "cutting" them. You're simply indicating your preference for them in relation to the others. You don't actually cut anyone. The chapter you rank lowest could still appear on your list. You probably know that now, but I wanted to add that for any other PNMs reading.

You're right that I should've known better than to use the word "cut." At the time, that's what I thought I had done, and I was trying to convey that, but I probably should have clarified that even though I thought I was "cutting" the chapters I didn't want to be invited back to, I was merely ranking them in order of my preference. All "cutting" is done on the sorority side.

[Retrorush09]

Pre-Preference

Luckily, I was not dropped from recruitment. Unluckily, my high school boyfriend had broken up with me a few hours before the parties started for the night. Our relationship wasn’t that serious or that great (hindsight is 20/20), but I was pretty upset for the next few days. I was definitely a bit of a mess when I left my dorm that night, and honestly, I think this affected how emotional I got during the parties.

Preference

I received invitations to Snow White and Rapunzel for Preference. I was so happy! I went into my parties with a huge smile on my face and a hope that I would find where I belonged.

My first preference party was Snow White . I was paired with the woman I spent most of Sisterhood Night with and I was happy to see her again. The structure of the party did not allow for much conversation, which I wasn’t a huge fan of, but the ceremony itself was pretty. The sisters did whisper into our ears as we left and that made me a little uncomfortable. Overall, I felt that the sisters of Snow White were nice girls but I just didn’t feel a connection to them or to their preference ceremony. I left the party confused and a little nervous that I would feel the same at Rapunzel.

The atmosphere of Rapunzel'sparty was much less solemn. I was picked up at the door by a sister who I had briefly spoken to during philanthropy night. We had so much in common and I quickly fell in love with her. We talked about our life goals, our families, and she told me all about her little. At this point, I was getting a little emotional after having such a long day and I accidentally mentioned that my high school boyfriend had broken up with me a few hours earlier. Instead of awkwardly ignoring the topic of boys, this sister told me a ridiculous story about one of her exes to make me laugh and then offered some older sister wisdom. About halfway through the party, the president came around and asked the PNMs to move to a circle of chairs set up on the other side of the room. The chapter then performed a short ceremony before launching into testimonials by various about what it’s like to be a Rapunzel. The preference party concluded with a sister singing a song from a very popular musical (which happened to be my favorite musical ever) and as soon as she started singing, I started crying.

I left Rapunzel's party and was convinced that I knew how I was going to rank, but when it came time to write down my preferences, I froze. Rapunzel was my number one choice, but would I also be okay with a bid from Snow White ? What about colonization with Tiana? I had been impressed by their national representatives and colonization would be an opportunity to take on leadership roles almost immediately. I agonized over my ranking for ages and then I finally signed my bid card and went home. I was exhausted and I slept soundly, knowing I made the right decision.

I ranked as follows:

1.Rapunzel

Yep, I suicided. And I will explain why in the next installment (which I promise will come today!).

[WCsweet<3]

Originally Posted by Retrorush09

(which I promise will come today!).

Thank you!

Sucky timing on the whole break up thing. Couldn't that have waited like two more days?

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by WCsweet<3

Sucky timing on the whole break up thing. Couldn't that have waited like two more days?

Sensitivity was clearly not the guy's strong suit.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Retrorush09

At this point, I was getting a little emotional after having such a long day and I accidentally mentioned that my high school boyfriend had broken up with me a few hours earlier. Instead of awkwardly ignoring the topic of boys, this sister told me a ridiculous story about one of her exes to make me laugh and then offered some older sister wisdom.

This is SUCH a good lesson for first time rushers. Yes, PNMs might be nervous and bring up one of those "taboo" topics, but don't freeze like a deer in the headlights or make her feel uncomfortable!! Have an amusing story on that topic at the ready to cut the tension.

[Retrorush09]

Post-Preference

I went back to my dorm after ranking and did not sleep for a single second. I felt like I had made the right choice for me, but I will still very anxious over whether I’d get that dreaded call from my Rho Gamma. I suicided for two reasons: 1) If I received a bid from Snow White and refused to take it or dropped during pledging, I would be ineligible to go through colony recruitment with Tiana. After Rapunzel, Tiana was the organization I was most interested in and intrigued by, so I figured I should go after what I wanted the most. And 2) I did not feel enough of a connection to Snow White to take a spot from someone who really wanted to be there. I know that probably sounds like I’m trying to paint 17 year old me in a better light than is realistic, but I honestly felt awful that I didn’t feel anything for an organization whose sisters had been so kind and welcoming to me for the past week. The women in Snow White were so sweet and I became friends with several of them after recruitment, but I just wasn’t meant to be their sister.