**My Rush Story & Why Girls Rushing Should Read It!**

[RushTaleAccount]

Okay, so background information. My school is a large university with a rapidly growing but already big greek life with 14 PHC chapters. I was not a legacy to any chapter, and knew nothing about greek life. Recruitment was a week long. My code names are going to be different kinds of drinks. We had ALL of our parties in one day, 15 minutes each. This is my impression of the first day, but some of it is still a blur because we met so many people. I was soooo excited for recruitment and was in a great mood to meet the chapters!

Iced Tea - This was my first chapter I met of the day. From our recruitment brochure and national website, this was the chapter I had decided (before meeting any actives) that I wanted to join. I loved their house and location, I thought the girls seemed so cute, and I loved everything about their values. I had no clue what to expect, so when I was sat down quickly and girls were rotating around desks to meet us, I was a little overwhelmed. I still thought I had a pleasant conversation, looking back I know I didn't really stand out or show my personality due to my nerves

Sierra Mist - These girls were SO classy and I had only heard great things about them on campus. They were so nice and polite but yet fun. I could tell they were great examples of the Greek community because they were so earnest about their volunteer work. I immediately fell in love with them. My conversation with both girls went so well and I was glad recruitment was starting off well! I had a rec for this chapter.

Lemonade- I was confident about this chapter because "everyone from my high school joins this house". I kind of thought I was a shoe-in, but I didn't act like it at all. Sadly, the girl I talked to was SO RUDE. After introductions, I said (maybe too up front?) that I was excited to be talking to her chapter because of the friends I had a year above me. She made it very clear with her reaction that she didn't like them, and replied "Oh, those girls". It threw me off, and I tried to redirect the conversation but it was obvious I had hit a button. She was literally stone faced and not smiling, and I started to kind of panic, and I remember our conversation was dull and forced. I was so glad for time to be called, and I kind of knew leaving that round that my friends were going to have to vouch for me or I was not going to get in based on my conversation. I had a rec for this chapter.

Lemon Drop - I thought that these girls were very cute, but one of my high school friends had very publicly and angrily quit their chapter during spring. Being close to me, she vented off how awful and fake they were. Being a freshman that listened to bus chatter, I was nervous that they were that way. She had told me they also were suspended from any socials, and at the time it seemed like the cool University thing to do was have tons of themed parties with fun girls. I was under the impression that they could never do anything (not the case, they were limited but not completely restricted) but I had an okay conversation. The girl I talked to talked more about all the chapters than her own, and I wish I had gotten to know more about their specific chapter. She did tell me though she was a senior that never had recruited, so she was probably nervous.

Cherry Soda - I was excited for this chapter as soon as I walked in the room. They were wearing the cutest, brightest shirts and immediately I felt that the girl I was talking to was genuinely happy to be recruiting. I didn't have a rec for this house, but I was determined to make a good impression. We ended up having a same major interest, and talked mostly about academics. After leaving, I knew they weren't my favorite of the group, but that I could see myself being a sister there.

Sunkist - This was my absolute favorite chapter of all 14 that I visited. The girl I talked to was gorgeous and so easy to talk to. We had a really fun conversation and she actually told me a lot about her family right away. I felt like this girl was already one of my good friends and I had heard their sorority was well liked and respected on campus. After leaving this party, I remember writing YES YES YES in my booklet. I knew that many girls felt this way, but I was confident that my conversation with her had been stellar and that I would be back the next day.

Root Beer - I was nervous about this chapter because they had a "reputation" that girls were gossiping about before I walked in the room. However, the two girls I talked to were so sweet! I think that their reputation came from a national play on words, and I liked them a lot. I was very impressed by one girl who gushed about their philanthropy, and it made me happy to find girls with such a passion for their community work.

Dr Pepper - I had a rec from someone who worked with this chapters region, so I was excited to meet them because she was an old family friend and was very actively pushing for me to join their chapter. The first girl I talked to was from the same high school one of my best guy friends was from, and we ended up realizing we knew a lot of the same people. She openly stated at one point that she thought I was "so easy to talk to" and that she hoped I liked their chapter. I was bursting with happiness when I left the room because the second girl was so nice too. I had been so nervous about recruitment, but it was truly after this room that I knew how badly I wanted to be in a sorority.

Sprite - These girls had a GINORMOUS house on campus and I had drove by it on our way to my dorm on the first day of moving in. The girls were nice, but I didn't really feel that connection to many of them. They were polite but seemed a little more nervous than me, and each girl was so different that I felt like maybe there wasn't as much of a uniting personality as some of the other chapters had. They weren't my favorite and wrote "Maybe" in my booklet but wanted to see them again in their house where they may feel more comfortable.

Grape Soda - I don't really remember this chapter that much because they were starting to blur together. We didn't have any sort of long break, and I was starting to get incredibly hungry. The girl I talked to though was a total sweetheart and all the girls was down to earth. They reminded me of my actual sister, who is a little reserved at first but has an amazing personality once she reveals it. I felt like they were a "hidden gem" as people weren't talking about them at all, and I knew I wanted to talk to them more.

Coke - I promised at the beginning of my introduction I would be honest, so keep that in mind. I HATED this chapter at the time of recruitment. They were a chapter with no house, and had somewhere around 20 girls in the chapter. I was in mental pain talking to the girl because she was so nervous and awkward that there were moments where neither of us said anything and she would look out the window. I would ask her open ended questions, and sometimes she would taper off quietly to herself... and then stop talking. I knew I did not want to go back to their chapter, but I was horrified at how some of the girls were acting. When we left the room, the door didn't even close before one girl said how she was obviously cutting them, and I know their member heard her. I didn't want to go back, but I stayed silent because for all I knew someone in my rush group liked them

Pepsi - This was another chapter I didn't enjoy talking to, right after Coke. They were really awkward and I didn't feel that they dressed up much for recruitment. I had heard girls talking beforehand about how they were a struggling chapter, and I think that had tainted my perception because I noticed it right away and assumed any gossip I heard to be true. I was nice to them, and they were nice, but I didn't feel a spark and knew that I had to cut some chapters anyway.

Water- I had a rec for this chapter, and I really liked them. I felt like, though, me and the recruiter were kind of like passing ships. We got along but I could tell that where we may have been friends, there wasn't a super spark where I was in love with the chapter. The second girl I talked to was really bubbly and knew my roommate really well, so we had a good conversation. She showed me their tri-fold and they had so many cute pictures and I was happy to see a lot of ones of them at ice rinks/movies/their house because I wanted a strong sisterhood and most of the tri-folds focused on socials. I liked this chapter a lot.

Mountain Dew - This chapter had the same reputation as Pepsi and girls were being rude before we went into the room. The first girl I talked to was gave me some anxiety because I felt like I was being interrogated. She also smirked after I said anything, including what dorm I lived in. She was bumped, and the girl who sat down told me that she liked my shirt. I told her that I worked for the company and she freaked out because she did too in a different city. That company has a lot of inside jokes and we were talking about how our stores did similar things and how funny all the similarities were. She was so easy to talk to, and was very cute and normal. I had my best conversation of the day with her, but looking at the tri fold that they had displayed, it didn't have much on it. I was worried they weren't very involved.
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We could rank 10 chapters, and it didn't matter what order we put them in. What DID matter was where we ranked 2,3, 4, and 5. My preference for that went as follows:
2. Lemon Drop
3. Mountain Dew
4. Pepsi
5. Coke



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