To hold us off until next month...

[Pirouette]

This year my family was blessed to add two more women to Sorority Life. To pass the time right now, my cousins have allowed me to post their stories (while they read quietly) like I did with one of my cousins last year. After this, we'll have to wait another 5 years before anyone else goes through recruitment in my family.

First-up: A Peanuts Recruitment

Since this cousin was not blessed with the gift of dance, we'll give her a normal name, "Steph."

Steph went through recruitment as an out of state student and knew almost no one at her university. There are 14 sororities as well as one colony. I will name them after characters from Peanuts (because my 10 month old is obsessed with Snoopy). She is a legacy to three, but has an aunt and cousins in others.

The sororities are:
Charlie Brown
Franklin- Aunt's sorority
Frieda- Cousin's sorority
Linus- Mother's sorority
Lucy- Grandmother's sorority
Marcie
Peppermint Patty- Cousin's sorority
Pig-Pen
Rerun
Sally- Sister's sorority
Schroeder
Snoopy
Violet
Woodstock

And the colony will be coded as The Great Pumpkin.

I'm almost done putting her notes together so I should be able to post this story within 24 hours.

[honeychile]

I'm liking this already!

[Pirouette]

Round 1:

Charlie Brown: 1st house, and even though Steph knew to expect the loud cheers, nothing could prepare her for the noise. She met three sisters, and had okay conversations, but she had to lead them. Overall, she left unimpressed.

Franklin: This house went better than her first. The first sister she spoke with was great, but the second was a little shy. But they did have the same major so they spoke about what Steph could expect in her first semester classes. Steph would like to return to Franklin.

Frieda: Frieda has been struggling with numbers for a while. The sisters were nice, but there was some awkwardness. Also, having to share her rusher with another PNM was kind of a turn off. This was the only house where Steph could not see herself at all.

Linus: This is the sorority Steph’s mom is a member of so she was very excited for this house. Linus did not disappoint! Steph connected with her three rushers and did not want to leave!

Lucy: This is Steph’s second legacy house, but it didn’t go as well as Linus. She could not find anything to talk about with her second rusher. However, everyone else was nice. And she loved the stain glass window of their symbol.

Marcie: It was the last house of the day and they still had a lot of energy. Steph didn’t seem to have much in common with them, but she thought they were really fun and would love to return for the next round.

Peppermint Patty: For the first house of the day, they were pretty mellow. Steph liked their laidback personalities, but didn’t really click with half of her rushers. She left this house feeling indifferent.

Pig-Pen: Steph liked this house a lot. Her last rusher was really funny and Steph was still laughing when she left the house. She actually laughed so hard on her way out that she tripped on the front steps!

Rerun: This was another great house. She seemed to have something in common with all four of the women who rushed her. She would love to come back.

Sally: This is her older sister’s sorority (her sister attends a different school) so she really wanted to like it, but didn’t seem to connect with several of the women in the chapter. She’s willing to give it another shot because of her sister though.

Schroeder: Before the party started, her recruitment group could not figure out how to pronounce one of the Greek letters and they all paid super close attention to the door chant to figure it out. Steph had fun at this sorority. She didn’t have to think about smiling because her smile came naturally during their party.

Snoopy: This was another sorority that Steph didn’t feel one way or another about. The sisters were nice but nothing about them really stood out.

The Great Pumpkin: This is a colony. Steph wasn’t sure if she wanted to get involved in the colony process but would be willing to give them a shot if recruitment didn’t work out.

Violet: Steph also liked this house. There were only a couple awkward moments, but they moved on quickly. The party seemed to go by quickly.

Woodstock: Steph was dragging by this house. However, they seemed to have even more energy than the last house of yesterday. She’s sure the sisters are fun, but she’s not sure if she could have the same energy level as them.

After a long day, Steph ranked the sororities. She could return up to 10 houses for Round 2. She ranked:

1. Linus
1. Rerun
1. Pig-Pen
1. Schroeder
1. Franklin
1. Marcie
1. Woodstock
1. Violet
1. Peppermint Patty
1. Sally
2. Lucy
3. Snoopy
4. Charlie Brown
(The Great Pumpkin)
5. Frieda

[Pirouette]

Round 2:

The night before, Steph ran into girl she went to Middle School with but hadn’t seen since the girl’s family moved away before she started High School. They never really hung out before, but had been friends with a lot of the same people. They exchanged phone numbers and quickly became recruitment bffs.

When Steph got her schedule, she was pretty excited that she had a full schedule, even though she lost Marcie. She was a little confused why she Marcie had dropped her, but she also knew better than to make a big deal about losing one house this early when several girls in her group did not have full schedules. She would be returning to Lucy in place of Marcie.

Pig-Pen: Steph really enjoyed this house again. They didn’t seem to be very involved with their philanthropy, but she enjoyed talking to the sisters again. She laughed a lot again and hoped to come back.

Linus: Steph didn’t seem to connect with her rushers as much as she had during round one. Since this is her mom’s sorority, she already knew a lot about their philanthropy. She was a little disappointed that they weren’t very involved in their philanthropy since it was something that has been close to her mother’s heart. While working on her craft, a one of the sisters she talked to during the first round came over to say hi, which made her day. Overall, she still liked Linus.

Violet: This party was okay. They seemed to be more involved than her first two parties, but she didn’t have much in common with her rushers. She didn’t even see the sisters she spoke to the day before at all. She left a little disappointed.

Peppermint Patty: These women moved-up a little in her mind today. They still aren’t a top contender, but she did enjoy herself. One of the sisters she was paired with seemed a little quiet, but the rest were good. She wouldn’t mind coming back, but she wouldn’t be upset if she didn’t.

Woodstock: Again, they had so much energy. This was the last house before lunch, so Steph was getting a little tired. She did like the sisters she met, and they do a lot for their philanthropy (as well as everyone else). She hoped to come back and see them when she wasn’t so tired!

Sally: After today, Steph realized that this house just wasn’t the place for her. As much as she loved her sister, she just could not see them being sorority sisters as long as she went to this school. She wouldn’t be surprised if the sisters of Sally felt the same way.

Franklin: She got paired with the shy sister from her major that she met before. However, this time she seemed a little more talkative. She also made sure to introduce Steph to other sisters with their major. She left feeling good about this sorority.

Rerun: Once again, she really enjoyed her time at Rerun. She met several new sisters as well as speaking with two of the sisters she met yesterday. When she left, she realized she hadn’t even made the craft.

Schroeder: She had a good time at Schroeder. Their philanthropy events seemed like a lot of fun and a great way to bond with sisters while raising awareness for a good cause. Even if she didn’t end-up in Schroeder, she hoped her sorority would participate in their events.

Lucy: By this time, Steph was really tired. She didn’t really have a good time again. Their philanthropy event seemed like fun, but she also knew it was the same event that pretty much every Lucy chapter did. She was glad to have a craft to keep her mind off the fact that her rusher wasn’t saying anything.

At the end of the day, she ranked again. They could attend up to six sororities for the next round.
1. Rerun
1. Linus
1. Schroeder
1. Pig-Pen
1. Franklin
1. Woodstock
2. Peppermint Patty
3. Violet
4. Lucy
5. Sally

[FSUZeta]

Love your theme-Peanuts is one of my all time favorites!

[Pirouette]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

Love your theme-Peanuts is one of my all time favorites!

Thank you! I had a really hard time trying to come-up with something creative for 15 sororities. Thank goodness no one in my family has gone to Indiana!

[Pirouette]

Round 3:

Steph was invited back to:
Schroeder
Pig-Pen
Rerun
Violet
Peppermint Patty
Franklin

Once again, Steph had a full schedule. However, this time she had lost two sororities from her top 6, including Linus. She realized it hadn’t gone as well as the day before at Linus, but she like the idea of being sisters with her mom. She wasn’t too surprised to see Woodstock gone since she was so tired compared to their high energy during both parties.

Steph’s Middle School classmate/recruitment BFF had 5 invites, but they included her two favorites, Woodstock and Violet so she was happy.

Schroeder: Their house had always seemed like a castle to her, so she was excited to get a tour. Her tour guide was someone she hadn’t met before, but they got a long great. She loved the bedroom that they spent time talking in towards the end of the party and could see herself living there.

Pig-Pen: This house was gorgeous as well. She liked the sisters she spoke with, but she knew a lot of other PNMs also liked them and this party had the largest number of PNMs at it that she went to. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she really liked Pig-Pen.

Rerun: After losing Linus, Steph had high expectations of Rerun. She was met by someone she met on the first day, but was quickly passed off to someone new. This was the first person that she met at Rerun who she didn’t click with. But she loved seeing their home and would love to call it home herself.

Violet: Her tour guide was someone she met the day before. For some reason, they still could not click. They seemed like a nice group of girls and a lot of PNMs like them, but it just wasn’t the place for Steph.

Peppermint Patty: Steph likes these girls more and more each time she meets them. However, she likes other houses better. Their house was really nice though.

Franklin: Steph was met by someone she met the day before who had the same major as her. Their physical house was the least impressive of the ones she saw that day, but she did like the sisters who lived there. However, as she left, she realized the only thing she really had in common with the sisters she met were their major. Did she have anything else in common with the rest of the sisterhood? Or did they keep pairing her with someone with her major on purpose?

After Franklin, she needed to rank again. This time, she wasn’t sure exactly what to do. She knew she wanted to go back to Rerun and Pig-Pen. She also knew she didn’t want to return to Peppermint Patty and Violet. However, she didn’t know what to do with Schroeder and Franklin. While she had always liked Schroeder more than Franklin, she didn’t want to lose Franklin either. Eventually, she ended-up ranking:
1. Rerun
1. Pig-Pen
1. Schroeder
2. Franklin
3. Peppermint Patty
4. Violet

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by Pirouette

Round 3:

Steph was invited back to:
Schroeder
Pig-Pen
Rerun
Violet
Peppermint Patty
Franklin

She did really well! She got three of her #1 picks.

[ladybug12]

What a pleasant surprise to log on today and find a new recruitment story! Thanks Pirouette for sharing (and to your cousins for allowing you to share their stories!).

[Sciencewoman]

Looking forward to reading the rest!

[Pirouette]

Round 4:

Steph’s Pref round schedule was:

Franklin- Okay, Steph wasn’t sure about ranking them and was willing to give them another look.
Schroeder- Yay!
Peppermint Patty- What?

This meant that she lost her two favorites going into Pref. She had liked Schroeder and Franklin a lot all week, and even Peppermint Patty was okay too. But she had really set her heart on Rerun and Pig-Pen. Of course, she knew a lot of other PNMs also had their hearts set on Rerun and Pig-Pen. But still, she had good grades, had been involved in high school, was attractive, had recs for these chapters, and seemed to be able to make connections with the actives. In her mind, she could not figure out why she had been cut.
She looked around and saw a lot of other PNMs crying, a couple were actually yelling at their recruitment counselors, and one girl in her group ripped-up her invite list and stormed out. After watching all that, she made the decision to not look like them and walk to Franklin with a smile on her face.

Franklin: She was preffed by the shy girl she had met on the first day. Steph raised her concerns that the only thing she found in common with the sisters who rushed her was their major. Her rusher ensured her that Franklin was a large sorority and that she would find things in common with others. The ceremony was nice and Steph liked the idea of sharing a sisterhood with her Aunt. She could see herself being happy here.

Schroeder: Steph was preffed by her tour guide from the day before. She didn’t really have any concerns about Schroeder so they picked-up their conversation from where they left off during the house tour round. Their ceremony touched her more than Franklin’s did and she left knowing that she would fit in well at Schroeder.

Peppermint Patty: This sorority was a huge surprise for Steph. She was preffed by a girl she hadn’t met before. However, once they got to a quiet place to talk, Steph learned she was the big sister of a girl she had met during round 2 (that girl had come down with the flu and was not at recruitment). Steph read a beautiful letter written by the girl who was supposed to pref her stating all the great qualities she had that Peppermint Patty valued. Then the sister she was paired with told her about her experience of coming to college from out of state and how Peppermint Patty had given her a second home. She was shocked how moving their ceremony was and that she even started to tear-up. As she left she knew she had a tough decision to make.


Steph knew she wanted Schroeder over Franklin, but wasn’t sure where to place Peppermint Patty. She hadn’t felt a connection to the sorority until pref, but she felt the greatest connection there out of all the sororities she went to. Schroeder had been one of her favorites since day 1 and had the best philanthropy events. Franklin had a lot of girls from her major and had the best reputation. But there was something about Peppermint Patty that night that tugged at her heart. She knew she would accept a bid from any of the three and be very happy there so she eventually ranked:

1. Schroeder
2. Peppermint Patty
3. Franklin

[Sciencewoman]

I'm curious if you're a Frieda or a Peppermint Patty, since you said this is your cousin's story?

[Pirouette]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

I'm curious if you're a Frieda or a Peppermint Patty, since you said this is your cousin's story?

Actually, I come from a huge family. This cousin comes from my mom's side of the family. My mom is one of five, all girls, all sorority women. They all got married and had kids. Their daughters have become sorority women. Just from my mom's family, the kids represent 7 sororities. And there are still 3 more girls who aren't in college yet!

[Pirouette]

Bid Day:

Steph didn’t get the phone call, so she knew she would get to celebrate bid day with a group of fantastic women. She met her Middle School classmate/recruitment BFF and heading over to pick-up their bids together. Her recruitment BFF had gone to Woodstock, Violet, and Pig-Pen but was really hoping for Woodstock.

All around her, PNMs cried tears of joy and tears of ‘why didn’t I get my first choice?’ So she opened her envelope and joined the PNMs crying for joy because her bid card read
SCHROEDER!

Her recruitment BFF was also crying tears of joy because her bid card read
WOODSTOCK!

Steph has enjoyed her time so far as a Schroeder and looks forward to living in the house next year. Does she still think she would have fit in well at some of the other sororities? Sure. But at the end of the day, she’s happy she’s an…

ALPHA XI DELTA!

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Yeah for an Alpha Xi Delta ending!!! I was wondering if Schroeder was Alpha Xi since it had a letter that they didn't know how to pronounce!! Welcome to your cousin!!