So earlier before our Fall Formal recruitment started, I loved reading all of the great stories on here. I knew going into Fall Formal that I would be switching to Informal to pursue a colonizing organization, but information about people going through the colonization process is scarce on the forum. Makes perfect sense, because I personally believe everyone should go through the whole experience first and at least meet all of the organizations already on campus with an open mind before taking this kind of "leap of faith"
As I had said in my introduction thread, I went through Fall Formal last year at my school. I got all the way to Bid Day - received a Bid, but did not get initiated by the chapter whom I received the Bid from. There was no connection right from the start. It was a chapter I consistently ranked last every time. They were wonderful ladies that were definitely super sweet, but it was just not where I felt at "home". I went back and forth regarding if I would do Formal again the next year (this year) since I had to obviously wait a year, and none of the organizations were doing Spring Informal anyways.
What sealed the deal is finding out about a new colony being added. I didn't really know what that meant at all, but with further research I realized it was l just what I was looking for. The privilege to be a part of a founding class, potential leadership right off the bat, and being able to shape the organization's presence on campus for years to come. I'd say what school this is at, or what organization it is, but I'll keep it somewhat fun by leaving that information out
I will say that it isn't normally a competitive school, though there are 300 PNMs going through Fall Formal right now. But anyways....
So I didn't know exactly that this organization would have an Informal recruitment, because they were listed on our school's CPC website and there weren't any other details. So I paid for Fall Formal and found out a few days prior that if interested, I could just express interest to my RC and remove myself from Fall Formal. To be on the safe side though, I figured I should at least go to Round 1 to make sure that I really wanted to pursue the colony -- the first round is always the 2/3 sororities that pull from the Formal process, and so this organization was one of them. Obviously if I met the people from the National Office and another local chapter and didn't get as bubbly and excited hearing them talk about the organization and their experience, I would have tried to keep going again through Fall Formal....
... But there was no need! The presentation was solid. The woman who is in charge of handling colonization had a great presence. All of the representatives that spoke were passionate and poised. They were really really good about encouraging girls to continue through the rest of the process and find a great home and send their non-affiliated friends their way. I kind-of liked this, but part of me is a little nervous that the new colony is going to be a group of "leftovers" with girls with chips on their shoulders because they didn't get into one of the established organization. But I'm sure they're going to do a great job to find the best unaffiliated women they can.
I told my RC last night that I wanted to withdraw from Formal, and so now it's definitely do or die. Next week representatives will be on campus so I'll get to talk to a rep one on one and sign up an "infoview". I wish that this colony's Bid Day could be along with everyone else, but their recruitment process doesn't really start until the first two weeks in October so it'll all be separate. There'll be these infoviews, then they have an Open House and a Philanthropy event. After attending those, they have an invite-only Preference Round. From here out I'll write about my experience through these events
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