A Tasty Tale: Fall Recruitment 09

Hey yall!
I know that the board is being BOMBARDED with recruitment stories right now but I've been dying to add mine to the mix since the beginning of the summer!
I rushed at a very competitive SEC school with 17 sororities. I'm sure some of you will figure out which school...but PLEASE keep it to yourself. You can PM me with a guess if you want.
So I'm going to do ice cream flavors-

Vanilla
Strawberry
Chocolate Chip
Cookie Dough
Rocky Road
Rainbow Sherbet
Cherries Jubilee
Mint Chocolate Chip
French Vanilla
Pink Bubblegum
Cotton Candy
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
Banana Split
Chocolate
Coffee
Strawberry Kiwi
Cheescake

Anyways. I was very excited to rush, as my mother had been Greek and I have a cousin who is active at my school and LOVES her sorority. I read GC all summer and got so excited, but I knew I was rushing a very competitive school and would be in for an extremely tough week. With that in mind, I went into round 1, which was spread over 2 days.

Round 1:

Vanilla- I absolutely LOVED this house! I was extremely nervous coming in because it was my first house, but it was a blast! I got bumped to about 3 different girls, it felt very natural, I had some great conversations and was SO RELIEVED that rush wasn't quite as scary as I'd thought.

Strawberry- A girl I went to high school with is a member of this house, but she was out of town for rush so I knew I wouldn't see her. I didn't click at all with my girl, she was very nervous and bumped me to her friend, who kept asking me the same questions over and over. It was awkward. BUT, they had a gorgeous house and seemed really close.

Chocolate Chip- All the girls here were matching today! It was adorable. The girls I talked to were nice, but I felt like we didn't really connect at all-I couldn't picture myself here. They didn't know everyone in their chapter, which I can understand for very large houses. I didn't actually get bumped here, two floaters just came around and joined my original girl and I and then moved on.

Cookie Dough- The girls here were hilarious during their cheers! Their house was prettier inside than outside. The girl who rushed me was SO nervous, she told me I was the first person she ever rushed and had a hard time with the conversation, but was SO sweet. All the girls seemed very close! No bumps today. Even though I liked it, however, for certain reasons I knew I wouldn't be joining it. Unlike the girls in my Gamma Chi group, however, I was determined not to be rude- I was a guest in their home and I knew that all of the girls loved their house. So while I enjoyed it, I knew it was a no-go.

Rocky Road- The girls all matched here too, which looked SO cute! My mom had been a Rocky Road, but dropped out at the end of her senior year so I wasn't technically a legacy. The girls seemed very close, and I really liked my original girl- we really clicked! I also liked the other floater who came by. They talked a lot about their philanthropy and how much they loved it, which I really liked.

Rainbow Sherbet- Honestly, I got Rocky Road and this house a bit confused! I really liked this house, they were adorable and seemed like they really loved each other and their philanthropy. I was bumped about 3 times, but it was very natural.

Cherries Jubilee- This house was very funny during their cheers! I felt like I got put in a corner a little bit but the room was ridiculously crowded. I met about 3 girls, very smooth bumps, I liked them, but not as much as some of the other houses.

Mint Chocolate Chip- I have a family member in this chapter, who I knew I couldn't talk to but I was excited to see the sorority that meant so much to her! This chapter seemed VERY close! The girls were all matching, which I loved (as you can tell from before), and they had ADORABLE cheers. I did have an awkward moment while talking to my first girl, who stopped right in the middle of our conversation to ask if I had any questions. I had questions- but since I'd gone all day without getting asked, I couldn't think of anything to say! But we picked back up again, and I got bumped to another girl who I really liked.

French Vanilla- Adorable, adorable cheers! I got bumped to 3 girls, varying with how smooth it was. The first girl I talked to was great, we got along fine and were chattering away when another girl walked up. She seemed less interested in the conversation and kept looking around for the next girl, and left quickly. The last girl was really great, she knew a friend from my high school and we had a lot in common. Overall a fun house!

Pink Bubblegum- This house was INTIMIDATING during the cheers! I enjoyed talking to my original girl, but then they took us outside to meet everyone else. It was literally a whirlwind! I got the feeling that they weren't very interested because the girl kept me towards the outside of the group and would make sure I didn't meet anyone towards the inside...but all the girls were very funny and I enjoyed meeting everyone!

Cotton Candy- Oh my God. The cheers. A tiny piece of the chandelier fell off and hit a girl! She was perfectly fine but it was scary! The girl who rushed me was precious, we clicked fairly well and the party went by super fast! I really liked this house.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl- Love love LOVED this house! The girls seemed super super close. I got bumped to 3 different girls, and they all talked about a trip the house had taken together over the summer. I totally clicked with all 3 girls and really enjoyed the house!

Banana Split- This house was a NIGHTMARE. I had heard that they pre-selected their girls, and based on the actives I got the feeling I was NOT what they wanted. The girl who rushed me talked ceaselessly and kept handing me off to other girls, who immediately gave me back. Now, I'm fine with a lot of bumping and meeting people, but this was different- it was a conscious effort to make me forgettable. My rusher didn't know my name until she walked me all the way to the sidewalk! It was all very rushed and I KNEW what house would be mutually removed from my list that night!

Chocolate- This was one of the most beautiful houses I'd ever seen from the outside. The girls had great chants! The conversation was a bit awkward- I didn't quite click with either girl who rushed me, but we got along well enough to enjoy the party. It wasn't my favorite, but if they asked me back I knew I wanted a second look at this one.

Coffee- I really liked this house! My first girl and I got along well enough, and then a floater came up and we had an AWESOME conversation about their philanthropy, other organizations around the school, and the best places to go shopping or to dinner downtown.

Strawberry Kiwi (NOT Sigma Kappa, I just realized the letters match up)- I had a relative who was president of this sorority in the past, but I heard rumors everywhere that they pre-selected based on your high school. The girls seemed a bit distant with all of the PNMs, and my girl was very nice but kept pulling the conversation around to her. I knew I was going to get cut from this one because on the way out of the house she told me to enjoy the other houses and she was sure I'd find a place where I fit in- definitely implying that it was NOT her house.

Cheesecake- I was hoping I'd like this house, because the girls all seemed to be close during the cheers. But my rusher signaled her Big over to help her and they just talked to each other the entire time. I would try to add to the conversation but...it didn't quite work. I don't think they meant to be mean...but I knew they weren't going to ask me back.

I went back to my Gamma Chi group to rank. We had our top 12, in no order, and then ranked our bottom 5.

Rankings at the end of Round 1:
Top 12 (not ranked, I lost the card):
1.Vanilla
2. Strawberry
3. Chocolate Chip
4. Rocky Road
5. Rainbow Sherbet
6. Cherries Jubilee
7. Mint Chocolate Chip
8. French Vanilla
9. Pink Bubblegum
10. Cotton Candy
11. Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
12. Chocolate

Bottom 5 (ranked):
1.Coffee
2.Cheesecake
3.Strawberry Kiwi
4.Banana Split
5.Cookie Dough