My Informal Recruitment Story!

[I Am A Tourist]

I’ve been lurking around GC for the last few months, and tonight I finally decided to stop lurking and actually make an account. I initially found GC when I was searching around for information about sorority life as I was deciding whether or not to go through recruitment. I’d like to thank you all for the wealth of information you have posted here; it truly helped me make the decision to go through recruitment, and seeing the enthusiasm here about Greek life has made me so excited about my sorority, both now as a collegian and in the future as an alumna. Some of my favorite threads to follow have been recruitment stories, so I thought I’d post my own! I know you guys don’t like to wait forever on these, so I’ll post a couple parts of the story right now and then post the rest tomorrow morning.

I have to start with my initial perception of Greek life when I started my freshman year. I don’t have a whole lot of Greeks in my family (the only ones are on my stepmom’s side of the family, and I never really talked about it with them until I pledged). My mom didn’t exactly hold a high opinion of Greeks. She used to be a professor at the school I now attend, and she said that while she did have a few nice sorority girls in her classes (her field is predominantly female), she thought most of them seemed stuck-up, cliquey, and not exactly focused on academics. (Fortunately, my sorority experience has proved her wrong. ) I had a high GPA in high school and while I enjoy hanging out with friends, school comes first.

I started school this fall with this view of Greeks. I’ll be honest, I thought that they mostly just drank and partied. This would be especially true at my school; I go to a relatively big state university (I won’t say where for privacy reasons) where Greek life and partying are prominent (not necessarily together but there are a lot of Greeks that party). I also don’t like to party, so I was convinced that I would never want to join a sorority. I wasn’t the “sorority type.”

In one of my classes last semester, however, I got talking one day with a girl I went to high school with who had joined a sorority. In high school, I NEVER would have thought she’d join a sorority (again, going off of that previous perception). She told me, though, that her family told her she should at least go through recruitment to see if she might like to join a sorority, and she’s SO glad she did because she loves her sorority. She told me that sororities really aren’t stereotypical like everyone thinks they are. I also met a girl on my floor who had joined a sorority and loved it. She told me about her chapter and how much she loved being in a sorority and, again, how much it didn’t fit the stereotype. After talking to them, I realized I had no idea what a sorority was actually like and that I should at least do research about it before condemning them and saying I wouldn’t want to join one.

During this time (a month or so), I talked with other girls I knew who were in sororities and I looked online for information as well. I also talked with my stepmom about her experience in her sorority. She told me she really enjoyed her sorority experience, and she encouraged me to try it. She told my dad that I was thinking about going through recruitment, and while he was initially hesitant about it, he came around and supported me through it. My mom, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as easy to talk to about it. She stuck with her initial view of sorority girls and didn’t think I’d fit in a sorority. She told me she would support me in what I wanted to do but she didn’t understand why I wanted to join one. (Fortunately, now that she’s seen how much I love my sorority, she’s much more supportive of me. She sees that it hasn’t changed me at all [except that it’s given me more opportunities to make friends and participate on campus] and that not all sororities fit the stereotype she held to.)

After a fair amount of research, I decided I wanted to go through recruitment. I decided to try informal first for 2 reasons: informal would give me an opportunity to meet the houses in a more relaxed setting, and I didn’t want to wait several months for formal in order to see if I even wanted to join a sorority. Throughout informal, I kept reminding myself to keep an open mind about the houses in order to know that I was joining the right house (and because the few rumors I’d heard had nothing to do with how well I’d fit into a house).

I went to my campus panhellenic office to ask about informal. They told me that 2 houses (out of several; I won’t say exactly how many chapters are at my school for privacy reasons, but there are many more than 2), Portable Television and What Sarah Said, were about to do informal. The codenames, as well as my username, come from some of my favorite songs by Death Cab for Cutie: “Portable Television,” “What Sarah Said,” and “You Are A Tourist,” respectively. At my school (I don’t know if this is the way a lot of schools do it), each house does informal whenever they want to/need to. Portable Television’s informal was first and it was only a couple days away!

[I Am A Tourist]

Portable Television had a 2-night event, on a Tuesday/Wednesday, though PNMs only had to go to one night. This was fortunate for me as I had another obligation Tuesday night. I walked into the house and saw so many girls sitting in the living room and the dining room. It was a bit intimidating at first; we basically just walked into the house and had to find a place to sit and talk with the members. There was no one at the door to invite us into the house or to get us started with the event, which I thought was odd. I am a little on the shy side, so it was harder for me to just sit down with some girls and start talking, especially because this was my first recruitment experience. Fortunately, one member saw me after a minute and led me to a table where some girls were playing a board game.

The girls seemed so nice! They quickly included me in their game and started getting to know me. One, after a while, took me on a house tour. Their house was gorgeous! We went back to the board game, and this girl Kate (not her real name) started talking to me. She was a lot like me – smart, skeptical about joining a sorority – but she really loved Portable Television. She and I really got along well, and we made plans to hang out that weekend. I left feeling really good about Portable Television. I’d really liked all the girls I’d met, and I thought I fit in pretty well with them. I could see myself hanging out with them. More importantly, though, that night I could see myself in a sorority in general. I felt like sorority life would be a good fit for me. They told us we’d get a call on Tuesday if we got a bid; I was really hopeful. I really liked Portable Television.

Kate and I hung out that weekend and had a blast. We went to a magic show my school put on that Friday night and then went to a dance on Saturday night with her roommate. She was so cool and so like me! I felt a lot better about wanting to join a sorority having met someone so similar to me who loved her sorority.

Tuesday came, and I felt good about Portable Television. I was pretty sure I’d get a bid; I thought I’d gotten along with so many of the girls, especially Kate, so well.

Tuesday came and went with no call.

I couldn’t believe it. What had happened? I thought I’d fit in with Portable Television! Why did they not give me a bid? That night was tough; I was heartbroken. I had really wanted to get into Portable Television only to not receive a bid.

That next morning, however, I felt better about my situation remembering that What Sarah Said’s event was that night. I decided that even though I was upset about Portable Television, I would dust myself off and give What Sarah Said a fair shot and see if I might fit in there as well.

[FSUZeta]

i like your story.

[I Am A Tourist]

Thank you so much! I've really liked looking back a few months later and remembering how my sorority experience started.

Here's the rest of the story!

When I walked into What Sarah Said’s house, I was immediately welcomed by a group of girls at the door, including their recruitment VP and informal recruitment chair. They gave me to a couple of sisters, one of whom was in one of my classes (which made me feel more comfortable), and they led me into the dining room, which was filled with girls talking. I was glad that they seemed to have their event more structured than the Portable Television event and that I wouldn’t have to try to find a group of girls to talk to.

The two sisters led me to a table where we talked with a couple other sisters for the hour. Conversation was so easy with these four girls! I felt so comfortable talking with them and asking them questions about their chapter, their organization, and their sisterhood. I could see these girls as my sisters. They all seemed so real to me, not pretentious or fake in any way. Portable Television hadn’t seemed especially fake to me, but they didn’t seem to be quite as genuine as What Sarah Said did. It’s hard to explain this sense I had about them, but they seemed to be real girls, just like me. I could see myself as one of them. As much as I’d liked Portable Television, I loved What Sarah Said. The hour went way too quickly. As I left, they invited me to their formal dinner that next Monday night. I accepted, excited to talk with these girls again.

When I got to What Sarah Said’s house Monday night, they offered to take me on a house tour. I really enjoyed their house as well. They had a lot of historical items displayed throughout the house. Three different girls took me on this tour, and I really enjoyed talking with all of them as well. Again, I could see they were girls just like me. I felt like I fit in with them so well.

I talked with them and a few other girls over dinner. Everyone I met was so kind and welcoming to me. I didn’t know when they might call me about a bid, but I hoped it would be soon. I really, really wanted to be a What Sarah Said. I really liked these girls.

That night, I checked my phone right before I went to bed, and I had a missed call and a voicemail from a number I didn’t recognize. I listened to the voicemail, and it was the recruitment VP at What Sarah Said offering me a bid! I started squealing (literally – I was so excited!) as soon as I heard her say that, and my roommate, who was in the room when I checked the voicemail, asked me, “Which sorority gave you a bid?” without even having to know that a recruitment VP had called me.

I responded, “What Sarah Said!”

Otherwise known as…






























































ALPHA DELTA PI!!!!!!!!!!

[I Am A Tourist]

I LOVE being an ADPi! I’ve made so many great friends so far, and I’ve loved having opportunities to get involved in my chapter. I am now an active member. I truly enjoyed initiation, and I really look forward to my lifetime of membership in Alpha Delta Pi.

In hindsight, as much as I’d liked Portable Television, ADPi was a much better fit for me. Portable Television would have worked okay but not quite as well as ADPi has. Kate and I are still friends, and we hang out every so often. This just shows me that the recruitment process allowed me to meet people and make friends regardless of the chapter I eventually joined.

Also, if I hadn’t joined ADPi, I wouldn’t have met my amazing Big. She has become one of my best friends and I truly look forward to making more memories with her over the years to come. I seriously cannot imagine having anyone else as my Big. She and I get along so well, and I am so lucky to have her.

The one disadvantage to going through informal was that I didn't get to meet girls in all the houses. I didn't see a wide variety of houses, so I didn't end up seeing one I didn't like, which made it harder when I didn't receive a bid from a house that was good for me but not great.

I’m so glad I’ve joined a sorority. I’ve seen that there really is no “sorority type.” Granted, I don’t think a sorority (or fraternity) is for everyone, but I think a lot more people would like it than those who think they would. It’s really been a great opportunity for me to grow as a person; it’s been a different, though enjoyable, experience for me. Thank you so much for reading my recruitment story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

[chi-o_cat]

Originally Posted by I Am A Tourist

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Yes, I did! Thank you for sharing. I tend to enjoy the stories more when there are fewer houses involved. It can be hard keeping up with all the code names sometimes. “I really liked cupcake and banana split, but then I went to crème brule and loved that one even more!” I usually end up getting lost half way through...or going for dessert!

[I Am A Tourist]

I agree, I tend to get a bit lost in the stories with lots of houses...

[FSUZeta]

Hooray for I Am A Tourist and ADPi!!Thank you for entertaining us and for not dragging it out!