Fall Recruitment as a Transfer: My story!

[gebbie]

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this installment-- I've been extremely under the weather and am just now getting back in the swing of things!

I was very nervous going into Round 2. The difficulty of my particular situation was beginning to weigh on me heavily and I was getting scared, despite how well I felt Open House went.

We started off our morning by meeting with our recruitment group and recruitment guide. She gave us an overview of how House Tours would go and gave us a pep talk about our parties before handing us our schedules. We could attend up to 12 parties, but my recruitment guide told us that few girls receive a full schedule. Its perfectly common to have 8 parties and totally fine if you have 6 or less. After all, you only need one match!
I was extremely surprised to find that I had a full schedule for the day. And it was pretty much full of my top houses!

This is how it all shook out:

STANDARDBRED: I was happy to go back to this house for tours. I was eager to form a more concrete opinion of this house. The girl who showed me around was a very nice young lady. Everything between us was perfectly cordial, but I did not get the sense that she was particularly interested in me. Looking around this house, it didn't seem like I would fit in here-- they actives did not seem as down-to-earth or considerate as the girl I spoke to during Open House. I left thinking it wasn't for me, but I would by no means be upset if I went back for the third round.

FRESIEN: I'll start by saying that this house is phenomenal to look at. It is completely stunning, inside and out. Counter to my experience at the previous house, the girls here seemed extremely interested in me-- in a very genuine way. It was really nice to feel wanted, if that makes sense...
I liked all of the girls I spoke with and felt like I bonded with the primary girl I was with for tours. I left feeling totally at ease and like this could work well for me.

MORGAN: I was most excited to go back to this house. I think I partly felt really 'honored' to even be asked back because so many girls were cut. But I also really loved them from the day before... I couldn't wait to go back. I was picked up by a girl who went to a rival high school from my home state. I got a good vibe from her, but it wasn't the same magical feeling as the day before. I adored their house and wanted to go back for a third party.

WESTPHALIAN: I ended up liking this house better than during Open House. The girls seemed really interested in me, which was nice, but the chemistry still wasn't there on my end. I was not crazy about their house but they seemed to have a really strong sisterhood (something that I value greatly).

DUTCH WARMBLOOD: I LOVED the girl who toured me. We clicked so well... and it made me think even higher of this group of girls. I liked the interior of their house better than the exterior (which was still very attractive). The girls seem to enjoy each others company so much which made me feel really welcome and at home. I definitely wanted to see more of this house.

FJORD: The girls still seemed very sweet. I didn't experience any sort of "Aha!" moment here. I hoped I would. The girls all came off as a bit introverted which made me feel a little out of place. Still, they were extremely nice and I thought I might like seeing them again to figure out their vibe a bit better. Really pretty house. The inside was very cool.

APPALOOSA: I was surprised that I was not more excited to go back to this house. I mean, I was happy to go-- don't get me wrong-- but I thought I would have looked forward to it more than I did. I didn't really enjoy this house at all, to be honest. The girl who showed be around was perfectly lovely but she seemed superficial. She showed me a bunch of photos of their sisterly activities... a majority of which had to be censored (put a sticker over it) to conceal alcohol. It was kind of a turnoff for me. I realize that drinking happens a lot in college, especially at a large school, but it seemed like most of their pictures/activities were centered around drinking. I left fairly indifferent. I would surely go back with a smile on my face if I had to, but I didn't particularly want to go back to this house...

QUARTER HORSE: I had a very similar experience at this house. It seemed clear that partying was a really core part of this house. A ton of PNM's loved that vibe but I just was looking for something different. I asked the active who was showing me around what she liked best about her sorority/ why she picked it and she told be because they "rage the hardest." (For anybody who doesn't know to rage means to party hard) The comment just left a sour feeling with me. I just wanted a different experience than what this house seemed to offer.
**I realize that I made a huge generalization about this house and I am sure they have more to offer than parties, but that was the gut feeling I walked away with. I hope I'm not offending anybody-- I apologize if I am**

THOROUGHBRED: I had a wonderful time at this house. The girls seemed so fun and genuine. I felt that I really hit it off here, and totally saw myself in this sorority after I left. I really liked their house, too, which is always a plus!

PALOMINO: I liked these girls much better after this round. They seemed more genuinely happy to have me there. Their house had a few really neat features. The girls were very nice but the experience wasn't as nice as some of the others. A pleasant visit all and all.

HOLSTEINER: I was excited to meet more of the girls in this house. I had a wonderful time here. The girls all seemed very classy and sweet which appealed to me greatly. And they were SO down to earth! I had such a laid back and easygoing experience! How refreshing! I wasn't wowed by the physical house but thought I would enjoy coming back to see these girls again.

HANOVARIAN: I was very excited to see these girls again. I had a really nice START with the girl I spoke with here but it kind of unravelled as the party continued. She had a few dirty-rush moments which I tried to just play off, but it felt kind of awkward. I also started to get a kind of fake vibe from her, but I wasn't sure. I might of just picked up on some weird vibe after she bid promised me.. It was odd. But, I liked the house overall. I felt really strongly about their philanthropy and I think that helped keep them afloat in my mental ranking.

Ranking at the end of the day was tough-- we had to get from 12 to 6 houses. My Gamma Chi warned us that this set of cuts would be the largest from the sororities' side. I started to get nervous! Plus I was totally torn with how to rank on my end of things. I was the last to leave from my group and ultimately arrived at this:
~The bottom 6 are the houses I wished to drop, in order of my favorite to least favorite house~

MORGAN
THOROUGHBRED
HOLSTEINER
FRESIEN
DUTCH WARMBLOOD
HANOVARIAN

PALOMINO
STANDARDBRED
FJORD
WESTPHALIAN
APPALOOSA
QUARTER HORSE