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Recruitment Stories This is the forum where you should place posts about your Recruitment experiences. General questions about Recruitment should be posted in the main Recruitment forum.

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  #1  
Old 03-10-2024, 04:53 AM
SquirrelyDays SquirrelyDays is offline
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We have talked about how many sororities originally were formed to be a safe space for women away from home, when not very many women were enrolled at colleges – a place for women to lift each other up and encourage scholarship and perseverance. For me that’s still the best and highest purpose of a collegiate GLO.

Here are some other things we have talked about repeatedly to remember during recruitment, advice culled from my time as an advisor and alumnae officer, and from you good people of GC:

*Above all else: You’re a guest in someone’s home. Act like it.

*Expect to meet a LOT of women and have the same conversations MANY times. Find a way to make it interesting for you AND for them. They’re having repetitive conversations, too.

*Whatever happens, roll with it and they will see that you are flexible and easy going. Focus on Pollyanna positives. We have practiced this specifically, so that she can honestly share her feelings about topics that come up often and might be more negative (dorm life, yucky meal plan, hustling to get to the darn band practice field which is on the absolute opposite side of campus) but also pivot on those feelings to continue the conversation on an upbeat note rather than dwelling on downers.

*Don’t contribute to the gossip, and try not to listen. Your least favorite org might be someone else’s top org – so don’t ruin her fun. Try not to be influenced by your suitemates’ choices, or vice versa.

*Every chapter has smart girls and party girls and sporty girls and blasé girls and fashionable girls and religious girls and artistic girls and preppy girls and musical girls and quiet girls, etc etc etc.

*Your sorority experience is what you make it. If you put in the time and the energy, you will make great memories no matter where you end up.

*And if you DON’T pledge, it’s not the end of the world. All the groups you were involved in during high school have college equivalents, just ramped up to the next fun level. (But she really wants to pledge.)
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  #2  
Old 03-10-2024, 12:14 PM
navane navane is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SquirrelyDays View Post
We have talked about how many sororities originally were formed to be a safe space for women away from home, when not very many women were enrolled at colleges – a place for women to lift each other up and encourage scholarship and perseverance. For me that’s still the best and highest purpose of a collegiate GLO.

Here are some other things we have talked about repeatedly to remember during recruitment, advice culled from my time as an advisor and alumnae officer, and from you good people of GC:

*Above all else: You’re a guest in someone’s home. Act like it.

*Expect to meet a LOT of women and have the same conversations MANY times. Find a way to make it interesting for you AND for them. They’re having repetitive conversations, too.

*Whatever happens, roll with it and they will see that you are flexible and easy going. Focus on Pollyanna positives. We have practiced this specifically, so that she can honestly share her feelings about topics that come up often and might be more negative (dorm life, yucky meal plan, hustling to get to the darn band practice field which is on the absolute opposite side of campus) but also pivot on those feelings to continue the conversation on an upbeat note rather than dwelling on downers.

*Don’t contribute to the gossip, and try not to listen. Your least favorite org might be someone else’s top org – so don’t ruin her fun. Try not to be influenced by your suitemates’ choices, or vice versa.

*Every chapter has smart girls and party girls and sporty girls and blasé girls and fashionable girls and religious girls and artistic girls and preppy girls and musical girls and quiet girls, etc etc etc.

*Your sorority experience is what you make it. If you put in the time and the energy, you will make great memories no matter where you end up.

*And if you DON’T pledge, it’s not the end of the world. All the groups you were involved in during high school have college equivalents, just ramped up to the next fun level. (But she really wants to pledge.)

This is one of the best recruitment advice lists I have ever seen on GC. Kudos.
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  #3  
Old 03-10-2024, 03:23 PM
SquirrelyDays SquirrelyDays is offline
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Thank you, Navane! That means a lot especially coming from a Syracuse Triad Sister
---
Rosebud has been following the instagrams for all the individual chapters and for the campus Panhellenic office for a year, but she doesn’t have any older friends who attend this school, so luckily she really doesn’t know any of the campus opinions of the groups, and that can help her keep an open mind. (The flip side of that is: Unluckily, she has no “in” with any of the groups who might have initiated sisters who already know her.) So, these are just Mom Notes.

There’s something so captivating about sorority houses (even for those of us from campuses where the orgs are lodged in dorms) so I decided to name the 12 NPC orgs on campus after just that: HOUSES. These are all historical homes in the state of Florida, most of which you can tour. Come see us! 😊

The Capen-Showalter House – – Her dorm window looks at the back door of Capen-Showalter – how convenient! This was the hardest org for us to locate an alumnae member who could provide a rec or introduction.

The Barnacle – – One of the women who was our guide during one of our campus tours when Rosebud was a junior in high school is a Barnacle. She shared with us that many of the organizations host spring recruitment events, and she herself joined as a sophomore. This was very reassuring to me, that there didn’t seem to be a campus stigma about joining late. (Don’t worry that the lime green is difficult to read – unf Barnacle won’t show up much in subsequent posts.)

El Retiro – – Two of Rosebud’s older friends from band and chorus and church are already Retiros at another college. She would love to be sisters with them if it works out.

Villa Vizcaya – – I really don’t have any notes about the Vizcayas at this school. I can see on the annual campus grade report from last year that the average GPA of this org had been lower than most of the other sororities in the fall, but they improved in the spring.

Ca’ d’Zan – – This is the smallest chapter on campus. Nationally, this is a strong org with many active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. However, it’s just small here. It’s half the size of the next larger group at this university. We have talked about how joining a smaller org might give you more leadership opportunities. I will say that in all our visits to the campus during high school, I saw a woman wearing NPC Greek letters only once, and she was a Ca’ d’Zan.

Whitehall – – Her dad keeps telling her to look at the Whitehalls, because they were the org that his fraternity always wanted to have socials with when he was a student there. Curiously, the national website for this org has information about how to provide a rec or introduction before recruitment, but the campus Panhellenic website says recs are “not accepted” by this specific collegiate chapter.

Casa Feliz – – The Casa Feliz members I know have all said one thing they loved about their org is that they don’t expect the sorority to become the sole focus of a woman’s college social life. Since marching band is time consuming, this might be a good fit. I know to take this with a grain of salt, though, because chapters change over time, and from campus to campus. My high school friend was founding member of Casa Feliz at this campus and is very excited to introduce Rosebud to her sisters.

The Casements – – Rosebud’s much-admired high school drum major is a Casement at another college. This is the largest chapter on campus with the most active members.

Chinsegut Hill – –The philanthropy for Chinsegut Hill is one that Rosebud has been involved with for many years. I thought she might be inclined to consider this org over the others simply because she has liked that experience in the past, but she later told me that did not influence her interests. My Chinsegut friend who wrote a rec for Rosebud offered to help her find any other recs that she needed through her Panhellenic contacts. We’re so grateful!

Princess Place – – I really don’t have notes about the Princesses on this campus. I can see on the annual campus grade report that the average GPA of this org is often lower than most of the other sororities. This is another org that her dad keeps telling her to look at because of their popularity on campus 25+ years ago when he was a student. (eyeroll)

The Mangoes Estate – – The Mangoes are the only group for which Rosebud consistently remembers the colors and mascot. They have stuck in her head, for sure! The woman who wrote a Mangoes rec for Rosebud is a founding member of this chapter.

The Deering Estate – – One of the women who was our guide on one of our other campus tours when Rosebud was a HS junior was a Deering. This org has historically had many members who are Jewish, both nationally and on this specific campus. Although Rosebud herself is not Jewish, we have a multi-faceted extended family that does include many Jewish relatives. (Her cousin has even taken the Birthright trip.) We have great appreciation and respect for one another’s beliefs and traditions, and so I think she could be fine as a Deering sister and comfortable if she and the collegiates like each other. Our neighbor who is a Deering just LOVES Rosebud and will probably write a glowing introduction.


I enjoy data mining (“…a very particular set of skills…”) and I found a ton of information from this school’s Greek life report which is posted publicly each semester and is also available in online archives. It lists a variety of information for all campus GLOs like the number of members and the average GPA. Based on campus trends over the past 8 years, my prediction is that if she ends up relying on COB or spring recruitment, Rosebud will have the best chance for membership at 6 groups: Capen-Showalter, Barnacle, El Retiro, Ca’ d’Zan, Chinsegut Hill, and Mangoes, because they are the likeliest to be under total and therefore recruit additional women. However, there’s no way to tell from the grade reports any behind-the-scenes changes in numbers that might occur due to December graduation or other attrition so we may be surprised by additional options. Plus, any of these 6 smaller groups might have rockstar recruitment chairs this year and reach total and end up with no COB spots after all. I have not shared these predictions with Rosebud, because her experience should be focused on how she feels with the women she meets, not stats and guesses.

The only comment Rosebud has made is that she would prefer an org that has a house. Some of the sororities on this campus do not have a house. We hear that their members tend to rent apartments together in the complexes near campus, so they might still feel tight-knit, but she wants the chance to live in a sorority house. We’ll see. She might fall in love with one of those unhoused orgs after all.

And now she has 3 all-white dresses in her closet.

Last edited by SquirrelyDays; 03-10-2024 at 03:49 PM.
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  #4  
Old 03-10-2024, 05:27 PM
SquirrelyDays SquirrelyDays is offline
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One month before recruitment, the marching band released the practice schedule for the week before classes start… which is also Panhellenic recruitment week. Rosebud opened the band schedule, and opened the conflict form sent by the Rho Gamma Kelsey, and started marking off all the times when there was a conflict so she could report it to Panhellenic. I watched her get more and more agitated. We knew there would be some overlap, but we really weren’t prepared for THIS much overlap. She would be available to attend the extra preview day before recruitment starts… and bid day. That’s it. None of the regular rounds. The band rehearsal schedule is 8 am to 10 pm every day.

Boy, was she upset. Frustrated. Overwhelmed. Disappointed.

It took a while to talk through everything, but I reminded her that she had said she would be OK with spring rush instead of fall, and she had said she’d be OK with COB. She decided that she was most upset because she wouldn’t even get a chance to TRY to make a good impression. Well, that’s what the preview day is for – the chance. And she will get 2 nice Panhellenic Tshirts out of it. And she doesn’t have to stress about outfits and hair for a whole week – just for one day.

At the peak of her frustration, she threw up her hands and said “Maybe I’ll just focus on band while I’m in college, and then try to join Alpha Gam after graduation like you did.” And from the ether I heard a chorus of ***HALLELUJAHs*** from the souls of all my Sisters who have known and loved Rosebud for 18 years… but I nobly refrained from steering her that way. As much as I would love-love-love to share this sisterhood with both her and my mother, I also would like her to have a rich college experience. Sorority life could be part of that. I reminded her: COB is fine, spring rush is fine, try all the options before giving up.

We talked about how calm she will be when Rho Gamma Kelsey calls to say she has no invitations, because she is expecting it, and how relieved Kelsey will be NOT to have a hysterical PNM on her hands. There’s that Pollyanna positive attitude we practiced. 😊

However, this revelation directly affected her motivation to finish preparing for recruitment. Rosebud did NOT want to keep collecting recommendations and introductions. (“Why bother? I won’t get to meet anyone.”) Earlier in the summer she did have a wonderful chat with a young alumna from one of the unhoused chapters, which was so nice. Rosebud also hesitantly asked her 3 friends who already graduated high school and are in sororities at different colleges to introduce her. (“I don’t want to nag them over the summer.”) She did compose one pleasant email asking one of my local Panhellenic friends to review her resume and introduce her, and offering to meet up -- an email which could then be copy-pasted-revised and sent to members of the other organizations. (I had nightmares that we had forgotten to update the wording and accidentally listed the wrong sorority in one of the emails, but we didn’t. I checked. More than once.) I don’t think she actually ever recorded an intro video, but I’m not sure. She rallied in the end and had another lovely interview with my Panhellenic friend and sent follow up emails with additional information for several other alumnae, but the thrill was gone because she knew COB or spring rush would probably end up being her path.

Plus, there was a lot more shopping to do for the dorm suite!

In a sense, I understood her reluctance. Things have been changing. Are they even USING recs anymore? Two of the collegiate chapters said “don’t send recs” on the campus Panhellenic website. Four organizations had “introduce yourself” links on their national websites instead of links for recommendations or introductions from alumnae. One of the women she asked for an introduction said, “I’ll fill out the form, but they don’t really use it anymore.”

We do know it’s the current collegiate members of the chapter who can decide whether PNMs will fit in with “the vibe,” as the kids say these days. My thought was: if they will only get to meet her at the extra preview event, maybe recs might be more important to stay on their radars for COB. It can’t hurt to have a rec, and maybe it shows extra effort. Of course, the collegiates might just toss them automatically – we will never know. But the local Panhellenic women who know Rosebud personally really wanted to introduce her to their chapters. They wanted her to have a good experience, and wanted to hear how everything went in the end.
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  #5  
Old 03-10-2024, 05:45 PM
carnation carnation is offline
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I'm loving this story!
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  #6  
Old 03-10-2024, 06:03 PM
SquirrelyDays SquirrelyDays is offline
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One week before recruitment began, Rho Gam Kelsey sent over the schedule for the preview day. Based on what we were told by a student ambassador at her college orientation and registration weekend, she will probably talk to representatives from each group for a bit and then move to the next group, like tabling or speed dating. The event is scheduled for 3 hours and there are 12 organizations… so it seems like she’ll get 15 minutes with each group, but who knows? We’re just guessing at this point.

However: More despondency, because Rosebud must check in at the band field during the third hour of the preview event, non-negotiable. She will likely have to leave before getting to talk to all the groups at the preview. Rho Gam Kelsey is very sad for Rosebud and suggests COB might be her best option after all. Rosebud was ready to go to the preview anyway, and planned get there early, and hoped to find out what the setup is like. Does she have to move around the room in a set order, or does she get to choose? At some other campuses, when there are PNMs with prior commitments, I know one solution is to schedule half-parties for those PNMs. I don’t know if this campus does that, but in any case: how would that even work at this extra preview event? Would she end up talking with some groups for 7 minutes? That doesn’t seem productive. She’s not getting a lot of information from Rho Gam Kelsey. This just sucks. I never use that word, but it fits the situation best. I’m really annoyed on her behalf. I guess if she’s lucky, the groups without houses will all fall in the last hour on her schedule, and she’d miss out on talking with groups that she is a little less interested in anyway? But what if she really LIKES those women? And she’s NOT looking forward to sprinting across campus wearing a recruitment-appropriate getup to make it to the band field on time. I’m trying to be supportive and encouraging, but she has almost given up. Pollyanna isn’t helping AT ALL.

Fingers crossed. Here we go.
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  #7  
Old 03-10-2024, 06:16 PM
SquirrelyDays SquirrelyDays is offline
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Welp, that didn’t last long.

Rosebud showed up early to the extra preview session. She hoped to see how it was all scheduled, and to ask if there was a way to still meet with representatives of all 12 groups even though she had to leave early. Turns out that they had planned a welcome speech, then 10 minutes with each group and 3 minutes “passing time” between each group for making notes.

Plot twist: She wasn’t even on the list. Her name didn’t appear. She was turned away at the door. What?!

The Panhellenic VP for Recruitment spoke with Rosebud and said that Rho Gam Kelsey should have told her not to come to the preview session at all. The preview event is intended to replace just one or two of the regular rounds of recruitment, not the whole week, which is completely logical. So, Rosebud will only be allowed to participate in COB this semester. Kelsey was actually nowhere to be found, despite having told Rosebud that she would be there and would walk around the room with her. Pan VPR is very annoyed with Rho Gam Kelsey.

Grr.

She didn’t even get a swag bag with Tshirts.

GRRRRRR.
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