Is Colony Recruitment Worth It? - Page 3

DubaiSis · #31 09-05-2013, 12:09 AM

You make it sound like there were a lot of girls there. Presuming there are enough girls in the pool that the colony can be pretty selective, cohesiveness will definitely play a role. Play along and when you get to the preference event, THEN look around. If you are still feeling like it's too disconnected, then maybe you should wait and see what they look like in a semester. But sororities don't have cookie cutters. The new chapter is NOT going to be 100 blonde, 5'6" ballet types. Or whatever image you have in your head of what a sorority girl looks like. The similarities will be in that the girls will all be driven, enthusiastic, leaders, that type of thing. The similarity won't necessarily be by appearance.

pinkandpearls · #32 09-05-2013, 08:09 AM

Good Morning All,

After having slept on it I feel a lot better. Chapters at my school are not Alabama sized, however they are significantly above 75. There are definitely more girls interested than will be selected. I am an extremely organized micromanager/scheduler so I think not seeing that cohesiveness right away just freaked me out, but after getting some rest my outlook is a lot more positive. Bid Day also freaked me out a bit- you have to go either way and will receive a bid card or a regret card. When I read things on here it seemed like if you weren't receiving a bid you would get a phone call before hand. However, I can't wait to see what the next week and a half will bring. Thank you all so much for all your help!

AOII Angel · #33 09-05-2013, 09:49 AM

So no Bid Day for a week and a half?

Sciencewoman · #34 09-05-2013, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkandpearls

Bid Day also freaked me out a bit- you have to go either way and will receive a bid card or a regret card. When I read things on here it seemed like if you weren't receiving a bid you would get a phone call before hand.

I agree...this sounds awful. Are you sure you're interpreting this correctly? I can't imagine everyone congregating together, and then either getting a "go home now" card or a "join the party!" card.

WhiteDaisy128 · #35 09-05-2013, 12:17 PM

When we picked up bid cards for the colony I joined, we went to the Greek Life office to get them - they were sealed in envelopes. We were asked to open them outside the office (I mean, you could take it home to open, open in your car, whatever...just not IN the office). This was between 9 AM and 11 AM. Bid day started at 3 PM. If you got a bid, you were given instructions on where to go for the celebrations.

DeltaBetaBaby · #36 09-05-2013, 12:28 PM

What??? This sounds so cruel.

pinkandpearls · #37 09-05-2013, 01:35 PM

I was going to come explain how it was going to work but WhiteDaisy128 did it for me, that is exactly what they said is going to happen (other than very slight time shifts). I am super involved on campus and have been through selections similar to this before for other things and I never really liked that selection method...I have always found it to be super stressful and upsetting if things didn't work out. There isn't much I can do to change it so I'll just have to go with the flow. And yes, no bid day for a week and a half. We won't really have a pref night which I am a little sad about...we had a party yesterday and we have another party next week (which is optional if you attended the one yesterday, I am still definitely going to go) but that is all.

33girl · #38 09-05-2013, 01:43 PM

Remember that 1) there is no limit on who can go to the colony recruitment (as far as I know there were no entry fees to rush, no pre-party sign ups, no grade checks) and 2) they do not have a full Panhellenic to help them make phone calls.

As far as logical ways to do it, this sounds a heck of a lot less cruel than "running" to groups or Bid Day held as spectacle for the entire campus to see and critique. Take the card, take a nice clearing walk to wherever your happy place is, and open it. Sounds fair to me.

DeltaBetaBaby · #39 09-05-2013, 02:49 PM

Wait, wait, I thought it was assumed that if you didn't get an invitation to the preference event, you were not going to receive a bid. So I read this as women going to preference, and THEN having to get a "yes envelope" or a "no envelope". Is that not the case?

Benzgirl · #40 09-05-2013, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkandpearls

I was going to come explain how it was going to work but WhiteDaisy128 did it for me, that is exactly what they said is going to happen (other than very slight time shifts). I am super involved on campus and have been through selections similar to this before for other things and I never really liked that selection method...I have always found it to be super stressful and upsetting if things didn't work out. There isn't much I can do to change it so I'll just have to go with the flow. And yes, no bid day for a week and a half. We won't really have a pref night which I am a little sad about...we had a party yesterday and we have another party next week (which is optional if you attended the one yesterday, I am still definitely going to go) but that is all.

When we have a colony, we do hold a pref night. Not your typical pref party where girls are crying and the members write you letters, but it is a serious ceremony that they ask the PNMs to dress up. That way the PNMs get an idea of who might be one of their sisters.

pinkandpearls · #41 09-05-2013, 04:49 PM

There is definitely no preference night. The recruitment process is an online application, an interview, and then you must attend at least one of two recruitment events. Then on Bid Day you go to the Greek Life office and receive your envelope. Sorry if that was unclear! I didn't want to sound like I was complaining on how it was done, I definitely didn't mean to come across that way...I just think it would have been better had you got a phone call if you didn't receive a bid (as you do during formal recruitment, at least at my school) but it is totally fine if that is the way they wish to run things.

AZTheta · #42 09-05-2013, 05:03 PM

oh my. That does seem rather "harsh" IMO but if there is a time gap, that is a good thing. Do what 33 said: pick up your card and open it in private. I do hope this ends well for you; a colony is a unique experience and opportunity.

DeltaBetaBaby · #43 09-05-2013, 06:31 PM

Yeah, I don't see why they don't just go with a "no thanks" email to the women not chosen, but I guess in a situation without Rho Chis and such, there is no easy way to do the rejections.

Sciencewoman · #44 09-05-2013, 06:41 PM

When we colonized on the campus where I teach, there were 4 CLCs (traveling consultants) on the team and they made personal phone calls to the women who did not receive bids. I think that was a good way to handle it, but I know they said those were hard phone calls to make, and obviously they'd be hard to receive. We had a Panhellenic limit on how many women we could take...total + 10.

TiareNoire · #45 09-05-2013, 06:54 PM

When I went through a colony recruitment, the pref night was invite only and you received a call the day of the pref party in the morning so you'd know if you were invited or not. My phone call went well though I wasn't chosen. I hope it works out for you!