My Colony Recruitment Experience

[xoStarr]

So earlier before our Fall Formal recruitment started, I loved reading all of the great stories on here. I knew going into Fall Formal that I would be switching to Informal to pursue a colonizing organization, but information about people going through the colonization process is scarce on the forum. Makes perfect sense, because I personally believe everyone should go through the whole experience first and at least meet all of the organizations already on campus with an open mind before taking this kind of "leap of faith"

As I had said in my introduction thread, I went through Fall Formal last year at my school. I got all the way to Bid Day - received a Bid, but did not get initiated by the chapter whom I received the Bid from. There was no connection right from the start. It was a chapter I consistently ranked last every time. They were wonderful ladies that were definitely super sweet, but it was just not where I felt at "home". I went back and forth regarding if I would do Formal again the next year (this year) since I had to obviously wait a year, and none of the organizations were doing Spring Informal anyways.

What sealed the deal is finding out about a new colony being added. I didn't really know what that meant at all, but with further research I realized it was l just what I was looking for. The privilege to be a part of a founding class, potential leadership right off the bat, and being able to shape the organization's presence on campus for years to come. I'd say what school this is at, or what organization it is, but I'll keep it somewhat fun by leaving that information out

I will say that it isn't normally a competitive school, though there are 300 PNMs going through Fall Formal right now. But anyways....

So I didn't know exactly that this organization would have an Informal recruitment, because they were listed on our school's CPC website and there weren't any other details. So I paid for Fall Formal and found out a few days prior that if interested, I could just express interest to my RC and remove myself from Fall Formal. To be on the safe side though, I figured I should at least go to Round 1 to make sure that I really wanted to pursue the colony -- the first round is always the 2/3 sororities that pull from the Formal process, and so this organization was one of them. Obviously if I met the people from the National Office and another local chapter and didn't get as bubbly and excited hearing them talk about the organization and their experience, I would have tried to keep going again through Fall Formal....

... But there was no need! The presentation was solid. The woman who is in charge of handling colonization had a great presence. All of the representatives that spoke were passionate and poised. They were really really good about encouraging girls to continue through the rest of the process and find a great home and send their non-affiliated friends their way. I kind-of liked this, but part of me is a little nervous that the new colony is going to be a group of "leftovers" with girls with chips on their shoulders because they didn't get into one of the established organization. But I'm sure they're going to do a great job to find the best unaffiliated women they can.

I told my RC last night that I wanted to withdraw from Formal, and so now it's definitely do or die. Next week representatives will be on campus so I'll get to talk to a rep one on one and sign up an "infoview". I wish that this colony's Bid Day could be along with everyone else, but their recruitment process doesn't really start until the first two weeks in October so it'll all be separate. There'll be these infoviews, then they have an Open House and a Philanthropy event. After attending those, they have an invite-only Preference Round. From here out I'll write about my experience through these events

[als463]

So, you didn't initiate because you didn't feel "at home" and then the second time you went through formal recruitment, you decided to drop out because you want to go for this new colony? Is that right? I want to make sure I am understanding this. I have to ask, did you keep getting invited back to this "less desirable" house again, this year? What makes you think that you will automatically receive a bid because it is a colony? Generally, they don't take just anyone. If I was a chapter consultant, I'd be concerned about your past history and I would be reluctant to consider you for the colony. That's just my take.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by xoStarr

... part of me is a little nervous that the new colony is going to be a group of "leftovers" with girls with chips on their shoulders because they didn't get into one of the established organization.

Hardly the case!

Colonies, from my observation, are as competitive and selective as Formal Recruitment. The colony needs to select the strongest class possible, to form a strong chapter from the outset and to be "competitive" with the established chapters. There is so much at stake and so much that goes into MS, and the interview process is designed - no, I've said enough.

That mindset of "I didn't succeed in FR, I'll try the colony" seldom, if ever, works out for the PNM.

Originally Posted by xoStarr

But I'm sure they're going to do a great job to find the best unaffiliated women they can.

You better believe it.

[squirrel_love]

Originally Posted by als463

I have to ask, did you keep getting invited back to this "less desirable" house again, this year?

OP said she went to the first round to make sure she felt right about withdrawing from formal and trying out the colony, so there wasn't a chance for her to be invited back multiple times. I didn't go to a school with a typical recruitment setup with rounds and whatnot but from what I have read here on GC, it sounds like that was a smart decision. Meet with the chapters again since it is a new year, new women, etc., and possibly a "better" outcome.

Hopefully there will be a chance during her interview where she can explain why she went through recruitment last year, accepted a bid and then quit before initiation. Which is what a lot of posters here on GC suggest to do even if a PNM receives a bid from a chapter they are less than thrilled about .. because perceptions can change once you're a part of it. In OP's case, her perceptions didn't change so she decided to leave which is better than just going through initiation and leaving later on, in my opinion.


Good luck to you xoStarr but like the other posters have stated, just because there is a new colony on your campus doesn't mean they will take just anybody. They, like the established chapters, want the cream of the crop and those they feel will best serve their organization. It is not a guaranteed bid. Be yourself and hopefully you'll end up where you're meant to be =)

[DubaiSis]

I don't find anything offensive in the OP's post. Squirrel Love is right. She did what we recommend, and it didn't improve. Let's face it, there are chapters out there we know we'd NEVER fit in with for a whole variety of reasons, and if we are not going to be guilty of foisting unicorns pooping rainbows on rushees, we have to accept that it just didn't work out for her the first time.

It also appears that she doesn't consider the colony a consolation prize - it's not - but I am concerned that she thinks she's picking them, and not the reverse. Hopefully she will get through this process smoothly and there will be a love connection on both sides.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by squirrel_love

Hopefully there will be a chance during her interview where she can explain why she went through recruitment last year, accepted a bid and then quit before initiation. Which is what a lot of posters here on GC suggest to do even if a PNM receives a bid from a chapter they are less than thrilled about .. because perceptions can change once you're a part of it. In OP's case, her perceptions didn't change so she decided to leave which is better than just going through initiation and leaving later on, in my opinion.

It's hard to say whether the OP gave the chapter a chance to change her perception. The OP didn't mention at what point she depledged. It could have been anywhere from not going to bid day to not walking into the room for Initiation. My gut tells me the OP gave it less than a week before depledging, just because she describes how she "consistently ranked them last" rather than describing experiences as a NM.

[xoStarr]

I'll try and touch on mostly everyone at once...

I actually went to some sisterhood events for an established organization last spring and was very inclined towards them, but still had some reservations. When I found out about the colony over the summer and fell in love with them (felt that extra spark), it wasn't because I was looking for the easy way, or felt that I would have a better chance, or that I said to myself that I'm a "shoe-in" for this colony. Rather, after reviewing their national site and hearing girls from other chapters talk about their experience I just felt like their motto and mission aligned perfectly with me, more than any of the other organizations on campus. Even so, I still went to the first round of Formal to make sure. I could have not gone to Info and Round 1 at all, and just expressed interest to my RC automatically and call it a day. But I didn't want to be so narrow minded just in case. I also had friends who were going through recruitment for the first time and wanted to do the same thing as me and I stressed to them that they needed to go through the whole experience and get to know the other organizations first, not because i was trying to keep them from trying for the colony (which I'm just saying because I'm sure someone reading this might make that assumption right off the bat), but because I knew from last year it's an experience that really truly helps one understand what each chapter is all about and helps one make their own perceptions and decisions based on personal experience - not just what everyone else is saying/thinking. I care about my friends too much to ever be mean/lie to better myself or something stupid.

With the organization I received a bid for last year, I did go to Bid Day. And I had some good talks with some of the girls, but as a whole it didn't feel like it was "the one", and I didn't want to stick around and fake it. It's not fair to them. It was a hard decision to make. I sat around for awhile, especially because I knew there were other girls out there that didn't even make it as far as me, so I really wanted to be all happy and everything, but it just wasn't working.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

Hardly the case!

Colonies, from my observation, are as competitive and selective as Formal Recruitment. The colony needs to select the strongest class possible, to form a strong chapter from the outset and to be "competitive" with the established chapters. There is so much at stake and so much that goes into MS, and the interview process is designed - no, I've said enough.

That mindset of "I didn't succeed in FR, I'll try the colony" seldom, if ever, works out for the PNM.

You better believe it.

There's a FB group for women trying to bring a particular sorority back to their university. They seem to have all the wrong ideas about the process:

"Hey girls! So here's what's up.
------- is a sorority that used to be on the ----- campus and we want to bring it back. We're looking for enthusiastic girls who would be interested in joining that didn't think any of the other sororities already on campus were a good match for them and would want to help create a new chapter. Don't worry, there won't be that agony that came with rush week, it's much much much more laid back. This is a really unique opportunity because we get to build our reputation and choose new traditions for ------ at the ------. Our job is to find girls who are interested in creating a new chapter, so that way we can bring the big shots from the ----- corporate here to help take the next steps. If you're interested e-mail or talk to ---, -----, or -----"

[33girl]

Well, they can begin that way, and one of two things will happen.

1. The school will open for expansion, they will get the sorority they really wanted, and then the girls who originally started the group will quit because OMG ALL THESE RULEZ. (Saw it happen.)

2. The school will refuse to open for expansion and the girls will become the "rebel, nonconformist" local sorority, only to croak a few years later because nonconformist only goes so far. (Saw that happen too.)

While I think that what I've come to call "organic" colonizations - i.e. groups that start on the campus by the students, not colonies that the sorority comes in and picks all the members - can be a great thing and expand the Greek community, and are the ONLY way some campi end up expanding, these silly geese have it wrong. They'll get an education quickly.

[DubaiSis]

The post started out so positive! I was like - great! There are some really motivated girls. And then - ooops - they don't get it and are in for a rude awakening and a whole boatload of disappointment.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

Hardly the case!

Colonies, from my observation, are as competitive and selective as Formal Recruitment. The colony needs to select the strongest class possible, to form a strong chapter from the outset and to be "competitive" with the established chapters. There is so much at stake and so much that goes into MS, and the interview process is designed - no, I've said enough.

That mindset of "I didn't succeed in FR, I'll try the colony" seldom, if ever, works out for the PNM.

This.

There are definitely SOME women who decide to participate in colony recruitment who have the chip on their shoulder from not being succesful in FR, but that's not going to get you very far with colony recruitment.

The reps from that sorority are looking for leaders and contributors. They also want to biuld positive relationships with the other sororities on campus. It's hard to do that if your whole colony = Bitter Brittanys from FR who have sour grapes with all the exisiting groups because of FR.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Well, they can begin that way, and one of two things will happen.

1. The school will open for expansion, they will get the sorority they really wanted, and then the girls who originally started the group will quit because OMG ALL THESE RULEZ. (Saw it happen.)

2. The school will refuse to open for expansion and the girls will become the "rebel, nonconformist" local sorority, only to croak a few years later because nonconformist only goes so far. (Saw that happen too.)

While I think that what I've come to call "organic" colonizations - i.e. groups that start on the campus by the students, not colonies that the sorority comes in and picks all the members - can be a great thing and expand the Greek community, and are the ONLY way some campi end up expanding, these silly geese have it wrong. They'll get an education quickly.

Or, on the more positive side, things can work out well. In my chapter's case (long story short) a group of women approached the campus's Panhel about bringing AEPhi to campus. Panhel would not open for expansion, but told the women that they could form a local sorority. The local thrived for two years (during which time I pledged) before Panhel did open for expansion, indicating that there was a local group interested in affiliating with AEPhi. A match was made, and the chapter is still there 16 years later. There was a bit of "OMG ALL THESE RULEZ" shock, but we got through it.

xoStarr, I don't want to give you any false hopes here, but under the right circumstances, things can work out.

[xoStarr]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

There's a FB group for women trying to bring a particular sorority back to their university. They seem to have all the wrong ideas about the process:

"Hey girls! So here's what's up.
------- is a sorority that used to be on the ----- campus and we want to bring it back. We're looking for enthusiastic girls who would be interested in joining that didn't think any of the other sororities already on campus were a good match for them and would want to help create a new chapter. Don't worry, there won't be that agony that came with rush week, it's much much much more laid back. This is a really unique opportunity because we get to build our reputation and choose new traditions for ------ at the ------. Our job is to find girls who are interested in creating a new chapter, so that way we can bring the big shots from the ----- corporate here to help take the next steps. If you're interested e-mail or talk to ---, -----, or -----"

Wow, reading that I was like "Yeah! Yeah! Oh....No! No! No!"

I have no unrealistic expectations that this process is going to be easier than Formal Recruitment (except we won't have to stand in heels for 8 hours, thank goodness). I know that I'm going to have to present my best self and be on my game. Other people around me are like "oh girl, you're so going to get in" and I tell them "hopefully, but I'm not counting it until the paper is in my hand". I have extensive volunteer experience through Big Brothers Big Sisters and US FIRST, donated my hair for cancer patients, and hold/have held lots of different leadership positions both in school and in the workplace. So a leadership position would be super intriguing to me right off the bat and what I'm hoping for but not what I'm expecting.

I thoroughly enjoy the term "big shots". Sounds super professional - ha!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by xoStarr

Wow, reading that I was like "Yeah! Yeah! Oh....No! No! No!"

okay, I cracked up so bad reading this because I heard it like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_O30-fIcIA