Washington and Lee Recruitment...what is it like?

[PhiSigLisa]

Yay! Lexington is my hometown (and I heart the Lex Vegas)! A bunch of my high school classmates go/went there, but I can't tell you much about the Greek system there besides the houses are amazing to look at, almost everyone does rush/recruitment, and the frats throw some amazing parties. Don't wear your good shoes.

[WestCoast3D]

Thanks for your quick answers! I'm not asking for me (I'm an alum and my sorority is not on the W&L campus).
It sounds like there is a lot that happens informally in the fall...does this help to make formal rush less intimidating?
My college had maybe 15-20% of undergraduate women participating in sororities...I wondered if the high rates of participation at W&L make a rushee feel like the stakes are really high, or does it mean there really is a place for everyone?
P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by WestCoast3D

Thanks for your quick answers! I'm not asking for me (I'm an alum and my sorority is not on the W&L campus).
It sounds like there is a lot that happens informally in the fall...does this help to make formal rush less intimidating?
My college had maybe 15-20% of undergraduate women participating in sororities...I wondered if the high rates of participation at W&L make a rushee feel like the stakes are really high, or does it mean there really is a place for everyone?
P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

I'm a W&L alum who was president of my chapter. I graduated in '05.

In terms of the informal recruitment period in the fall, there is good and bad for the PNMs. Good, it lets you get to know upperclass women, and lets you get a "feel" for all of the groups before you join. Bad, there is a lot of what is called "tent talk" at other schools that gets spread around. Freshmen tend to have very stereotypical, inaccurate pictures of the houses. I say this as a former W&L freshman who had at least one stereotype of a house (that I did not join) that was completely wrong and really turned me off to that house.

I think that for some women at W&L the stakes are VERY high. When I was there, there was a definite "top three" that many women wanted to join. Although, I think that was increasingly becoming a "top two" with the third house down becoming more comparable to the "bottom two" houses (by the time I graduated, anyway). Obviously, things might have changed since I was there. My impression is that some women, particularly those who come in from particular southern high schools, know exactly which groups they will consider from day 1. In parallel fashion, the "top" groups also know from day 1 who some of their prime PNMs will be. The advantage of the informal recruitment period is that the houses also get a chance to know other women that they might not have considered based on day 1. So I've seen women that didn't have an "elite southern background" join the "top" group, because their friend group was those women and the "top" group genuinely liked them and brought them along for the ride. The DISADVANTAGE is that some freshmen women learn the stereotypes really quickly and get their hearts set on only joining two or three groups, and meet girls from those houses and convince themselves that because of informal recruitment they will definitely get in. So getting a rejection in that case is even more devastating than getting one to a house you feel like you've only "known" for a week.

Conversely, though, because of the high percentages of Greek life at W&L, there are many women who go Greek at W&L who might not have at other institutions. A lot of these women are just interested in the sorority experience, the leadership opportunities, and the housing and food opportunities (which are a MAJOR part of sophomore life at W&L), and are content to join nearly any group they feel a "fit" with. I would definitely say that I fell into the latter category during recruitment (for the most part - with the exception of my one really bad house stereotype!).

That was a long answer! Whew!

In terms of "good shoes," often it is snowy during recruitment week. I think like 3/4 times of recruitment for me at W&L it was snowy. Usually if it's snowy, Panhellenic dictates that women should wear practical shoes on the first night and that the sororities shouldn't judge them for doing so. LOL. But I don't remember anyone ever wearing sneakers/snow boots on preference night!!!

Welcome xoredhotxo to the boards. Not many W&L people here - there used to be a Theta who posted a few years back who was a year or two above me, but she's since disappeared...

[PhiSigLisa]

Originally Posted by WestCoast3D

P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

Heh, sorry I was referring to the frat parties and the sludge on their basement floors. Lexington used to get some really good snows when I growing up, but we don't really get them anymore.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by PhiSigLisa

Heh, sorry I was referring to the frat parties and the sludge on their basement floors. Lexington used to get some really good snows when I growing up, but we don't really get them anymore.

After my freshman year I started buying a specific cheap pair of heels for frat parties every season. Frat sludge = the nasty.

[honeychile]

Breathesgelatin, as one of the people who has volunteered to help out with the ADPi colonization, do you think that not having the first term inside scoop on the freshmen will help or hurt? Please be brutally honest!

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Breathesgelatin, as one of the people who has volunteered to help out with the ADPi colonization, do you think that not having the first term inside scoop on the freshmen will help or hurt? Please be brutally honest!

Ahh.... possibly. I mean, all the other sororities will have a pretty good idea in January of who they'd like in their pledge class. Maybe that's more than I should say, but it's the truth.

On the other hand, ADPi will be recruiting slightly different people. My guess is that a lot of upperclass women who weren't satisfied with their sorority options or who just didn't join before for whatever reason might now be interested in ADPi. (Certainly when I was a senior in 2005 a bunch of upperclass women went to the Panhel expansion presentations.) Also, W&L has gone through this same thing before with both Pi Phi and KD and both remain on campus as strong chapters.

I mean... I think that honestly ADPi is going to get a weird mix of people at first. I know from secondhand knowledge that the initial pledge classes of Pi Phi and KD were both pretty diverse... it took a while for them to establish their chapter identities. The KD seniors when I was a freshmen (01-02 schoolyear) were in the chapter when most of the KD founding class (recruitment 1997, thus graduating class 2000) were there. The KD seniors when I was a freshman were frankly not like the girls who pledged KD when I pledged Pi Phi... it took a while for KD to sort of establish its identity. What I know of Pi Phi's colonization (from founding alums who advised our chapter) presents a similar story: some upperclassmen/transfers, some girls who were hardcore Pi Phi legacies, some girls who were interested in starting something new and some who were just like... ok. The thing is that the way they did matching when KD and Pi Phi colonized was that the colonizing group had a quota of 70 and everybody else divided what was left... so frankly, ADPi is going to get MOST of the girls. Also due to the way the numbers will work, they're probably going to get some girls that didn't necessarily want ADPi as their first choice (this would again match up with my anecdotal knowledge of past W&L colonizations). The competition for the 20 or so spots the other houses each have is probably going to be fierce - a lot of girls are probably going to want to join groups that are a known factor and where they have upperclassmen friends. So a lot of girls that listed other places second might end up with ADPi in bid matching.

This is all my conjecture based on what I know of past recruitments (which is pretty extensive, but obviously not infallible and obviously W&L could have changed the way they're doing colonization from the past). So... take it with a grain of salt. I think ADPi is going to have a great colonization! I just think they're going to get a really diverse group of girls and it's going to take a while for them to really find their identity on campus.

[honeychile]

Having seen a recolonization before, I figured as much. Lots of women (who for one reason or another) didn't get a bid, legacies, and upperclassmen, along with the few who were intrigued by the new kid on the block. It took the chapter with which I'm familiar about 3 years to find their stride, and another 3-4 years to really excel - but they did it.

One of the biggest differences I see in the two is that, with the recolonization, there was still the interview process. Which isn't infallible - one of the women who didn't pass the interview ended up getting a bid two years later, and was on Homecoming Court!

It's becoming "curiouser and curiouser"!!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

The thing is that the way they did matching when KD and Pi Phi colonized was that the colonizing group had a quota of 70 and everybody else divided what was left... so frankly, ADPi is going to get MOST of the girls.... The competition for the 20 or so spots the other houses each have is probably going to be fierce...

Could you please expand more on "the colonizing group had a quota of 70 and everybody else divided what was left"? This type of colonizing (i.e. during formal) is fascinating.

Specifically, how does the whole preference party thing work? For sake of discussion, say the numbers are the same. Does Alpha Delta Pi turn in their "first bid list" with 70 names while the other five chapters turn in their "first bid list" with 20? Is there a "second bid list" etc.?

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

Yeah, I guess they just skip the interview part at W&L colonizing recruitments if they're doing full-on formal recruitment with the other groups? Or maybe one of the nights will sort of BE an interview night? I have no clue. Sorry I'm not more help.

Directed to anyone...

Not to get into membership selection, but in a full-on formal recruitment, if there isn't an interview (by whom ever the expansion team sends etc.), then *generally speaking*, how does it work? Does the recruitment mirror the other chapters? I can understand how philanthropy night would be easy to convey. But say for example, if it is "skit night" or "spirit night". Do the undergraduate girls (i.e.the ones from other chapters) and/or alumnae perform a skit? I'm not trying to be silly, but I am curious as to how it might work since the concept of NPC formal recruitment is to put all the chapters on some sort of equal footing.

And do the undergrads from the other colleges get a say in member selection?

Thanks for the indulgence.