Spring Recruitment-Northern school

[dphies00]

Hey - just thought I'd chime in...

One thought - on the other side of the fence, some of the sororities are most comfortable wearing jeans and hoodies! And this will come across to you in little ways... You'd be surprised how personalities are reflected through dress and overall appearance - I'm not syaing this to stress you out, just to reassure you that as you're going to be dressed nicely for, like, an evening, so will the sisters. And, for some reason or another, this is going to come across to you and to the sisters, resulting in, hopefully, a personality match.

Truthfully, it can be less stressful than it seems.

[AlexMack]

Again, that's reassuring. I think it's not just the dress...it's that most of my friends can't really understand why I, of all people, would want to pledge a sorority. To a lot of people, the stereotypes still hold true. I'm not girly, I participate in a variety of sports, etc. etc. But I still want to do it. I guess part of it is reaffirming my own reasons for wanting to pledge.

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by kddani
you haven't done anything wrong or anything, but there are greeks from almost every school on here, and it would be pretty easy for them to figure out who you are. Don't want anything you say or do on Greekchat to be held against you in the court of Greeks

there's just been incidents in the past... girls stating which houses they liked, didn't like, etc. etc. and it really biting them in the ass

Precisely my point.

Back to your point about not being "girly" - a lot of sorority women aren't what you might call "girly". I'm certainly not, and never was. I think the last time I wore a dress was at my wedding. Don't worry - it's part of your personality, and not being "girly" won't necessarily prevent you from finding the right sorority for you.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally posted by centaur532
To a lot of people, the stereotypes still hold true. I'm not girly, I participate in a variety of sports, etc. etc. But I still want to do it.

In some respects the stereotypes for everything hold true, but there are always people who change your mind about them in one way or another. I'm girly for the most part, but I too participate in sports (tae kwon do, surfing, swimming and occasionally softball). Believe the women on here, plenty of us do sports and are non stereotypical sorority girls. No one is going to hold it against you, as a matter of fact a lot of sororities prefer women who have a variety of things going on in their lives, it shows that they are well rounded.

[adpiucf]

Somehow, every year in the flurry of preparation for formal recruitment, my chapter would take an hour out and we'd go around the room reflecting on why we were thankful for ADPi. I came from a very large chapter, and more often than not, a sister would start off her turn saying, "I'm not a girly girl. Before college, I'd say that most of my friends weren't even girls, they were boys! None of my friends from home understood how I could be joining a sorority. But being in the sorority has changed my life and you're the reason why..." and then she'd launch into a personal sisterhood story. It was funny to hear almost the same words each time. We'd laugh to hear fellow sisters typify themselves as not being the type to have girlfriends when we were a roomful of girlfriends!

A lot of my high school friends didn't see me as "sorority." My college friends couldn't imagine me any other way. I joined a sorority for me, and not for how my friends viewed me. And years later, I'll still say it was one of the best decisions of my life.

Enjoy your recruitment experience, and as everyone else has advised and you have also said, you are dressing for the special occasion of recruitment. I'm sure you will look your personal best and the true you will shine through. Save the casual wear for casual-appropriate occaisions. Should you join a sorority, you will very quickly see the sisters do the same. Good luck!

[WVU alpha phi]

I just want to say that there are sororities on campus that most girls will fit into. When I rushed, of course I dressed up for every event. I'm a big fan on wearing sweatshirts and jeans to class, especially when it gets cold here during the winter. Very rarely do I wear makeup to my classes (unless there's a hot guy in there! ). However, during the week I rushed, I made sure I looked good going to class every day. You never know what girls are checking you out around campus.

Think of it this way. It's one week of going through rush where you have to look pretty cute every day. Anyone can handle 5 days! And don't worry about your non girly-girl type personality. Once you're comfortable with all your sister and they are comfortable around you, you'll see how much of a closet dorky side a lot of girls have!

[pinkyphimu]

my best friend (who i met after college) has said to me on several occasions that she ca't believe i amn a sorority. i always tell her that she could still join, and she says, "i wouldn't join bc all the girls aren't like you." anyway, she has met several of my sisters over the years and now feels like they are just like me. no more evil sorority stereotypes for her!

[AlexMack]

Originally posted by WVU alpha phi
I just want to say that there are sororities on campus that most girls will fit into. When I rushed, of course I dressed up for every event. I'm a big fan on wearing sweatshirts and jeans to class, especially when it gets cold here during the winter. Very rarely do I wear makeup to my classes (unless there's a hot guy in there! ). However, during the week I rushed, I made sure I looked good going to class every day. You never know what girls are checking you out around campus.

Think of it this way. It's one week of going through rush where you have to look pretty cute every day. Anyone can handle 5 days! And don't worry about your non girly-girl type personality. Once you're comfortable with all your sister and they are comfortable around you, you'll see how much of a closet dorky side a lot of girls have!

So I went out for dinner the other night with my friend Ashley, and her roommate Emily. We're in the car, (and understand, Emily is girly. She dresses nicely, is a cheerleader etc.), and she tells this story of how she rips this huge belch leaving the house and shocks a bunch of fraternity guys. It was hilarious. They're both a part of the reason I wanted to pledge. They proved that it doesn't matter how you dress, sorority girls are mostly just as normal as everyone. I don't have a lot of girlfriends either, and just once I want to have a feminine influence

[AEPhiSierra]

One of the things that attracted me to my chapter is the fact that they didn't all dress the same. There were one or two other chapters on my campus that I found creepy at the time b/c all the members were dressed practically the same with the same bags and hairstyles. One of the things that really won me over to my chapter was that while some were either preppy or "Brooklyn" (i guess you kind of have to live hear to understand that) we also had sisters who were punkish or sporty. And everyone hung out together, there weren't cliques within the group based on those labels.

[AlexMack]

I could definitely see that happening in a city. I've been hunting around on the UMASS website a bit, and there are a couple of chapters that I'm more attracted to than others, though I know not to take what I find on the web at face value.
I am basically looking for diversity. I've fought against conformity my entire life. I guess I will just have to see how things go.
Who knows? I might stay at UVM another semester, and go through informal rush with a chapter here.
(Again, apologies for the disjointedness of this post. I'm having a lot of problems with my back, so I'm on percocets.)

[roqueemae]

There will be clues about a chapters true colors. Look at the scrapbooks at the house. Listen to the types of conversations you have with the sisters. One chapter on my campus has a line that we make fun of them about constantly "You're so pretty, you look like a ABC Lady" "You're so smart, you would be a great ABC Lady"..... The girls fall all over it. Should probably be a rush infraction but it usually comes out after the time limit is over or without enough proof.

On the other hand, my first year rushing, I had no idea what to talk about. I told a girl about a CAVITY when she told me she was a dental hygiene major. I was so embarrased about it. When she pledged, she said I was the reasion why-because I was the closest thing she had to a real conversation all week. That was 3 years ago and she has been new member ed and panhellenic delegate for the chapter. She brings the story up every year to let new girls know to be real.

[AlexMack]

Originally posted by roqueemae
There will be clues about a chapters true colors. Look at the scrapbooks at the house. Listen to the types of conversations you have with the sisters. One chapter on my campus has a line that we make fun of them about constantly "You're so pretty, you look like a ABC Lady" "You're so smart, you would be a great ABC Lady"..... The girls fall all over it. Should probably be a rush infraction but it usually comes out after the time limit is over or without enough proof.

On the other hand, my first year rushing, I had no idea what to talk about. I told a girl about a CAVITY when she told me she was a dental hygiene major. I was so embarrased about it. When she pledged, she said I was the reasion why-because I was the closest thing she had to a real conversation all week. That was 3 years ago and she has been new member ed and panhellenic delegate for the chapter. She brings the story up every year to let new girls know to be real.

Funny thing is...I'm not really sure how to be fake. I have this thing I like to call tactlessness. I try to keep it under my belt. If I can't think of anything to say, I don't talk. But it also means my BS detector tends to work overtime. This may sound odd, but is there anything in particular you can pick out from a website and say, "wow...maybe not?"

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by centaur532
Funny thing is...I'm not really sure how to be fake. I have this thing I like to call tactlessness. I try to keep it under my belt. If I can't think of anything to say, I don't talk. But it also means my BS detector tends to work overtime. This may sound odd, but is there anything in particular you can pick out from a website and say, "wow...maybe not?"

I think you can get ideas from it - are the same few girls in all the pictures on the website? This could mean that not everybody is very involved with the chapter, or they like to show off their "face" members.

[scoopage]

centaur532, I PM'd you