Arizona State University? All advice welcome!

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by Giuliana

The "competitive" aspect scares me a bit, because that is soooo not my nature (in any aspect of life) and I've been known to shy away from competition.

Think of the "competitiveness" as more like a marathon than a basketball game. Stay with me for a second. In a basketball game, you're trying to do your best, yes, but you're also trying to get in the way of your opponents. In a marathon, your opponents matter very little. You train and prepare and show up and do your best. For 97% of marathon participants, winning isn't even a consideration. It's not about how you do compared to anyone else. It's about how you do compared to yourself, and getting your best time.

Recruitment's the same way. You do your preparation:

• keep your grades up and finish high school with a bang
• research the national organizations and visit local chapter websites
• network with alumnae and actives from other chapters (if applicable) and secure recs well ahead of time
• do some soul-searching and figure out what you're looking for in a sisterhood (hint - don't go for the house full of women who are like you want to be; find the house full of women who are like you really are)
• practice talking about yourself and what matters to you in a way that relates you to the organization
• come up with questions you want to ask your rushers about life in their sorority
• choose your outfits, jewelry, makeup and hairstyles, etc. in a way that will present your best outer self

Once you're done preparing, you show up and power through the actual marathon that is Recruitment, striving to ignore tent talk and stay positive and motiviated. You're tired. You might even be sweaty. The tent talk and the voices in your head are discouraging and try to undermine your confidence. You may not think you can do it. At times, your goal is simply to finish. And on Bid Day, when you cross the finish line, it doesn't matter how anyone else did. What matters is that you got your "best time" - you found the home that is the best fit for you.

A more competitive recruitment is simply a marathon where everyone has a higher level of preparedness. Because of RFM (read the threads on it if you want to understand how it works), you might get cut heavily in the beginning. But remember that that's how it works for everyone. All the chapters have to cut a certain number of women. The most important thing is that the chapters that keep you are the chapters that see something in you that resonates with them. They want you.

Sorry if this got a little rambly, but I want to emphasize that you can do this. You're starting at the right time. Prepare, persevere, stay positive, and you can finish the marathon.

Editing due to an excellent point made by KSUViolet06.

Not everyone can cross the finish line. Not everyone winds up with a bid. It's our experience on GC that most women who maximize their options and keep an open mind do find a home through formal recruitment, but some don't. Sorry about the confusion, but I got carried away with my metaphor.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by KappaKittyCat

And on Bid Day, when you cross the finish line, it doesn't matter how anyone else did. What matters is that you got your "best time" - you found the home that is the best fit for you.

Sorry if this got a little rambly, but I want to emphasize that you can do this. You're starting at the right time. Prepare, persevere, stay positive, and you can finish the marathon.

This is great advice, but just a little note here. Not everyone crosses the "finish line" (to usae your analogy) of recruitment. Not everyone gets a bid. I'd say that most do, but there are girls who do alot of preparing and still don't.

Like I said before, this is generally a pretty good analogy, but I wouldn't want PNMs to read this and mistakenly assume "oh, this means everyone gets a bid."

[DreamfulSpirit]

I spent 3 years at ASU for my undergrad. I went through COB/rush/recruitment events for 3 sororities there before finding my home with Omega Phi Alpha. I truly believe that no matter what, you'll find a home in one of the many sororities there, whether NPC or not.

[Giuliana]

KappaKitty- I appreciate the marathon analogy, since I'm a runner! Thanks for your encouraging post- you're right that running is all about competing against myself. I know I'm not guaranteed a bid, especially since I won't know any of the girls there, but since ASU is so huge, I'm not worried about missing out on social events if I don't get a bid. And I can always sneak into the frat parties, right? --- kidding, of course!

Question- what is RFM?

Dreamful Spirit, I'm so glad to hear from someone who was greek at ASU!! Do you mind if I ask you more about the university?

[DreamfulSpirit]

Originally Posted by Giuliana

Dreamful Spirit, I'm so glad to hear from someone who was greek at ASU!! Do you mind if I ask you more about the university?

Definitely! Go right ahead!

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by Giuliana

KappaKitty- I appreciate the marathon analogy, since I'm a runner! Thanks for your encouraging post- you're right that running is all about competing against myself. I know I'm not guaranteed a bid, especially since I won't know any of the girls there, but since ASU is so huge, I'm not worried about missing out on social events if I don't get a bid. And I can always sneak into the frat parties, right? --- kidding, of course!

Question- what is RFM?

Sounds like you have a great attitude.

Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but I believe that RFM stands for Release Figure Method. Basically it's the use of a complex mathematical formula to determine for each chapter how many women they need to release at the end of each round of recruitment. The numbers are based on the chapter's size and return rates and many other factors over a number of years. The idea is to prevent PNMs from being strung along by the "top" chapters and then suffering massive cuts right before pref.

What RFM means for PNMs is that they're more likely to suffer massive cuts early on but then hold steady-ish for the rest of recruitment. You'll see examples of this in many of the more recent recruitment stories here. At a campus with 9 sororities, for example, a woman might be cut down to 5 houses after the first round (harsh seeming), but then have 4 houses after the second round and a full slate of parties for preference. The benefit for PNMs is that they know early on which chapters are really interested in them. That way they can pay more attention and make a better choice without being distracted by chapters that, for whatever reason, have no intention of bidding them in the first place.

Hope this helps.

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is great advice, but just a little note here. Not everyone crosses the "finish line" (to usae your analogy) of recruitment. Not everyone gets a bid. I'd say that most do, but there are girls who do alot of preparing and still don't.

Like I said before, this is generally a pretty good analogy, but I wouldn't want PNMs to read this and mistakenly assume "oh, this means everyone gets a bid."

True, true. I didn't think of that. Good call.