Fall Recruitment as a Transfer: My story!

[gebbie]

I was amazingly nervous going into Skits. The morning of, my alarm woke me up in a complete panic-- I was SURE it was my Gamma Chi calling with bad news! (I decided to change my alarm ringer after that mini panic attack!

After my group collected, our Gamma Chi started giving us this really worrisome speech about how last nights cuts were huge (essentially cutting party lists/ PNMs in half) and how it is very important not to talk about our schedules as there will likely be many upset girls today... We all were starting to look seasick.

Honestly, I was a bit shocked when I received my schedule for the day. First, I was ecstatic to skim the schedule and see that I had received 6 invites, the maximum for the day. Looking closer I kind of felt my stomach flop a bit. I had lost a few that I really liked and was wondering if the one's in my bottom 'cut me' or if I had 'cut them,' and if I had made a mistake by putting certain houses in the bottom.


I was looking forward to all of the houses I had been asked back to and knew I was very fortunate to receive a full list. Happy faces! Here we go!

WESTPHALIAN: I wanted to feel a connection here so badly... But I just couldn't. I really liked the girl I was matched with for the party, but collectively I didn't feel like I fit in at this chapter. Their skit was not particularly impressive to me, but I was not sure what to expect exactly. It didn't seem to showcase any sort of personality and I think I was really hoping to see something relatable/exciting/humorous from them.

FRESIEN: I was paired with a hilarious girl. She was extremely down to earth and we really hit it off. The skit at this house really let us see how funny the girls in this house are. It definitely amped up my perception of them. I felt like I could definitely find my way here.

FJORD: Like the first house, I was hoping that their skit would reveal something new about the chapter's personality. It mostly just confirmed how I thought of them... They were extremely sweet girls. I felt that this house could maybe work for me, but it just didn't feel natural to me.

THOROUGHBRED: I was most excited to see this house again. I was not crazy about the girl I was paired with but I felt that I fit extremely well with the chapter overall. Their skit was extremely enjoyable and definitely showcased members' personality traits. After the skit, the active and I had an awkward/odd exchange about something I am very sensitive about and I clammed up pretty badly. She completely caught be off guard (it was not a statement you would EVER expect to come out of someone's mouth during recruitment) and I tried to handle myself to the best of my abilities but it was an extremely uncomfortable situation for me to be in. She definitely looked at me weird after the fact and I had a feeling she was not going to put me through for the next round.
I left kind of sad...this house was exactly what I was looking for in a sorority. While I didn't love the active this round, I completely fit at this house. I hoped that maybe the situation was not as uncomfortable as I thought it was... maybe it would be fine. But I had a horrible gut feeling that the exchange we had was a deal breaker...

DUTCH WARMBLOOD: I tried my best to rally by the time I arrived at this house. I was greeted by a really awesome girl who seemed so happy to have me back at the house. Their skit was hilarious and very well done. This house seemed to fit me well. The girls seemed to be a bit more 'done up' than I generally am, but I still felt really comfortable here.

HOLSTEINER: I didn't take notes on the active who was with me. This house's skit was so creative. It was extremely humorous and actually centered around a lot of improv. Looking around, I thought that I could completely see myself here. I felt so comfortable and at home here.


I had a really difficult time ranking. We were aiming to cut our houses from 6 to 3 for Prefs. I ended up staying very late and hashing it all out with my Gamma Chi.

Ultimately this is what I arrived on, the last 3 being the houses I wished to drop:

Thoroughbred
Dutch Warmblood
Holsteiner

Fresien
Fjord
Westphalian

I struggled hugely with how to rank Holsteiner and Fresien. I liked both of them equally and could see myself at both houses. I don't remember why I ended up putting Holsteiner about Fresien, but this was my rank! I explained what happened at Thoroughbred to my Gamma Chi and confided that I was scared I would be dropped because of the exchange. She found it funny that I was worried about how I came across-- she could not believe that I was not holding a grudge against the house! I ranked them first because I could see myself there better than any other house. If I got cut I would presume it was related to the exchange...and if I were to be cut based on THAT, then maybe it was not the house for me.

Big cuts again going into prefs! I felt extremely nervous...