A Retro Recruitment Thread with Many Bumps Along the Way

Cutie_Hootie · #1 06-23-2007, 10:55 PM

First, let me apologize to those of you who are sick of these threads, but I just couldn't resist!! I've been reading these since they started and finally gathered the courage to tell my story.

My current day thoughts will be in blue.

I went through rush/recruitment in 1992 at a very small liberal arts college in Indiana. We have four sororities, and for this thread I will call them:
Gryffindor
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Slytherin

I was the first person in my family to attend a four year college, and definitely the first person to go through rush. My first real eye-opener was at a meeting sponsored by my hometown's Alumnae Panhellenic. I was certain that this was something I wanted to do. My mother, on the other hand, was worried about hazing.

Of course she had nothing to worry about, but she still asked me a couple of years ago if it had ever happened! Finally I convinced her that things would be just fine and she should be confident that I would make wise decisions. I arrived on campus ready to conquer the world, sorority rush included. But wait a second...we had deferred rush. There were no limits on visiting houses, as long as you didn't spend the night there. We freshmen were in the Fraternities the first night on campus (cannot believe that--they have to wait three-five weeks now!), and we quickly met Greek women, as well as learning the opinions of all the fraternity boys. Here are my first impressions:

Gryffindor--Very friendly women who were visible at each fraternity I visited. If anything, I saw them aligning with the Phi Delts. A number of girls on my floor liked this house. They had quite a few athletes in their house, mostly volleyball players. Also known for their high g.p.a.s. They were also one of the oldest chapters on campus.

Hufflepuff--These girls were fun! Very visible on campus, especially at the parties. Mostly seen at the Beta house and rarely anywhere else. Had a lot of athletes, mostly field hockey players. The youngest chapter on campus--they had only been on campus for five years.

Ravenclaw--The socially elite house on campus. Very pretty and very preppy girls. Visible all over campus--they wore their letters constantly. They hung out at Lambda Chi and Fiji, which were my two favorite fraternities at the time. A very close friend of mine had an older sister who had been a Ravenclaw here, and I idolized her, so of course I really had a strong pull towards Ravenclaw. This was the oldest house on campus and they made sure you knew it.

Slytherin--The Slytherins hung out at every fraternity. They were social, but didn't align with any one chapter. They were very well respected on campus--they had a lot of cheerleaders and dance team members. Seemed like the All-American girls. One of the girls on my hall had an older sister who was an upperclass Slytherin on campus, so we got to know her and her friends pretty quickly.

The campus saying at the time went like this: Ravenclaw was old money, Slytherin was new money, Gryffindor were the studious girls, and Hufflepuff were the party girls. This was soooooo inaccurate, not to mention rude.

I knew very little about the whole system of rush, but I did know that I had at least two recommendations-- for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I assume (but am not certain) that I also had recs for Gryffindor and Slytherin because of the paperwork filled out at the Alumnae Panhellenic meeting. Things were going well through that first semester. I attended all pre-rush events (house tours, progressive dinner, philanthropy day) and had a Rho Chi who was a Gryffindor. I really liked her and that definitely had an influence on my opinions. So when I went home for Christmas break, my mom and I went shopping for Rush. I made sure to investigate what the suggested clothes were, and I think I fit the bill quite nicely--for first party, I planned to wear a grey pinstriped jumper with a turtleneck and tights (oh my goodness-what was I thinking?!), for second party I planned to wear a skirt and sweater, and for pref I was wearing the ever-popular black dress. Then one afternoon, I got a thin envelope from the college--my grades. I ran to my room, ripped it open, and immediately started sobbing. I had missed the minimum g.p.a. by two hundreths of a point. No Rush, and I was certain that my life was ruined.

BabyPiNK_FL · #2 06-24-2007, 12:51 AM

Aww! What a bummer? How did you plan all you clothes and everything and (almost) completely forget about grades?!

We can't wait to hear what you decided to do next!

alphagamphi · #3 06-24-2007, 12:56 AM

Im rooting from Griffendorf

raincoat · #4 06-24-2007, 01:26 AM

Aww that's heartbreaking! (But at least we know the story doesn't end here

) I love the names, and I am going to have to root for Slytherin!

Cutie_Hootie · #5 06-24-2007, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

Aww! What a bummer? How did you plan all you clothes and everything and (almost) completely forget about grades?!

We can't wait to hear what you decided to do next!

Yes, looking back I could kick myself...I was not prepared going into college for what it's really like academically. I never had to study in HS and had excellent grades. So I started off using the same study skills, which were no study skills. It was a big wake up when I opened that envelope--by far the worst I had ever done in my life.

Cutie_Hootie · #6 06-25-2007, 10:39 PM

Well, I hadn't made the grades freshman year, but many (though not all) of my friends did. Most of my friends ended up pledging Ravenclaw, although I actually had at least one very close friend in each of the other chapters. I spent the Winter and Spring Terms (Hogwarts is on a 4-4-1 schedule) being envious of my friends as they became new initates, and meeting more and more people in each of the houses. I distinctly remember one of my best friends being very upset when she received a bid from Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin, she did accept the bid however (I couldn't understand why she was upset because I thought she fit much better into Hufflepuff!). There was also some drama of another girl who had received a bid to Hufflepuff. She went ahead and went to the bid night celebrations, but quickly depledged. There was some type of controversy (and unacceptable actions) with Ravenclaw over the whole situation, and they ended up spending Spring Term on social probation.

I was once again ineligible to go through the Open Bid process during Fall Term due to grades, and I worked a little harder during Fall Term in hopes of being able to go through Formal Rush in January. I was all ready to get my grades and when they came over Christmas Break I was a little more hopeful. It seemed that I had met the minimum gpa for Slytherin only. I made the decision that I would go through Formal Rush and see how things panned out. It was so important to me to join a chapter NOW that I was willing to only give myself one choice (it never dawned on me at the time that I might be cut from that one choice--what would I do then?!).

I came back to campus early and was ready to go to the Rush parties. I had my outfit on, had checked in, talked to some friends, and was anxiously waiting in the Lecture Hall (and things were running behind, so that was making everyone nervous) when all of a sudden I heard my name being called. It was the Greek Advisor. She asked me to come into an office where some of the Panhel exec were gathered. I knew something had gone terribly wrong at this point...

I was correct. Something had gone terribly wrong. My grades were high enough to go through Rush as a freshman, but not an upperclassman. It was rare at that point for people to go through Formal Rush as upperclassman, and the gpa requirements were not well-publicized. It was utterly humiliating to be told this, and to have to walk back out into this room of excited women knowing that I wouldn't be joining them. So I quickly (and in tears) walked back out of the Lecture Hall and back to my dorm, where I couldn't get in the door. At this point I was sobbing. No one was on campus except those going through Rush, so I had no options. Finally a maintenance person came by and took pity on me. I ran up to my room, changed clothes, and drove home. I was sure I was through with the whole process and would never affiliate.

Hopeful_Bubbles · #7 06-25-2007, 10:45 PM

Wow, I didn't see that one coming!

Leslie Anne · #8 06-26-2007, 04:45 AM

Oh no! That's horrible. I feel your pain, Cutie_Hootie.

ktbug10474 · #9 01-13-2008, 05:02 PM

i'm just wondering but alphafrog every one of your posts i've read have been really snide or rude??

are you in constant pms or do you just hate when people other than you post something????

AlphaFrog · #10 01-13-2008, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktbug10474

i'm just wondering but alphafrog every one of your posts i've read have been really snide or rude??

are you in constant pms or do you just hate when people other than you post something????

I'm a bitch. You get used to it.

By the way...there's this thing on your keyboard...it's called the SHIFT key. Try locating it.

AlwaysSAI · #11 01-13-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I'm a bitch. You get used to it.

Priceless.

KSUViolet06 · #12 01-13-2008, 05:50 PM