Thoughts from Someone Who Went Through Formal Recruitment

[melindawarren]

Originally Posted by Anonymity

What I Am Doing After Formal Recruitment:
I definitely will go through formal recruitment a second time. I have a full year to do things that would help me look more appealing on paper. I have about a 3.3 GPA and I plan on raising it as much as I can this school year. One of the disappointments of not being in a sorority this year is that I don't get to participate in the philanthropies. Each chapter at my school does something amazing that benefits the community and their charities. To fill that void, I'm participating in a volunteer program through one of the school clubs that will visit shelters and hopefully more. I also plan on tutoring and volunteering at the local middle school and high schools. The volunteer program makes me feel better since I can still do something to benefit the local community.

I was thinking about doing informal recruitment but I decided to wait because I would like the chance to visit each chapter again. That's just a personal choice. Not being invited back to certain chapters for formal recruitment did some damage to my self-esteem and that doesn't seem like a normal reaction. I've had some depression over family problems in the past year and that baggage is not something I want to take with me to a sorority. I think I need to take this year to settle those issues.

If there's anything else I can add to this please let me know.

Thanks for adding this.

I would actually advise you to take a look at COB, especially if you really want to be Greek, for a few reasons. First, many chapters shine during informal in ways they simply can't during formal. It's not that they're "bad" chapters, but they may just have a different vibe that doesn't really work with formal recruitment and the format (let's all be honest here-formal is a difficult format for any kind of "getting to know you" activity). During informal, I actually felt like I got to know the people who rushed me. Second, informal can a lot more fun than formal recruitment because, usually, the chapters involved have a lot more freedom in planning their events. You probably won't actually think you're being rushed. Lastly, you say you have a 3.3 GPA-how far are you in college? At many schools, going through as a sophomore is tough and going through as a junior is nearly (if not completely) impossible.

Also, rejection can mess with your self-esteem; there's nothing abnormal about that-it's learning how to handle it that makes the difference between high and low self-esteem.