Carlisle's BRUTALLY honest recruitment, Fall 2010

[Carlisle]

I just went through recruitment at a very competitive school, but because I’d like to be brutally honest in my telling of this story, everything will remain completely anonymous! (I’m sure many of you will be able to figure it out anyways, lol). I secured recs for all the sororities, and I’m in-state and have some connections with girls in a bunch of different sororities. So I’ll name the houses after my favorite book/movie: Alice in Wonderland!
The houses are:

Mad Hatter
Alice
Cheshire
Red Queen
White Queen
Stayne
Tweedledee
Blue Caterpillar
Dormouse
March Hare
Bayard
Jabberwocky
Dodo Bird
Frabjous Day
Pishsalver
Wonderland
Oraculum

I am a Tweedledee legacy, and my mother was really pushing for this house! Coincidentally, Tweedledee happens to be a really great chapter at my school and it was definitely one I hoped I’d click with before rush started.

The houses I really wanted were Blue Caterpillar, Tweedledee, Bayard, Pishsalver and Jabberwocky- all very much considered top tier and where I think I could fit in best!

The first round was such a blur, but a few stood out to me.

White Queen- This was my first house and I noticed the girls looked very friendly but a little frumpy. The girl who rushed me was unsettlingly perky and cheerful…to the point where I was creeped out. She didn’t once look away from me and I swear her mouth was stretched in a wide, toothy smile the entire time.

She kept complimenting me on my dress, saying that she “loooooved what the color did for my complexion.” At first it was flattering, but then a little bit later into our conversation she interrupts me to say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stop looking at how perfectly your dress compliments your coloring.” It was a little off-putting and I felt more awkward than I already did. When she was supposed to bump me, she stayed on to tell the other sister to check out my dress, and kept bringing it up afterwards in creepier ways than the average compliment. I was a little overwhelmed and happy when the party was over.

Blue Caterpillar- I remember actually being nervous before going into this house, because it is one of the most competitive sororities, and all the PNMs were talking about how much they’d love to be a Blue Caterpillar. I remember that every single sister was drop dead STUNNING and very well put-together, which I felt a connection with because my mother always taught me to look your very best. The sisters that I spoke to complimented me on my dress (but not in a creepy way like at White Queen) and we instantly hit it off talking about fashion, shopping, and telling funny stories about our experience with the salespeople at a certain store. It felt so natural, like I was laughing with old friends, and I was even introduced to the President. I’m not sure if it meant anything, but I was so excited! I left the party absolutely in love with this house.

Mad Hatter- From start to finish, I was absolutely horrified. Compared to the other parties, this one seemed very low energy and none of the PNMs seemed especially excited to be there. The sisters were not put together the way Blue Caterpillar was, and it felt like they had a lack of effort, at least sartorially. (If you can’t already tell, I place a lot of importance on appearance. First impression is everything, especially in recruitment!!).

I put on my best face though and was super friendly to the girl who was rushing me. She seemed extremely bored with me though, and occasionally after I finished answering a question she would just sit there and nod. I felt obliged to force the conversation, and just kept pulling questions out of thin air to ask her. I don’t think she smiled at me more than once.
At one point, she abruptly said “Hang on, I need to grab someone.” :-o

I was absolutely shocked! I know that PNMs are never supposed to be left alone during parties. She did however come back within 30 seconds, with the girl that I guess was supposed to bump me. My original rusher then excused herself, gave me a curt smile and walked away. I don’t even remember my subsequent conversations, as I had this awful, unwanted feeling in the pit of my stomach that put me on the verge of tears.

Other houses that I loved almost as much as I loved Blue Caterpillar the first day were Tweedledee, Bayard, Pishsalver and Jabberwocky- as predicted, and I also really had a good time at Oraculum and Red Queen. However, I was nervous- because my entire list consisted of the sororities that every single PNM loved!

I really didn’t want to go back to White Queen, Mad Hatter, or Alice. The others I was very neutral about.