My "Real" Recruitment Story :)

sophiebelle · #1 03-08-2011, 10:06 PM

Hi! I’m new to GC but I have been lurking for awhile. All the advice that I read definitely helped me through my own recruitment ☺ I had no close family members who are Greek so all of the information available on this site was invaluable!

Since I would prefer that my school not be identifiable, the round I am going to start telling the story is NOT the first. I attended 5 parties, but I am not revealing whether or not this is a full schedule. Since I am obsessed with all the “Real Housewives” series, I will refer to each of the groups as one of the cities they represent!

Orange County: I was iffy about this group from the first round, despite the fact that they are considered to be “top tier” and very difficult to get into. Honestly I was really surprised that I had gotten them back, because I hadn’t felt a connection and I had thought that was mutual. The girls are all absolutely beautiful, clearly love one another and are really enthusiastic about their great philanthropy, but I just didn’t feel that I could fit in with them.

New Jersey: I LOVED these girls from the start! I knew some of them from around campus and they really wowed me during recruitment. I loved every girl I spoke to, I adored their philanthropy, and just felt really really good the whole time I was there. I left the room feeling that this was definitely the house I belonged in.

Atlanta: I was shocked to get this group back because, being ignorant to how the recruitment process worked, I thought I had dropped them. My recruitment counselor informed me that I didn’t drop them, I had just ranked them lowest, which was not the same thing. This group was one of the ones that were really hurt by so-called “tent talk” so I went in there absolutely determined to ignore whatever I had heard and give them a fair shot. However, I was just not feeling them at all. The two girls I spoke to were both very quiet. I almost felt like I was rushing them.

Beverly Hills: This group was not one of the “favorites” that I had going in, but I had absolutely loved them first round and was really excited to get them back. I was just as happy with them the second time. I felt extremely comfortable around all the girls and never struggled for conversation. They also seemed really dedicated to philanthropy, which is extremely important to me. I really enjoyed all of the time that I spent with them.

New York: I had loved this group first round, and they did not disappoint in the second. Above all I felt that this group had the tightest sisterhood of any that I had seen. They seemed to do everything together (which is good in some ways but, as someone who has a lot of friends who did not go through recruitment it was a little troubling as well). They showed a video which was absolutely adorable and almost made me cry! I felt that I could definitely find a home here.

My rankings after that day went as follows:
1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Beverly Hills
4. Orange County
5. Atlanta

sophiebelle · #2 03-09-2011, 11:22 AM

The next day, I went to my recruitment counselor to pick up my list of where I was going to pref. I was absolutely astounded when I opened it and saw:

1. Atlanta
2. Beverly Hills

OMG. How could New Jersey have dropped me? I was devastated. I ran back to my room and cried, ready to drop out of recruitment entirely.

My roommate- who was not rushing and admittedly knew pretty much nothing about the process- was desperately trying to comfort me. "Well, you liked Beverly Hills the whole time, didn't you?" she said. And that just put everything into perspective for me. I HAD liked Beverly Hills the whole time, and clearly they liked me. Why would I drop out when I was lucky enough to have that? I decided to stop crying, and get ready and go to prefs.

AnotherKD · #3 03-09-2011, 12:14 PM

While I appreciate you going to lengths to not reveal your school, I can't help but feel uninterested and slightly confused with this story. We don't know how many houses there were, what your initial impressions of them were, your backstory, why you wanted to drop one before the one day that you actually described... nothing.

IrishLake · #4 03-09-2011, 12:41 PM

^ Concur.

DeltaBetaBaby · #5 03-09-2011, 12:52 PM

Let her tell it how she wants. If it doesn't interest you, don't read it.

AnotherKD · #6 03-09-2011, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Let her tell it how she wants. If it doesn't interest you, don't read it.

Haha, okay. Like no one on here ever gives their opinion on anything.

And anyways, I thought I was giving constructive feedback. But okay.

Low C Sharp · #7 03-09-2011, 01:05 PM

I'm interested! I hope you keep going.
________

sophiebelle · #8 03-09-2011, 01:48 PM

I apologize if the story was unclear at first. I would prefer not to reveal how many houses there are- from what I understand that makes it pretty easy for someone to look up what school I'm at, considering it's also deferred recruitment. I also tried to include some of my initial impressions of the houses I was invited back to- whether or not I liked them, etc. But once again I apologize if that did not come across as clearly as I thought. I guess I fill in a lot of the details in my head, and then forget that everybody else wasn't actually there

As far as my backstory, I have no family members who are Greek. I saw how big it is at my school, and my best friend went through recruitment first semester at a different university and loves her organization. That was what motivated me to go through recruitment.

And the reason I wanted to drop Atlanta- which I now realize that I didn't include at all- was because the first day went pretty much the same as the second one did. The girls were all lovely girls but I simply didn't feel like I could fit in with them. The ones who I spoke to were very nice, but also very quiet and I felt that the conversations were strained. I just knew that that wasn't my home.

I hope this clarifies things somewhat!

AZTheta · #9 03-09-2011, 02:03 PM

Just a clarification question: have you completed your recruitment or are you still going through?

sophiebelle · #10 03-09-2011, 02:37 PM

I completed! I went to the two preferences that I was invited to.

The first one I went to was Atlanta. It was a beautiful event, and many girls were in tears. While I could certainly appreciate the ceremony, and I could see how much these girls loved their sorority and their sisterhood, it confirmed that this was not the place for me.

Right after, I went to Beverly Hills' preference. I had liked these girls all week but at pref, I fell absolutely in love with them. I shed a few tears during the proceedings. I was so sure that this was where I belonged that when a sister asked what I thought about everything, I told her straight out that this confirmed to me that Beverly Hills was where I wanted to be.

I went to my recruitment counselor afterwards and suicided Beverly Hills. This was not something I EVER imagined myself doing and I definitely wouldn't encourage other PNMs to do it (a really good friend of mine at another college had gone through recruitment, suicided and didn't get a bid and was absolutely crushed), but I knew I wouldn't be happy in Atlanta, as great as they were. My recruitment counselor made sure I understood what I was doing, and then I went back to my room and barely slept all night!

FSUZeta · #11 03-09-2011, 08:21 PM

well, please tell us...did you get a bid or not?

sophiebelle · #12 03-09-2011, 08:39 PM

Yes I did! I didn't get a call from my RC, and I had been told "no news is good news" so I knew I got a bid! I went to bid day and am now thrilled to say I am a new member of......

Delta Gamma!

ProudandTrue · #13 03-09-2011, 08:40 PM

So glad you are continuing your story. I am so missing reading recruitment stories, so yours was a nice surprise!

madeline21 · #14 03-09-2011, 08:53 PM

Congratulations to you and Delta Gamma!

sanjiyan69 · #15 03-09-2011, 11:04 PM

congrats! Enjoy your experience! Thanks for sharing