Carlisle's BRUTALLY honest recruitment, Fall 2010

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by arrowlady

Please continue your story.... But remember that there may be some White Queen's reading this...

And if it took me 10 seconds to figure out which school this is, I'm sure that the White Queens and all of the other inhabitants of Wonderland can figure everything out with little problem.

Meanwhile, KSUViolet is a wise woman.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Meanwhile, KSUViolet is a wise woman.

Thank you sir!

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Carlisle

I am a Tweedledee legacy, and my mother was really pushing for this house! Coincidentally, Tweedledee happens to be a really great chapter at my school and it was definitely one I hoped I’d click with before rush started.

>> Because all schools are different, what is the criteria at your school (or in your opinion) for being a "great chapter"?

The houses I really wanted were Blue Caterpillar, Tweedledee, Bayard, Pishsalver and Jabberwocky- all very much considered top tier and where I think I could fit in best!

>> Had you met a good number of these girls before? What qualities in these chapters made you feel more of a "fit" with as opposed to other ones? In other words, what do you have in common with these that you don't think you would have in the others?

The first round was such a blur, but a few stood out to me.

>> I'd love to hear about all of the chapters, since you're being brutally honest.

White Queen- This was my first house and I noticed the girls looked very friendly but a little frumpy.

>> Was every girl "frumpy"? Was it what they wore? Their hair styles? What made them look frumpy?

The girl who rushed me was unsettlingly perky and cheerful…to the point where I was creeped out. She didn’t once look away from me and I swear her mouth was stretched in a wide, toothy smile the entire time. She kept complimenting me on my dress, saying that she “loooooved what the color did for my complexion.” At first it was flattering, but then a little bit later into our conversation she interrupts me to say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stop looking at how perfectly your dress compliments your coloring.” It was a little off-putting and I felt more awkward than I already did. When she was supposed to bump me, she stayed on to tell the other sister to check out my dress, and kept bringing it up afterwards in creepier ways than the average compliment. I was a little overwhelmed and happy when the party was over.

>> That must have been some dress!

Blue Caterpillar- I remember actually being nervous before going into this house, because it is one of the most competitive sororities, and all the PNMs were talking about how much they’d love to be a Blue Caterpillar. I remember that every single sister was drop dead STUNNING and very well put-together, which I felt a connection with because my mother always taught me to look your very best.

>> You must have been really intimidated if every girl was "drop dead STUNNING".

Mad Hatter- From start to finish, I was absolutely horrified. Compared to the other parties, this one seemed very low energy and none of the PNMs seemed especially excited to be there. The sisters were not put together the way Blue Caterpillar was, and it felt like they had a lack of effort, at least sartorially. (If you can’t already tell, I place a lot of importance on appearance. First impression is everything, especially in recruitment!!).

>> Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving, especially in recruitment.

I put on my best face though and was super friendly to the girl who was rushing me. She seemed extremely bored with me though, and occasionally after I finished answering a question she would just sit there and nod. I felt obliged to force the conversation, and just kept pulling questions out of thin air to ask her. I don’t think she smiled at me more than once.

It does seem like your perception of each party is tainted with your first judgment of how the girls look. Then again, since appearances are so important to you, how could you possibly function in an organization when others don't measure up to you?

I don’t even remember my subsequent conversations, as I had this awful, unwanted feeling in the pit of my stomach that put me on the verge of tears.

Other houses that I loved almost as much as I loved Blue Caterpillar the first day were Tweedledee, Bayard, Pishsalver and Jabberwocky- as predicted, and I also really had a good time at Oraculum and Red Queen.

>> Tell us more about each of them!

Originally Posted by Carlisle

Alright so when I got my list back for round 2, I was psyched to see that I had 11 invites back, especially when a lot of girls in my group had suffered really heavy cuts. One girl only had 4 invites!

>> Oh no, only four!! Then again, it does only take one.


I had:
Oraculum
Bayard
March Hare
Red Queen
Blue Caterpillar
Tweedledee
Pishsalver
Wonderland
White Queen
Dormouse
Stayne

As sad as I was to lose Jabberwocky, I was still thrilled because my other 4 favorites were still on the list, including Blue Caterpillar! A lot of other girls had been cut from Blue Caterpillar and were really upset about it. I was kind of weirded out that White Queen was still there, though, and I really didn’t want to go back.

>> That one girl who seemed awkward might not represent all 150+ girls. Then again, it might be difficult for you to associate with people who aren't as polished as you are.

Soo for Round 2, I only made it to Blue Caterpillar, White Queen (bleh), and Oraculum…

Blue Caterpillar was amazing as ever. The girls were literally something out of Elle Magazine! And again we clicked so well. Looking around at their house at the other perfect girls, it was really somewhere I could see myself thriving.

>> So many perfect girls, I can't imagine!

White Queen started off a lot better today. I got a girl who was much more normal. Conversation flowed pretty easily and the girl was very friendly, and everything was fine and dandy until I noticed out of the corner of my eye the creepy rusher from the previous round was staring at me. She caught my eye and then came over to creep on me again, all perky and Cheshire-y and weird. The party went downhill and again I was freaked out majorly, and confident I would be cutting them ASAP.

>> One bad apple spoils the whole bunch!!

Oraculum was fun! Like the previous day, it was fairly high-energy and the girls I talked to seemed super friendly and were really funny. I found myself laughing a lot here, and was having a good time even though I was starting to feel dizzy.

After Oraculum, I had a break in my schedule and felt really ill. I guess I had heat stroke or something because I had a pounding headache like never before, was sweating and even threw up!

>> Heat stroke is scary! My friend had it and she was bombarded with IV fluids (if you vomit, they don't want to take the risk of further dehydration and electrolyte imbalances), wrapped her in thin cotton material and poured water on her, and had fans running to help evaporation.

Gross, I know. I ended up spending the rest of the day at Health Services, missing all the rest of the days parties. Even though I was so nervous that I’d be cut from ALL the houses I missed, I felt a little relief that I had at least visited two houses that I liked.

>> At least you made it to the most important house on your list!

When appearances, being polished and having proper social Etiquette are so important, it kind of makes your choices that much easier.

Mustang, Burberry, Pink.

[dukemama]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

One bad apple spoils the whole bunch!!

Thanks a lot. Now I'll be hearing this song in my head all day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DhgP8fydHQ

[33girl]

Originally Posted by dukemama

Thanks a lot. Now I'll be hearing this song in my head all day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DhgP8fydHQ

wow, sounds like Donny was in Peter Brady voice changing mode in this clip.

[CherrySonata]

I was told by my greek life office that missing a party without prior notice would result in being dropped from recruitment. Is this rule not universal? Would something like heat stroke be considered 'emergency' enough that you could get excused? (I think it is probably a legitimate reason, I am just curious as to the types of things that would be considered reasonable excuses...)

[annabella]

Originally Posted by CherrySonata

I was told by my greek life office that missing a party without prior notice would result in being dropped from recruitment. Is this rule not universal? Would something like heat stroke be considered 'emergency' enough that you could get excused? (I think it is probably a legitimate reason, I am just curious as to the types of things that would be considered reasonable excuses...)

Perfectly acceptable as far as Panhel is concerned, her Pi Chi would notify the chapters. It would then be up to the individual chapters whether or not to invite her to the next round.

How strange that you'd never really experienced heat stroke in your neck of the woods, Carlisle.

[33girl]

Is UGA rush over yet, or is this the other competitive school with 17 chapters?

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Is UGA rush over yet, or is this the other competitive school with 17 chapters?

I think Pref was yesterday at UGA.

[Jen]

"Brutally honest" is a code word for trainwreck.

Which is good for me surfing the new threads here, because then I know to pop in to see the flaming train cars.

[ellebud]

I wrote my recruitment thread with the title, "A Brutally Honest...from long, long ago." I think (mea culpa) that I started the phrase. And If not, I am relieved that it wasn't me.

If this is true (and we don't have pearls at the dock) I hesitate to indict the young women. At eighteen lots of girls are totally clueless. But, it fries my cookies when I know how hard all the chapters are working to get ready for recruitment (or worked) and to be dismissed like an annoying flea.

One can be honest (the house wasn't for me) and classy at the same time. When I think about some of the girls who weren't placed and who tried so hard...my heart breaks for them.

On the other hand...yes, I can indict an eighteen year old for being a non caring b*****. Her mama (I'm talking like a southerner now) may have told her to always look her best. But her mama should have taught her about acting like a lady all the time.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Is UGA rush over yet, or is this the other competitive school with 17 chapters?

Per irishpipe's and BR's thorough threads, UGA rush ends today. It ended on Saturday at that other school.

[phimusam]

OK, all of us old ladies need to remember what it was like to be a teenager. And, dear writer, keep on telling your story and let all of the old ladies who don't remember what it was like to be a teenager criticize you. Incidentally, referring to people looking their best, I can remember my mom, in her 80s, fussing because I wore flats to a funeral - said I was not properly honoring the person who had died. For what it was worth, I wore the flats so that I could keep her from falling as she tottered about on her 2 1/2 inch heels.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by phimusam

OK, all of us old ladies need to remember what it was like to be a teenager. And, dear writer, keep on telling your story and let all of the old ladies who don't remember what it was like to be a teenager criticize you. Incidentally, referring to people looking their best, I can remember my mom, in her 80s, fussing because I wore flats to a funeral - said I was not properly honoring the person who had died. For what it was worth, I wore the flats so that I could keep her from falling as she tottered about on her 2 1/2 inch heels.

I'm sorry. Alzheimer's must have set in. 10 years is waaaay too far back for me to remember. Where's my walker? Did you take my walker? My Ben-gay was sitting on the tray, next to my 2500x reading glasses.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I'm sorry. Alzheimer's must have set in. 10 years is waaaay too far back for me to remember. Where's my walker? Did you take my walker? My Ben-gay was sitting on the tray, next to my 2500x reading glasses.

Watch out with the reading glasses comments.

I think the point is that no one believes this really is a teenager.