NWgirl's Fall '07 Recruitment at University of Washington!

[northwestgirl]

Hello All!

Sorry, in the midst of starting school I haven’t had the change to check this thing in a while. First off, I was a little taken aback when I hear that someone could think that I was a part of spreading a rumor to make my school seem “elite”. That could not be farther from the truth! The main reason that I voice my concerns or thoughts on this forum is that I know that I am speaking to knowledgeable people that could perhaps spread some of that on to me. As I have said before, I know nothing about this experience. Am I sad that it didn’t work out for me? Of course! But, as always I know that everything happens for a reason, and I have faith that perhaps informal is better for me.
When I voice these “rumors” as many have referred to them to, it is because I had trusted adults and friends from my life come to me with this information. Of course, some of them might be coming from a hard place, but it is out there…and I wanted people to know every side of this experience. People leave recruitment sometimes very hurt. This I have learned for sure. Many women even from this forum have pm-ed me about their experience. Some of them too made their choice to drop out; some of them had the decision made for them. And I guess that is the part that I wasn’t prepared for. The many women that by round two had been eliminated from the process. It just seems sad to me.
I guess perhaps the only thing left that I question is how on day one (where there was, I think we all can agree – more than the usual amount of women there) we were all guaranteed that if we maximized our options, there was room in at least one house for us. Yes, we were told it might be cramped – but we were told it was going to be there. Now, bid day passes us by with pledge classes ending up at around the same numbers as last year - if we were informed that there was housing for all of us , why are only a few (as in, the normal amount) doing informal? When apparently there are empty beds in these houses that were planned to be filled? And sorry if I sound bitter or angry…honestly I am not. Especially me, who made the choice to drop, I just got…mad I suppose, when I got phone calls from friends after they got THE phone call the morning of bid day in tears.
Oh, and as far as that “informal” bit that I talked about last time…you were right, it wasn’t informal. I guess that I actually made some sincere friends over the course of this whole thing, and we had a great week…even though I wasn’t officially in their newest pledge class…
Thank you all for listening…and for my girls at UW who have pm-ed me – whoever you all really are – I wish you all the best! I hope you all – greek or not – are enjoying your first week of the school year!!!

[sarasmile]

Originally Posted by northwestgirl

I guess perhaps the only thing left that I question is how on day one (where there was, I think we all can agree – more than the usual amount of women there) we were all guaranteed that if we maximized our options, there was room in at least one house for us.

I think the important thing to remember here is that many of the women who ended up bidless (yourself included) made a choice to drop out of recruitment.

Maximizing options doesn't guarantee that a PNM will get her favorite house - it just means that there will be room for her to receive a bid in one of the chapters. In your case, you still had 2 chapters left - had you stuck with recruitment, you very well might have ended up in one of those 2 chapters.

I'm not saying, of course, that you should have joined the chapters if you didn't want to be there. Just pointing out that no Panhellenic promises were broken in your situation.

Also, something to keep in mind is that hurt feelings don't just happen on the PNMs part. The 2 chapters who invited you back liked you and were still interested in having you be part of their sisterhood. When you dropped out of recruitment, someone in that chapter experienced disappointment. You might very well have been someone's "rush crush"! When the active members saw your name on the drop list, it was an ego blow to them too. (Surely if you were someone's rush crush, she couldn't help but be disappointed that you'd rather drop out entirely than join her house.)

Hopefully everything works out for you at UW - whether you end up joining a sorority or decide to get involved in student life through other groups.


P.S. I don't think that anyone was accusing you of deliberately spreading misinformation - the inticracies of bid matching are confusing even to sorority members and alumnae! All you can do is repeat what has been told to you, and certainly no one would fault you personally for any factual errors in that info.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by northwestgirl

Sorry, in the midst of starting school I haven’t had the change to check this thing in a while. First off, I was a little taken aback when I hear that someone could think that I was a part of spreading a rumor to make my school seem “elite”. That could not be farther from the truth!

I didn't mean you sweetie, I meant the friend's mom who told you. And maybe not even her. I was just saying that SOMETIMES I think the sorority members at some schools further these rumors so they look more elite. Whether that's what happened here, I don't know.

If the mom's daughter didn't get a bid, she might have swallowed this whole because it made her feel better. I know I would feel better if my daughter was one of 300 disappointed people instead of 1 of 10 or something.