Ups and Downs -- Spring Recruitment Story 2010

[fullofhope]

I recently went through spring recruitment! I’m a freshman and it was my first time going through the process. Although fall is usually the time when people go through recruitment, I did not know anything about the process at the time. However, as the year went on, I realized that the girls who were becoming my closest friends were all in sororities. While I never considered joining one, I figured that I may as well give it a try since my friends only had good things to say about the greek system.

I go to a large state school, where greek life is not as competitive as other schools nearby. I think only 7% of students join NPC/IFC organizations. My friends all encouraged me to rush in the spring, though I think one of them wished I had waited until the following fall, as her house was not participating in spring. I’m glad I had their support throughout all of this.

There are 12 NPC sororities on campus, and only 8 of them participated in spring recruitment. Of the 8, I had good friends in three of the houses, with a few acquaintances in the rest. I knew going in to keep an open mind and find the house that I truly felt at home in, as opposed to going in with the mentality of “Oh, I’m going to join my best friend’s house” or “Oh, I’m going to join the top house.” It just seemed silly to think that, since everyone falls in love with different things.

Recruitment was split over 3 days, with the 4th day being Bid Day. Day 1 was all-house party day. After day 1, we had to narrow it down to 5 houses that we liked. Day 2 we would go back to the houses that we had been invited back to (they warned us that we would not get asked back to all 5). At the end of day 2, we would have to narrow it down to 2 houses. And of course, day 3 would be pref.

I’ll be using movie titles as a “code” for the houses. Take them just at face value, they’re all favorites and I love them. They have no significant meaning. Trust.

Fight Club
Top Hat
Amelie
Memento
Pulp Fiction
Gigi
Penelope
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind


So, here’s my story!

Recruitment didn’t start until 4:00 day 1, and I was lucky since my classes let out at 12. After class, I went and got my nails done and finalized a few outfit choices. Then, I spent time getting ready and preparing myself for everything.
We met our rho gammas at the designated spot, and we were handed our schedules! I knew maybe one or two girls in my group, but other than that, it was mostly unfamiliar faces.

We started the day off at Top Hat. The girls were really sweet, and I had things to talk about with all of them. However, it was quite loud so I couldn’t necessarily hear all that they were saying to me...that said, I still walked away with good feelings about the girls.

After Top Hat, we went to Memento. At Memento, I also had a few good conversations, but some of the girls were a touch awkward. I still had fun talking to everyone though (you’ll soon see this is a trend, haha). Honestly, nothing really stood out from Memento, other than the fact that one of the girls I talked to had my major.

After Memento, we went to Gigi. I had met the recruitment chair for Gigi for coffee one day for some COB type event in winter, and knew that she was a really sweet girl. At Gigi, I had good conversations, and clicked with a bunch of the girls. I had a fun time at the house, and managed to laugh a bunch of times.

After Gigi, we went to the house that surprised me the most. I guess it surprised me because I didn't really know many of the girls in it, so I went in with no expectations at all (which was hard to do with the other houses, yet I still tried anyway). We went to Amelie. I only really slightly knew one girl from Amelie, as she is my friend’s suite-mate. I didn’t really know anyone or anything about the house, but I had such a good time there. The girls I talked to were really sweet, and we ended up having a lot in common. Not only that, but I really did feel at home with them. Though it was really premature, I could maybe see myself fitting in with them and staying there.

After that, we had a 30 minute break, during which everyone made sure to eat/use the facilities.

Then I went to Penelope. My best friend is in Penelope, and was one the main reasons that I ended up rushing. Through her, I ended up befriending a bunch of the girls in her pledge class, and a few of the older girls in her house too. I did feel extremely comfortable at house, and ended up talking to two of my friends. It was a really great experience at the end, and I knew I’d have a really great time there.

After Penelope, we went to Pulp Fiction. I had gone to Pulp Fiction in winter for two COB events, and did end up liking the girls, but decided I’d rather go through spring recruitment to get a better feel for all the houses. I had good conversations here, and felt the click, and just had a good time in general.

After Penelope, we went to Eternal Sunshine. I knew a bunch of the girls in Eternal Sunshine, both first years and older girls. I liked them all, but didn’t necessarily know if they were the house for me. I had an opportunity to COB there in winter, but didn’t follow through with it. I was slightly disappointed by the conversations I had, but I knew that sometimes people have off days and since the night was getting to a close, I figured that everyone was just really tired.

The last party of the day was with Fight Club. A girl who lives in my building is in Fight Club, and she loves it. Fight Club is the newest house on campus, having colonized in fall. I was rushed by girls who went to different schools, and that wasn’t ideal, I think, because I wanted to know what sorority life would be like at my school as opposed to theirs.

At the end of the day, I ranked the houses as such:
1. Amelie
1. Penelope
1. Pulp Fiction
1. Gigi
1. Eternal Sunshine
2. Top Hat
3. Memento
4. Fight Club

After that, I went to my room to finish up some homework and just wait till the next day!