Hi everyone!
So, to start off this post, I want to say it will be long! So, hopefully you're ready to read.
If you want to skip to the good parts about rounds, they'll be in
bold.
To begin, I had always wanted to rush for a sorority, but never knew if it would be possible for me. I used to live in Illinois close to a university with a fairly active greek life. But I never really had the desire to attend that school. Well, life happens, and now I live in the southwest and attend one of the largest schools in the country. (Must be a little obvious where I go, huh?
)
Prior to going through recruitment, I knew the odds were already stacked against me. This was because I was a 21 year old junior transfer. Slightly non-traditional, and my age definitely would work against me. HOWEVER, I didn't let this bog me down.
I did my research, gained letters of rec for 6 of the 12 PHC sororities, and talked with my cousin who was in Greek Life. I felt like I was prepared.
When I started recruitment, though I "knew" certain things about each houses (as I had been at the school for a semester before recruitment), I knew that in order for me to have a successful recruitment, an open mind was key. (Especially as an upperclassman.) I had amazing Rho Gammas who I connected with profusely, and one of them even called me the "ideal PNM." (It was really hard not to gain a big head after hearing that... but alas, I remained humble
)
Now, for the fun part. I'm going to mash together some of the experiences as I don't want to list all 12 experiences, but the ones I do list ARE important.
Round 1 (Go Greek Round) I was going to be visiting all 12 of the houses on my campus. The first house I visited, we'll call them
ABC happened to also be the same house that my cousin is an alumna of! I was placed to the front of the line a bit before we went inside, but still don't really know if that was the reason why. I have friends in this house, and knew that they were very down to Earth girls, and are a diverse chapter. I went in with an open mind, but didn't feel a strong connection. Oh well, I thought, open mind, onto the next house. House two was a great sorority! But, they ended up cutting me after this round, so I won't go into too much detail about it as I didn't get to know them enough to feel "hurt" by the cut.
House three, we'll call them
DEF, I felt such a strong connection with and was very in love with their sisterhood and the conversations I had. They were a 10/10 in my book.
House four, we'll call them
GHI, I held a preconceived notion about what types of girls they were. But, it was a GOOD preconceived notion. I heard wonderful and graceful things about these women, and I felt a minimal connection for the house I thought I'd love! It should also be said a girl mentioned seeing me before at a party, which really threw me for a loop as I knew this was forbidden territory to discuss. I did my best to steer away the conversation from that, but I felt very off after that.
Houses five, six, seven, and eight all were wonderful houses, but I was cut from them by day two, so, I won't go into more detail about them. House nine (we'll call them
JKL was a great chapter that my friend is in! House ten and eleven also cut me the second day, so I won't go into detail about them! Finally, house twelve,
MNO I loved just as much as
DEF and could 'see' myself there.
Round 2 (Philanthropy Day)
Fast forward to round two, and I was down to
5 houses out of 12.
Luckily, I went in with the open mindset that I was told to have, and the houses I saw on that list, ABC, DEF, GHI, JKL, MNO were all houses that I was excited to see. Yes, as a junior, I was lucky enough to get back 2 of my "favorite houses" and the others, I wanted to give them another chance. I'll briefly say that the conversations in each house were great, but at the end of round two, I still felt a strong connection with
DEF and
MNO. The other houses were fine, but I just didn't have that connection. (If you think this is all going to change dramatically by round 3, you are correct.)
Round 3 (Sisterhood Day)
Guess what happened after round 2? I received
two houses. I had been cut from every house I listed except for
DEF and
ABC. I remember when one of my Rho Gamma's handed me my list, I could see she was hesitant to see my reaction. But, open heart, open mind, I pushed through the disappointment of not getting back
MNO and the other chapters that I thought I connected with more, and made
DEF and ABC my main priorities.
It was here that I fell in love with
DEF. The girls I had talked with really connected with me, their philanthropy was something that interested me, and I got chills watching videos about their sisterhood (in this round.) When I went to
ABC, I talked to two girls who I really could see myself becoming friends with. It was one of the better rounds I had with them, and it started becoming very real that my future home could be one of these two houses.
Round 4 (Preference)
I walked into one of the buildings recruitment was held in, my palms were sweaty, I had blisters the size of Mount Rushmore on my feet, and I already felt the dread in my mind that I was not going to get
DEF . I walked in and went up to one of the Rho Gamma's I had grown closest with. She handed me my list, and there I saw it...
ABC.
No sign of DEF anywhere on my list. But, I still had a house to see nonetheless. I remember feeling disappointed, as anyone would feel. Then, I remembered this.
ABC obviously felt that I could make a wonderful addition to their chapter/sisterhood, and they
wanted me. It's nice to feel like you're wanted, so that was my mindset and I ran with it. In short, this was the round that I really knew this process and this house were right.
One of the songs that the sisters sang to us was the
exact same song that was sung at my father's funeral. I remember trying my best not to tear up at it; but to take it for what it was... a sign. A sign that though this was my 'only' choice, it was the right one.
The girl who was preffing me was taken aback a bit when I told her why I was crying, but a girl who had talked with me in round 3 came over and said how happy she was to see me, and even offered a tissue. (I took it.)
Now, for the moment you're waiting for... did I go with ABC? Or did I say I'm not going to do this?
Well, I did it.
I'm very proud to say that I accepted a bid from ABC, who I can now say is...
Alpha Gamma Delta!
(My cousin who's an AGD alumna was pretty excited to hear I went with them. But, now we're sisters
and cousins... that'll be hard to explain to non-greeks...
)
So, what's the moral of this long, long story? Well, I went in with the most open of minds, and upperclassman or not, that's what helped my recruitment. It's honestly not about quantity in this process, it's about quality. Each day of recruitment was a new day for me. Giving each house a chance, and realizing that it
will all be okay. It's been four days since bid-day, and I can already tell you that the process works. This house is the one that is meant for me, and I can say that had I ended up in
DEF, it may not have been in the best fit for me.
That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading! Share a comment or two if you'd like. <3
My Sorority Recruitment Experience (as a junior)
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