My Spring 07 Recruitment...Naive girl in for the shock of her life!

[MissyM]

Hi all!

I've been lurking GC boards forever and I mostly have spent time reading many many recruitment stories. I think they are so fascinating and really describe the many emotions so many of us encounter during the crazy week. Big school, small school, legacy, non-legacy, rushing as a freshman or not, recently, or decades ago, we've been through it and have a story to tell. Sounds kind of corny but it really intrigues me.

I didn't know if I wanted to share my story or not but I finally have decided to. I did not create a new user name because I've really only posted once or twice identifying myself and didn't think it was worth registering another name. So, if you've seen me post, just pretend you never saw it and please try not to look at the others! Is this a bad idea though? I'm just trying to save myself some trouble.

Okay, so I rushed in the spring of 2007 as a freshman at my very large university with a very active Greek life. I'm from New England but my school was in a different part of the country and it was absolute culture shock! Perfect strangers talked to me in my dorm elevator! Everyone thought I had a funny accent (what! I never heard it before!) However, I had my best friend from a high school summer program at college with me. I'll call her Katie. She lived about 4 hours away from school so I had a second home kind of nearby. We basically were inseperable the previous fall but this was good because we formed a really nice group of girlfriends that we hung out with- a lot were out-of state like me. My floor had very nice girls but they were kind of clique-y.

Almost all my friends decided to go through rush. We all had that mentality of "oh, let's just try it and see". But truthfully, I couldn't imagine myself not being in one. I know myself and I thrive on support and can sometimes need a "push" to be motivated to do things. I had walked by all the beautiful houses on campus that fall and wanted so badly to be able to return after classes to one of them in my next years. My parents knew nothing about being Greek. They went to small liberal art schools with no Greek life and my brother was active in a fraternity for only a year before deactivating.

Here's the hard part of trying to tell my story. There were a few sororities on campus where it was almost expected I'd end up. I can't really explain much without giving a lot away but I'll explain fully at the end, because I think it's kind of interesting and could be helpful for other PNMs. But I want to keep the beginning fun for you guys!

Wow, I've rambled. Can't wait to continue on with my story!

[Senusret I]

So don't wait, foo!

Hurry!

[southern greek]

Yay! Another "northerner's" culture shock rush story! Looking forward to hearing your experience.

[AlphaXi_Husky]

Looking forward to more of your story!

[MissyM]

Ok, so continuing on...

I was extremely naive going into rush. I just had no idea how competitive it was at all. Because my campus has 19 chapters, I figured that if anything, you're almost guarenteed a bid somewhere. What was the competition based on? I really had no idea. Recommendations were completely optional and so I thought, ok why bother? If I could do it over again, I definitely would've put some thought into recommendations. I also thought that because I was from somewhere different, this would make me more unique. It turns out, this probably hurt me in some places.

My Rho Gamma was really sweet but from the start, she seemed a bit disorganized. She went over how rush worked and everything, but I kind of felt she could've been more thorough. She did explain the possibility of not receiving a bid. I was shocked at that idea. Wow, I thought, you probably have to be severely awkward and weird NOT to get a bid.

So the first party rolled around and our campus looked crazy-mobs of girls all dressed in black recruitment shirts and jeans coming in and out of the houses. Also, it was unseasonably FREEZING this weekend. It was over 2 days- 10 houses on Day 1, 9 houses on Day 2.

I'm naming the chapters after some desserts I found in a cookbook because I'm writing this while my blueberry cobbler is in the oven! The chapters are:
Blueberry Cobbler
Peach Pandowdy
Strawberry Shortcake
Rhubarb Crumble
Cranberry Grunt
Plum Kuchen
Apple Crisp
Blackberry Pie
Carrot Cake
Banana Bread
Boston Cream Pie
Frozen Fudge Cake
Indian Pudding
Lemon Tart
Oreo Cookie Cake
Gingerbread Muffin
Raspberry Brownie
Icebox Cookie
Hazlenut Macaroon

Blueberry Cobbler- This was my very first house of the day. Because it was very close to my dorm, I could walked instead of taking the bus. I wanted to be early but since the walk only took a few minutes, I saw I was the first person there! I waited a few minutes and a girl came out of the house and asked if I was a Rho Gamma. "Um, nope," I responded "I'm, um, just really early." After about 15 minutes, the Rho Gammas and more people started showing up. But, wow, embarassing! My RG forgot to mention the pre-yelling and screaming the houses do before opening their doors and I nearly jumped out of skin.
But once inside, I relaxed. Blueberry Cobbler was on a street where the most "top tier houses" were but Blueberry Cobbler, the least of the top-tier. I was trying to ignore stereotypes and keep an open-mind but because rush is deferred, I had heard so many things about houses back in the fall. I thought the girls were pretty and cute, but natural. It seemed somewhat diverse but very in-state. The second girl I talked to had the same major as me and I loved talking to her. We didn't get a tour of this house but the houses on the street were absolutely stunning and the formal room where I was rushed was gorgeous. I liked Blueberry Cobbler a lot, but since it was my first house, I didn't have much to base it on.

Peach Pandowdy-This house was considered the most top tier on campus. The girls were known to be gorgeous, rich, and partiers. The actual house was probably the most beautiful on campus but sadly, I didn't get a tour. It is rumoured that their bedrooms are tiny, so maybe that's why. The girls yelled even louder than at Blueberry Cobbler and when we were met at the door, they led us into their formal living room, sat us down, and had us watch them yell cheers. They were certainly spirited but it was so awkward just sitting on the ground watching them cheer for a good 5 minutes. The girl who picked me up at the door then found me and we talked. I didn't think she was stunningly beautiful but there definitely were girls who were. We chatted but she didn't seem all that friendly and she didn't really focus on what I was saying; she seemed to be conspiciously glancing at the labels on my coat and purse. The next girl was much more friendlier but very fake. I left Peach Pandowdy somewhat disappointed to discover the stereotypes seemed true.

Strawberry Shortcake-This house wasn't on the street where the top tier ones were located but the physical house was still amazingly grand. All I knew about this house was it had the top GPA. My best friend Katie had been invited to a pre-recruitment formal dinner there and when I asked her about it she said "I couldn't figure it out. Some girls were gorgeous and others look they were ran over by the ugly truck." Um, not exactly what I wanted to know. Obviously, I was not basing any opinion on that but I thought about her crude comment entering the house. The girls here had a preppy look, shirts all tucked in and everyone wearing pearls. I was double rushed here with a girl from New York, and as we talked to the girls, we kept talking to each other a lot as well. Not the best ettiquette but I really liked her and was glad to make a friend in my rush group. We talked to one girl from a tiny, rural town who told us that people drove tractors to school in her town. We were in shock because both of us were from huge cities. Strawberry Shortcake bumped really fast, and I "talked" to about 7 different girls, but very quick conversations. Strawberry Shortcake was diverse (they did seem very smart though) but overall, the house seemed sort of blah.

Rhubarb Crumble- On every campus, there is a struggling chapter trying so so hard to recruit, still knowing they won't meet quota. This was Rhubarb Crumble. Before going in, girls were making remarks about how this was " the weird house". I had heard this but really wanted to go in with an open mind. As we walked in, I saw some women cheering that were a lot older, obviously alums. I was triple rushed here. The house was beautiful and every girl had a single room because of the low number of girls in the house. Unfortunately, I found them to be very awkward. Our first girl asked ridiculous questions like "Who would star in the movie of your life?"- not even major, hometown, etc. The next girl seemed to be trying too hard saying she partied all the time and what bars were her favorites but then adding- "oh oops, I can't really talk about this, right?" I tried to be polite even though I felt uncomfortable but the girls I was being rushed with were downright rude. They refused to answer questions and looked around the room. I felt so bad for Rhubarb Crumble but I have to admit, when it was time to go, I was as relieved as everyone else.

Cranberry Grunt- I knew little about this house but for some reason, I liked it before even entering it. I was met by a girl with an eyebrow ring and this made me happy, I'm not really sure why but maybe because it wasn't a "typical" sorority girl thing to have. I didn't really get a chance to talk to her because she was giving me a tour of the house-again, sooo beautiful but very big because this was one of the largest chapters. It seemed to have such a mix of girls-I had heard it was kind of a "random" house. But the second girl I talked to was from my home state! We had even gone to camp together...so weird and she said there were other Northerners as well. As we were walking out I heard a lot of girls saying they didn't have a good experience but I really liked Cranberry Grunt.

Plum Kuchen- This was another big chapter on campus with of course, a stunning house (I know I keep saying this but to this day, I still can't pick a prettiest house on campus!) They had ran in article the previous fall about the renovations done on Plum Kuchen. The first girl I talked to was so warm and friendly-it was only the first round but nothing was awkward, we just bonded. I was sad to stop talking to her and unfortunately, a really weird girl started talking to me who gave off just the opposite vibe. The house as a whole seemed the same way, some really down-to-earth girls and some really awkward ones. But I enjoyed the first girl so much so I hoped to go back to get another look.

Apple Crisp-I had gone to a formal dinner here before recruitment because a recent alum was my mom's friend daughter (had I been smart about recommendations, I would've had her write me one). I had enjoyed the dinner and found the girls to be friendly and cute, but at the dinner a lot of talk was about where to party that night, where to pregame, who was going to get the most drunk. I remember thinking "wow, these girls are fun!" The house had an unusual shape with a pretty courtyard but the rooms were absolutely tiny. Their colors are my favorite though and seeing them made me really like the house (sounds weird, but seriously, I LOVE these colors). The first girl I talked to had the most monotone voice and sounded so bored but seemed to really like me. We talked about music and we both like jambands and so she said "Oh, so you smoke weed. We're allowed to smoke in the house...we basically run it like a frat." Now, I was weirded out. It was so weird that she just assumed I smoke and second, that conversation was SO inappropiate. At some point she mentioned "I'd think you'd fit in well here." What??? The second girl and I had a very fake, somewhat awkward conversation. I had no idea what to think about Apple Crisp. I had heard it was a good house. Did I just manage to end up with the weirdo? And I knew my mom's friend daughter had a very positive experience here.

Blackberry Pie-I had heard that this house was highest among GPAs, along with with Strawberry Shortcake. I was met by this hilarious girl-she messed up the route of the tour she gave me and was so funny about it-"Um, I don't think I'm supposed to show you this part of the house...just don't tell anyone." She had a tongue ring, again for some reason piercings=cool girl to me. We had such a good time talking to each other, it was the first time that day that I felt comfortable to crack some jokes. The next girl and I talked about languages and studying abroad. When I told her I was taking Hebrew, she said "Now is that still spoken?" I was a little taken aback. Highest GPA and you ask that? This house seemed a little blah and the girls weren't very energetic but I loved my time talking to the funny girl.

Carrot Cake- These girls were so loud and energetic. Their actual house was pretty but kind of austere and bleak-maybe because it was new. This was considered a top-tier house and the girls were gorgeous-not one seemed to look unpolished. My conversations here were really smooth and I felt really comfortable, but there was something telling me I wouldn't fit very well here.

Banana Bread- So as I explained in my first post, this was one of the houses some people thought I'd end up in. I'll explain more later. I knew a few girls in this chapter, attended two pre-recruitment formal dinners here, and attended their philanthropy. The actual house was not at all aesthetically pleasing like most of the others, it was smaller, and it had a more "lived-in" look, not dollhouse perfect like others I had seen. My conversations were okay, but since it was the last house of the evening, I was exhausted and I didn't really care that it showed. The girls were very warm though. My best friend "Katie"'s mom had been a Banana Bread at this chapter and her mom was constantly telling her that she would be a Banana Bread. Katie was going to make sure she wasn't a Banana Bread just because her mother always said it. I obviously was not enamored by any means with Banana Bread and liked other houses I'd seen way more but it wasn't as bad as a house as I had heard rumours make it out to be.

So that was my first day of the first round. I was exhausted, my feet ached, and I had lost my favorite scarf at one of the houses. I had to go back and sleep to get ready for the deluge the next day!

[Kansas City]

Originally Posted by MissyM

Apple Crisp ...We talked about music and we both like jambands and so she said "Oh, so you smoke weed. We're allowed to smoke in the house...we basically run it like a frat." Now, I was weirded out. It was so weird that she just assumed I smoke and second, that conversation was SO inappropiate. At some point she mentioned "I'd think you'd fit in well here." What???

Wow!
I'm not sure what to think of that.

[breathesgelatin]

LOL! I'm loving this thread.

[AlphaXi_Husky]

I am very much enjoying this story - keep it coming!

[LucyKKG]

I bet you won't pledge one of the houses people assume you'll end up at.

[Benzgirl]

This will be a great story.

[MissyM]

Sorry I've been slow to update...the long summer days are winding down and I have to do a bunch of things before heading back to school. Anyways, here's Day 2 of my first round. I started bright and early with

Boston Cream Pie- I hadn't heard much about this house except that my best friend had seen it the day before and it was her favorite house of the day. It was easy to see why. The house didn't seem very nice on the outside but on the inside, it was like a ski lodge- so cozy and so gorgeous! It smelled absolutely wonderful too, that's what everyone was talking about! I fell in love with it immediately- the girls were genuine and personable. I was kind of upset to be double rushed here because I was so into the house. I can't remember my conversations but I remember I was so comfortable and LOVED this house.

Frozen Fudge Cake-This house just struck me as odd the minute I entered it. I was double rushed here too. The first girl giving the tour kept pointing out things that their house had and other houses didn't-even though it wasn't true. She kept saying how the sisterhood here was better than on any other house (and she knew that how?). Then, when the first girl was bumped, the next girl who came along to talk to us rolled her eyes and said "Sorry about her. She's a little...off". It was extremely offputting to hear a sister say something not nice about another at the first round. I got asked weird questions here too and the conversations were kind of choppy. I was not a fan of Frozen Fudge Cake.

Indian Pudding- This was another house that many people expected I would end up in.I knew two girls in this house. I was double-rushed here with the same girl from Frozen Fudge Cake- we had become friends in our rush group and we were looking for similar things in a sorority. This house is known to be the smallest (areawise) on campus and is pretty hideous looking, which may explain why there was no tour. These girls are also known to be a bit bitchy and stuck-up, and it was no secret they had a pledgeship harder than some fraternities. But I really enjoyed the first girl I talked to- she had a great bubbly personality and was really intrested in how I was adjusting to school. How they bumped was very awkward. They all sat in a circle facing out talking to PNMs and then just moved over one when it was time. It made it look like they put very little effort into recruiting. The next girl who slid over was really dull and was hard to communicate with. The last girl I bonded with over adjusting to this school from the East Coast. I was mixed about Indian Pudding. I felt I might fit in but I also didn't know if to really "fit in" I'd have to act differently.

Lemon Tart Again, stunning house that was put together spectacularly. Same could be said for the girls who were gorgeous. They rushed in their bedrooms which was fun because it felt very comfortable. My conversations here were fine, if a little fake. One girl and I just talked about how much we love our families, she seriously said the word "family" like a trillion times. I think it was harder to relate to these girls- they were all from in-state. Lemon Tart is probably the most passionate about their philanthropy- eating, breathing, sleeping for their cause. It was very inspiring but a little much too. I really liked the house but this was one of the most competitive-taking only a select few girls for the next round.

Oreo Cookie Cake- At this point, I think the exhaustion hit me full-steam and it started to show. It might be why I can't really remember much from this house. The house was not as nice as some others, and the rooms were very small. I can't remember my conversations here but nothing made an impression on me at all. This house was just blah and I couldn't see myself as a sister here at all.

Gingerbread Muffin- I had heard rave reviews about this house from girls on my floor. My best friend's roomate was obcessed with it and really liked it because her initials matched their letters (thought that was hilarious). These girls were crazy spirited. They had broken some of their glass windows that day when pounding on them. Just like at Peach Pandowdy, we were led into their formal living room and sat down, while we watched them scream and cheer for five minutes. The girls were all very "cute" looking and the whole house was just "cute". I didn't really enjoy any of my conversations and I found the house set-up to be weird. I was almost trying to really like it and kept asking myself why I didn't like it- but I couldn't explain it. I could see how this house could be perfect for some girls, but not for me.

Raspberry Brownie- This house was enormous (in terms of size) and the bedrooms were some of the biggest I'd seen that day. The first girl I talked to was really perky and when I told her I was from Boston she just lit up. Apparently, she had gone abroad with people from Boston and loveddd them. She was almost like slap-happy over me. When the next girl came to bump her, she gave her a big hug and was so enthusiastic introducing me. At first I was a little weirded out, but I really did appreciate her perkiness when everyone else was dying of exhaustion. Both girls here really seemed interested in what I was saying and when they said "it was so nice talking to you" it sounded like they truly meant it. I was so exhausted and cranky but the cheeriness of Raspberry Brownie really did lighten my mood and because of that, I decided I liked them alot.

Icebox Cookie- At this point, I had returned to the street where some of the top-tier houses were. Icebox Cookie, like all the others, was mantionesque. I really liked this house because I thought the girls were very classy and had a strong sisterhood so I was trying to mask my exhaustion and be upbeat. I was double rushed here but I think all the conversations went really well between the three of us. The girl I was double-rushed with was a sophomore and was going through rush again. She had some really great advice for me once we were outside. She said that before, when she had got heavily cut from places, she took it very personally. She said this time, she knows that whatever house cuts her is not the place she's meant to be and that she'll carefully consider houses that invite her back, even ones she thinks isn't the place for her. I really appreciated her advice and it would serve me well in the future, when I needed to put things in perspective.

Hazlenut Macaroon Upon entering this house, I felt a huge weight lifted off me. This was my last house! I survived all 19 in the freezing cold weather! This house was lovely and I had a conversation with a very sweet girl but at one point, I kept thinking there was something on my face and was paranoid about that. I think she thought I was delusional (I mean I kind of was after everything). Hazlenut Macaroon was one of the top houses and I could see why, so I definitely liked it because of that.

Then, as I treked back to my dorm, I was having visions of my bed. But as soon as I got to my floor, my Rho Gamma was there telling me I needed to make my list. Ugh, I really wished that could have waited until my mind was a little more clear. All the girls on my floor were chattering about their final thoughts. I didn't want any part of it. I just wanted to make my list and go to bed.

Our top 12 choices didn't have to be ranked in any order, the last seven did. I ranked

1= Blueberry Cobbler, Peach Pandowdy, Cranberry Grunt, Carrot Cake, Boston Cream Pie, Lemon Tart, Raspberry Brownie, Icebox Cookie, Hazlenut Macaroon, Apple Crisp, Blackberry Pie, Plum Kuchen
13. Strawberry Shortcake
14. Oreo Cookie Cake
15. Gingerbread Muffin
16. Indian Pudding
17. Banana Bread
18. Frozen Fudge Cake
19. Rhubarb Crumble

I waited forever in line to turn it in, dropped it off, and went to my room and fell into a deep sleep. I didn't have to worry about any of this until after winter break. Oh, if I only knew what was coming...

[AlphaXi_Husky]

Ahhh - you can't leave it like that! I am so intrigued!

[BellaBerlee]

I love how you make comments on the size of the houses - it just shows what different girls look at within their recruitment.
I could not imagine going through sooo many houses! No wonder you started feeling some lag throughout the time. I don't blame you.

Can't wait for more of the story!!

[srmom]

Keep posting, I'm rivetted!! (and bored at work)

[Scully]

I'm loving the both the creative names of the houses and the fantastic descriptions! Great writing. Keep it up!