PinkBabygirl10's Informal Sorority Recruitment Thread

[UGAalum94]

I wouldn't go back to the house that hazed, but the small group that is new might be worth another look. I think her impression of the girls is just based on her roommate who might not be typical.

I thought rush was pretty fun, so going to events and parties never seemed like a hardship. Individuals on both sides meet new people and enhance the reputations of the groups they're in. It's not a waste of time unless you are sure that you'd never accept a bid, and the group doesn't see it as PR. (Even though I only joined one, some of my positive feelings about other groups were formed during rush.)

OP: I'm a little perplexed about a campus on which everyone does informal. It seems like some groups would already be a total. What's the deal at your school?

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

OP: I'm a little perplexed about a campus on which everyone does informal. It seems like some groups would already be a total. What's the deal at your school?

At smaller schools with lower total, it's very common for all chapters to participate in COB. At campuses like this there's no stigma about COB and even the strongest/"top" chapters will have COB events (but usually with fewer spaces to fill).

A system like this usually develops because all or most of the chapters are at or near total. Also, the panhels are really flexible with total, adjusting it depending on the strength of sorority membership numbers from year to year. If the number of women in the chapters at these schools all hover around total, chapters never really get the chance to go very far over total during FR. With women transferring/going off campus/graduating each semester, it usually leaves all the chapters with at least a couple spaces to fill. It's very hard to stay above total for a long time in this kind of system (but relatively easy to stay at total).

At larger schools with more women going through recruitment, this kind of system is far less common.

[UGAalum94]

Thanks for the information. I was especially confused because quota last fall at this campus seemed to be 24, and if that were the case, it seemed to me that each group would have around 100 members. At that size, it seems like it would be a traditional quota and total kind of place.

But as I'm learning, different campuses (campi?) are really different.

[33girl]

First off, in "accessories", the girl she's referring to and that pledge class went through in the fall and are already initiated. They will NOT be her pledgesisters - I don't know where that assumption came from. And if they were - so what? There's no rule that you have to do everything with the girls you pledge with the whole time you're active. If there was, I most certainly would have quit after a semester.

I wouldn't go to the house that hazed - I didn't, when I was rushing, because all the girls looked like Tonya Harding and scared me - but the OP seems to object to the fact that they're the "rich girls" as much as the hazing factor.

Alphagamuga - it's entirely possible that the group was way under total and quota was something like 10 and they picked up 14 open bids because they had that many open spots. It happens all the time, particularly in Northeastern schools.

[KSUViolet06]

Best of luck to you. I joined my chapter through informal. It is a more relaxed environment, but in some ways the lack of structure can make it stressful for the PNMs (wondering when you will hear back from the group and things like that). Just be patient and have fun at all the different events!

[Regina Filangie]

Originally Posted by 33girl

First off, in "accessories", the girl she's referring to and that pledge class went through in the fall and are already initiated. They will NOT be her pledgesisters - I don't know where that assumption came from. And if they were - so what? There's no rule that you have to do everything with the girls you pledge with the whole time you're active. If there was, I most certainly would have quit after a semester.
.

This makes no sense to me. Ok they wouldn't be her technical pledge class, what I meant is that she will be spending 4 more years with these girls. In my chapter even when we had girls pledge as sophomores they still generally associated with the class of their graduating year. But why in the world would you join an organization where you didn't like the girls and didn't want to be around them? You're saying she can join but then not hang out with them... So what's the point of joining? Obviously you don't have to spend every waking moment with them but I'd hope you would at least enjoy being around them! It seems like her joining this group would just be asking for drama.

Pinkbabygirl- sorry this turned into a debate! Since you're the only one who knows the exact details just follow your heart and if you don't think a chapter is right for you don't feel guilty about not going to their event. But if you think this house could grow on you then definitely give them another chance! Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Regina Filangie

This makes no sense to me. Ok they wouldn't be her technical pledge class, what I meant is that she will be spending 4 more years with these girls. In my chapter even when we had girls pledge as sophomores they still generally associated with the class of their graduating year. But why in the world would you join an organization where you didn't like the girls and didn't want to be around them? You're saying she can join but then not hang out with them... So what's the point of joining? Obviously you don't have to spend every waking moment with them but I'd hope you would at least enjoy being around them! It seems like her joining this group would just be asking for drama.

Umm, there are other girls older than her in the sorority. There will be other girls who join after her who will be younger. Perhaps she can actually talk to them and hang out with them!!

As for my example, my pledge class consisted of 5 girls. I found many other people among the remaining 40 sisters to hang out with. I was super close with some of the girls in my (college) class, not at all with others.

And like I said...there are going to be sisters in EVERY sorority you don't like and don't want to hang out with. Unless the sorority has 5 girls in it. If you say there isn't anyone in your chapter you don't like, you're either Pollyanna or lying through your teeth.

Plus, there's a BIG difference between the OP's original "I don't like this group because my roomie is in it and I don't like her" and the updated "there's all sorts of gnarly stuff I can't go into and I was treated badly during rush and there was an incident with my roommate." #1 I'd say you're being silly to reject the group because of one girl and because the group is new and doesn't know how to rush. #2 maybe you have a valid point.

Oh and one chapter's total would not be increased without the others increasing - she may have meant they have more open spots due to graduations or disaffiliations.

[UGAalum94]

OP, you are wise to try to keep to the positive stuff. Don't feel like you have to defend your decision to us. If you know a chapter well and don't like the girls, it's perfectly fine not to go to their parties. You don't have to explain or justify.


Many of us, however, know of chapters who PNMs didn't consider only because they were small, or new, or awkward at rushing, or had one girl they didn't like. Sometimes groups' reputations aren't based on what most of girls are actually like, but based on size or how selective they appear to be. What you said in your first post allowed us to project our goodwill and hopes for those kind of small chapters onto Accessories, but it appears that Accessories has other issues.


Again, don't worry about convincing us. Go to the ones you like!
Good luck!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by PinkBabygirl10

It's possible that maybe all totals were increased, she only told me about her chapter. She said that if totals weren't increased, they would only be able to take 1 or 2 girls since that's all they had room for at this point since they met quota in the fall, and there would be no point in holding informal.

This could also be an answer to the question of how come all chapters are holding informal rush. They all seemed to meet quota or reach qouta through COB events in the fall, so it would make sense that this is the reason why they're all able to participate in informal.

Again, just some guesses. I'm not sure.

It's also very possible that pledge retention is not so great on your campus. Believe me, a sorority would rather say "total was raised" than "a bunch of girls deactivated/depledged", even if that happens across the board.