A drama filled, rollercoaster Back to School themed recruitment!

[HereComesTheSun]

Philanthropy day!

Today was the day! I was so scared to see which chapters invited me back? Would I get a full schedule? Would the houses I love invite me back? Questions were flying everywhere! For some reason, Panhellenic at my school could have passed for directors of thriller suspense movies because they waited until the absolute last second to give us our schedules. Our Rho Gam passed us our schedules and I looked at it but didn't even internalized it, my eyes just glazed at it.

I was invited back to:

1. USC
2. UCLA
3. Wake Forest
4. Pepperdine
5. Arizona State
6. Rutgers
7. UMich
8. Princeton

I was absolutely shocked, both good and bad. Princeton and USC invited me back, which I was relieved of because they were amazing. But UGA and LSU dropped me. UGA was kind of a long shot since I guess they were considered a "top" house, but I did have a good friend in there and I was surprised I didn't get invited back to at least one round. But what hurt the most was LSU. I loved LSU soo much and honestly I would've been content being dropped from half the houses I got invited back to if LSU invited me back. But it is what it is and I still got invited back to 8/10 houses. That 80%.

But oddly enough, I got invited back to UMich, which was a huge shocker since they have the best grades on campus and my GPA was average at best and apparently they always drop the most girls because of their grades and being completey honest, i'd droppped UMich and Ole Miss because I knew they had the highest grades and I didn't think I had any chance of being invted back to them. But I still got invited back to UMich which was amazing!

But worst of all, I got invited back to Rutgers. I wasn't surprised because as a legacy, I'm pretty sure i'm supposed to be invited back to at least one round, so it wasn't a shocker, but I was still annoyed.

Meanwhile, all of my close friends in my Rho Gamma group got invited back to all 10 houses, but I kept reminding myself that I would only be joining one. Meanwhile, one of my friends in a different Rho Gamma group got invited back to only 1 and another friend in a different rho gamma group got invited back to 3. 2 of them she hated and one of them she loved, USC. Luckily we both loved them and got invited back to USC and we even went there together for our party!

So first I went to USC, who was amazing as I expected. at USC I was paired up to talk to all of my good friends in the house. I had great conversations with all 3 of them and the conversations went seamlessly and it was almost too perfect. I didn't remember too much about their philantrhopy or what they actually do, but I still had a great time there and going there first put me in a great mood for the whole day.

Next, I went to UCLA. Their philanthropy is probably one of the most popular on campus and I went to it with my sister last year and had a good time. I loved their philanthropy and their video was so sad. I only talked to two girls there and the conversations were kind of boring, but I still liked them. I was talking to one girl at UCLA and she spilled her water all over me! It was actually really funny and she felt so bad, but since I didn't have a full schedule, I had 2 breaks after this and had more than enough time to dry off.

After my breaks, I went to Wake Forest. Their philanthropy was also really sad and I actually had really good conversations there. A lot better than yesterday. I feel like they got to know me a little better today. But another awkward moment happened today! We were doing their craft which was pretty serious, concerning the topic and I was talking a lot with my hands and knocked lemonade all over the craft.... The girl was really nice about it, but I still felt awful! I was red the whole time and couldn't wait to get out.

I then went to Pepperdine. I liked Pepperdine and their philanthropy video was so sad because a girl in the Pepperdine chapter at my school was affected by it and their philanthropy was really close to home for her, which made them all the more passionate for it which I thought was really sweet. Everyone was talking about this chapter because today they served iced coffee which was awesome because sbeing at the houses longer and having to go back to back was so tiring. Anyway, I talked to really nice girls here and they told me about their philanthropy events, which sounded really fun. I really liked Pepperdine.

Next was Arizona State. Again, their philanthropy was really sad because it was a cause that a lot of people identify with and was close to home for me as well. The conversations weren't as good, but their craft was really fun. We made paper hearts out of dollar bills and put them into the jar of our choice which represented a specific chairty, which was awesome. Honestly their video was really long and their craft was so detailed that we didn't even have time to talk. I hardly remember this house.

The one I dreaded all day was Rutgers. When I got there, surprise surprise, I was picked up by somebody I already knew and somebody I talked to the day before. I wasn't trying to be outwardly rude because I have more manners than that and their philanthropy was one I actually volunteered for a lot during high school, so I showed interest, but honestly it was so hard in this house. Similarly, my sister called me the day before and said she got into a really big arguement with the girls in her chapter the other night during membership selection and decided she was not going to participate in the membership selection portion and just made hundreds of italian sodas all day long. Again, at Rutgers they kept on talking about my sister, which was confusing because she seemed to hate it so much and they kept on asking me how recruitment was going and how I liked Rutgers, which didn't seem right to me and was getting on my nerves because my recruitment wasn't their business and my sister knew I loved USC and she said she told some of her closer friends in the chapter that USC was my favorite, which didn't bother me because hopefully then they'd take the hint.

The next chapter I visited was UMich, who I was excited for because they were giving me another chance and it felt like I was giving them another chance since my conversations during Open House weren't that good. I loved UMich today! Their philanthropy sounded like a lot of fun and I liked what it stood for. And this was the first chapter that actually talked about their social calendar, which was interesting to hear. We talked about swaps, formals, Greek Week and Homecoming, which was interesting to hear!

Last, but definitely not least was Princeton! I was excited to be back here as well, because I had awesome conversations. They definitely pulled at ALLLLL the stops today. They played their philanthropy video, which seemed like it was a commercial or some type of ad because it was made by one of the girls in the house and they looked like models. They video was super short and then throughout the living room they had mini golf! They had those fake golf greens, hot pink golf clubs with hot pink golf balls that had their letters on them. Again, I was extremely impressed with their showmanship. They're considered a "top house", but I had a friend my cheerleading who was in this house and dropped last year. Apparently there was a bit of a scandal and some infighting and about a dozen girls either dropped or got dropped last spring. That scared me, but I still really liked them.

The next day was house tours and we could only got to up to 7, so I could only cut one. I didn't really care for Arizona State anymore, but there was no way I wanted to be in Rutgers, so I ranked Rutgers at the bottom, so I preferenced just like this:

1. USC
1. UCLA
1. Wake Forest
1. Pepperdine
1. Arizona State
1. Princeton
1. UMich
2. Rutgers

Today was a surprise and I didn't think i'd get the schedule I got, but I'm happy with the ones I got back. Now I waited anxiously to see how House Tours Day would turn out!

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by HereComesTheSun

Philanthropy day!

Today was the day! I was so scared to see which chapters invited me back? Would I get a full schedule? Would the houses I love invite me back? Questions were flying everywhere! For some reason, Panhellenic at my school could have passed for directors of thriller suspense movies because they waited until the absolute last second to give us our schedules. Our Rho Gam passed us our schedules and I looked at it but didn't even internalized it, my eyes just glazed at it.

I was invited back to:

1. USC
2. UCLA
3. Wake Forest
4. Pepperdine
5. Arizona State
6. Rutgers
7. UMich
8. Princeton

I was absolutely shocked, both good and bad. Princeton and USC invited me back, which I was relieved of because they were amazing. But UGA and LSU dropped me. UGA was kind of a long shot since I guess they were considered a "top" house, but I did have a good friend in there and I was surprised I didn't get invited back to at least one round. But what hurt the most was LSU. I loved LSU soo much and honestly I would've been content being dropped from half the houses I got invited back to if LSU invited me back. But it is what it is and I still got invited back to 8/10 houses. That 80%.

But oddly enough, I got invited back to UMich, which was a huge shocker since they have the best grades on campus and my GPA was average at best and apparently they always drop the most girls because of their grades and being completey honest, i'd droppped UMich and Ole Miss because I knew they had the highest grades and I didn't think I had any chance of being invted back to them. But I still got invited back to UMich which was amazing!

But worst of all, I got invited back to Rutgers. I wasn't surprised because as a legacy, I'm pretty sure i'm supposed to be invited back to at least one round, so it wasn't a shocker, but I was still annoyed.

Meanwhile, all of my close friends in my Rho Gamma group got invited back to all 10 houses, but I kept reminding myself that I would only be joining one. Meanwhile, one of my friends in a different Rho Gamma group got invited back to only 1 and another friend in a different rho gamma group got invited back to 3. 2 of them she hated and one of them she loved, USC. Luckily we both loved them and got invited back to USC and we even went there together for our party!

So first I went to USC, who was amazing as I expected. at USC I was paired up to talk to all of my good friends in the house. I had great conversations with all 3 of them and the conversations went seamlessly and it was almost too perfect. I didn't remember too much about their philantrhopy or what they actually do, but I still had a great time there and going there first put me in a great mood for the whole day.

Next, I went to UCLA. Their philanthropy is probably one of the most popular on campus and I went to it with my sister last year and had a good time. I loved their philanthropy and their video was so sad. I only talked to two girls there and the conversations were kind of boring, but I still liked them. I was talking to one girl at UCLA and she spilled her water all over me! It was actually really funny and she felt so bad, but since I didn't have a full schedule, I had 2 breaks after this and had more than enough time to dry off.

After my breaks, I went to Wake Forest. Their philanthropy was also really sad and I actually had really good conversations there. A lot better than yesterday. I feel like they got to know me a little better today. But another awkward moment happened today! We were doing their craft which was pretty serious, concerning the topic and I was talking a lot with my hands and knocked lemonade all over the craft.... The girl was really nice about it, but I still felt awful! I was red the whole time and couldn't wait to get out.

I then went to Pepperdine. I liked Pepperdine and their philanthropy video was so sad because a girl in the Pepperdine chapter at my school was affected by it and their philanthropy was really close to home for her, which made them all the more passionate for it which I thought was really sweet. Everyone was talking about this chapter because today they served iced coffee which was awesome because sbeing at the houses longer and having to go back to back was so tiring. Anyway, I talked to really nice girls here and they told me about their philanthropy events, which sounded really fun. I really liked Pepperdine.

Next was Arizona State. Again, their philanthropy was really sad because it was a cause that a lot of people identify with and was close to home for me as well. The conversations weren't as good, but their craft was really fun. We made paper hearts out of dollar bills and put them into the jar of our choice which represented a specific chairty, which was awesome. Honestly their video was really long and their craft was so detailed that we didn't even have time to talk. I hardly remember this house.

The one I dreaded all day was Rutgers. When I got there, surprise surprise, I was picked up by somebody I already knew and somebody I talked to the day before. I wasn't trying to be outwardly rude because I have more manners than that and their philanthropy was one I actually volunteered for a lot during high school, so I showed interest, but honestly it was so hard in this house. Similarly, my sister called me the day before and said she got into a really big arguement with the girls in her chapter the other night during membership selection and decided she was not going to participate in the membership selection portion and just made hundreds of italian sodas all day long. Again, at Rutgers they kept on talking about my sister, which was confusing because she seemed to hate it so much and they kept on asking me how recruitment was going and how I liked Rutgers, which didn't seem right to me and was getting on my nerves because my recruitment wasn't their business and my sister knew I loved USC and she said she told some of her closer friends in the chapter that USC was my favorite, which didn't bother me because hopefully then they'd take the hint.

The next chapter I visited was UMich, who I was excited for because they were giving me another chance and it felt like I was giving them another chance since my conversations during Open House weren't that good. I loved UMich today! Their philanthropy sounded like a lot of fun and I liked what it stood for. And this was the first chapter that actually talked about their social calendar, which was interesting to hear. We talked about swaps, formals, Greek Week and Homecoming, which was interesting to hear!

Last, but definitely not least was Princeton! I was excited to be back here as well, because I had awesome conversations. They definitely pulled at ALLLLL the stops today. They played their philanthropy video, which seemed like it was a commercial or some type of ad because it was made by one of the girls in the house and they looked like models. They video was super short and then throughout the living room they had mini golf! They had those fake golf greens, hot pink golf clubs with hot pink golf balls that had their letters on them. Again, I was extremely impressed with their showmanship. They're considered a "top house", but I had a friend my cheerleading who was in this house and dropped last year. Apparently there was a bit of a scandal and some infighting and about a dozen girls either dropped or got dropped last spring. That scared me, but I still really liked them.

The next day was house tours and we could only got to up to 7, so I could only cut one. I didn't really care for Arizona State anymore, but there was no way I wanted to be in Rutgers, so I ranked Rutgers at the bottom, so I preferenced just like this:

1. USC
1. UCLA
1. Wake Forest
1. Pepperdine
1. Arizona State
1. Princeton
1. UMich
2. Rutgers

Today was a surprise and I didn't think i'd get the schedule I got, but I'm happy with the ones I got back. Now I waited anxiously to see how House Tours Day would turn out!

Originally Posted by HereComesTheSun

Preference day is here!

Today is the day. Preference day is the final day before bid day and it seemed like that week dragged on, but went faster than the speed of lightning.

I put on my best dress, wedges and my favorite necklace and mentally prepared myself for what could have happened. I didn't get a call the night before saying i'd been released. So I could've been invited back to one chapter or both.

Before I left my dorm, my sister called me and told me she had officially sent in her resignation letter and went alum. I was not surprised at all. She told me not to feel pressured and to make the decision that was best for myself and only myself and go with my gut instincts. She said her gut instinct was to drop her sorority before initiation and go through recruitment a second time or do informal, but she got intiated instead regretted it wholeheartedly because now she is bound for life, no matter what.

That definitely scared me and my heart was jumping out of my chest before I left.

We walked to the area where we usually get our schedules and all of the color had been drained out of my face and I had no idea what was going on or what my schedule even was, but I was expecting the worst.

I finally got my schedule and the look on my face was priceless.

1. USC
2. Rutgers

The same schedule as yesterday. I was so excited I made it this far with USC because I had other friends that got dropped from houses they knew a lot of girls in during recruitment and I was so relieved that I got invited back to my number one again. But I still got invited back to Rutgers which amazes me to this day. I left a conversation midway to go to the bathroom andd cry and came back with my face red and tear stained and barely said a word, but I still got invited back.

Luckily I got invited back to USC so I could put my absolute best foot forward and really let them know that this was where I wanted to be and could proudly wear the letters for for the rest of my life.

I walked to USC very determined and one of the girls I talked to earlier in the week pref'd me and I absolutely loved her. She was so nice and I was excited that she was the one pref'ing me. This day was the longest so we talked about everything from how recruitment was going to what stores we could spend our ladt penny at.

She was a senior, so she was talking about how much she loved her chapter and how hard it was to go through recruitment for the last time because it's just another step on the way to graduating and becoming an alum and that made me emotional because the fact that she loved it so much and was so dedicated really made me 10 times more passionate about USC. So I started crying and she started crying and then we were laughing at each other and it was just really nice.

I was crying because I loved them so much and they invited me back every day. I was crying because the girl pref'ing me was so sweet and I didn't want to see her leave her chapter even though everyone eventually does. I was crying because I was afraid of bid day.

After the conversations ended, we went into their living room and other seniors in the chapter were reading letters and then they sang songs and it all was just so moving. My friends in the chapter cried and hugged me at the end and I cried again to and they told me everything was gonna be alright.

I left USC happy, scared, confident and content.

Then I had to go to Rutgers.

Rutgers was seriously scaring me because my sister is an initiated member and per national policy, legacies that make it to preference are automatically put on the first bid list. That scaring the living hell out of me.

When I went to Rutgers, a girl I already knew before who was also the Executive Vice President was pref'ing me. Like any other day I visited, it was awkward.

She asked me general questions like how I was doing, how recruitment was going for me but then she started asking me questions that had me very taken aback. She asked: "So do you know what houses you're choosing? Do you know what decision you're gonna make?" I was stunned.

1. Yes. I knew exactly what decision I was going to make.
2. Why the hell was it her business to ask me? I didn't ask her if they knew who they were giving bids to.
3. As an older woman who holds an executive decision, she should know better not to ask a PNM such a question

But besides all of that, I wasn't going to be outwardly rude or tell her what I was going to do because again, it just wasn't her business. So I just replied: "Yeah, i'm pretty sure what i'm gonna do But making my decision might be a little hard." She then was like: "Well, you look conflicted, I can reassure you." She then was talking about the chapter and all the the things they done and awards and competitions they've won and just how close their sisterhood was and how they weren't like the other chapters that were cliquey and didn't have what they had and I was honestly digusted.

They took us to their living room where girls were singing songs about the chapter and in between, she kept saying how conflicted I look and was telling me more about the chapter that I honestly didn't care about and I was just itching to leave and make my preference. I wanted to leave and crawl out of my skin.

When it was finally over, she gave me an awkward hug and said: "Hope I made your decision a lot easier!"

After we visited all of our chapters, we were allowed to do our final preferencing. I looked at the preference card and read the agreement one last time. One of the Rho Gammas asked me if I needed any help or needed anyone to talk to about what I was going to do and in hindsight I kick myself for not listening to her, talking to my own Rho Gamma because maybe things would have been different.

But all I could think of in my mind was the director of sorority and fraternity life saying 88% of the women who maximized their options got their first choice and I remembered the girl in my Rho Gamma group saying the worst mistake she made last year was suiciding. And I remembered what I had read on Greek Chat saying women who suicided were not eligible to be a quota addition of a chapter.

Tha scared me and so I preferenced USC as first and Rutgers as second.

I turned it in feeling confident about my decision and following the rules.

When I left, I saw my friend who had Rutgers and USC just like me and suicided just USC. She said: "Well if I get a call tonight, that means I didn't get a bid and if I don't that means I got one."

After that, I immediately regretted my decision.

Spoiler: She never got the call that night and now is a proud member of USC.

All the other posts have been quoted, so just QFPing these as well.

OP- you are a great writer. However, there are several elements to the story that just don't add up.