Recruitment can be a ZOO!

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Am I missing something here? In my neck of the woods, "Birthright" is an anti-abortion organization that has zero to do with Judaism.

It's a group that provides free trips to Israel for Jewish kids. I know a couple of people who have gone there through them. Not quite the same thing: http://www.birthrightisrael.com/Pages/Default.aspx

[Griffins&Quills]

Rooting for turtle

[MDGreek]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

It's a group that provides free trips to Israel for Jewish kids. I know a couple of people who have gone there through them. Not quite the same thing: http://www.birthrightisrael.com/Pages/Default.aspx

It's really popular at my school, thanks Clemson Girl! I didn't even know that chapter was nationally Jewish until I left and talked to my rho gam about how it was a little awkward. I started school in January so I literally went in knowing nothing haha. One of my best friends at school ended up here and we laugh about how silly I probably looked at the time.

[MDGreek]

I could have been more nervous to see which houses had cut me and which I would be coming back to. My rho gam handed me my schedule…….. which was full! All 6 spaces were filled! I could not have been more grateful. I was so saddened for the girls on my floor (we all had a group message going on) who had been so quickly cut down to 2. My schedule read:

Camel
Penguin
Giraffe
Turtle
Kangaroo
Dolphin

5 of my top 6 houses were there! I wasn’t disappointed that Tiger had dropped me because I never had felt something really special there. I still didn’t know why Giraffe was keeping me, so I asked my rho gam what her best advice would be. She said that I should politely ask them what they saw in me that would better their sisterhood, because they may have seen something in me that I didn’t see in myself. Always worth a shot….

Camel- The skit here was pretty funny. It sounded like it hadn’t been changed up too much in the past few years. Part of their backdrop fell down about halfway through, which definitely provided some comical relief. I liked everyone I spoke with here, but I still wasn’t feeling like this was it. I could see myself being friends with these girls, but not wearing their letters.

Penguin- I was so excited to be coming back to this house! This time, the girl I spoke with wasn’t as upbeat. She seemed kind of bored which was so disappointing to me, because I thought that this could be it. I work on campus, and had recently found out that my boss was a sister of Penguin in her time at my school as well. I thought their skit was really cute, definitely wanted to come back for pref and give it one more shot.

Giraffe- This time I was paired with an active who had very obvious feelings that I was not in the right house. I did what my rho gam said and asked, “is there something special that Giraffe sees in me that would better your sister hood? I’m not really sure if I would fit in here” to which she responded “well we have a few other blonde girls”…… BLONDE?! This is what you think I have in common with a mere 6 or 7 sisters?! I wanted to leave right then and there. All she saw on me was blonde hair. I explained that appearance really wasn’t what I meant. She really didn’t seem interested in anything I had to say and just kind of stared into space the whole time. Their skit was a lot of screaming/chanting/singing, but no story behind it. I knew that I couldn’t come back here again.

Turtle- Yay! It was time to come back here. The skit was very funny, and definitely more “updated” than some of the others. The snacks were awesome, who doesn’t love popcorn with different flavorings? I sure do. At the end of the day, conversation flowed well with these girls. I could see in their skit that they were all friends, unlike some of the other chapters that really didn’t have too much chemistry while they were up there. I really was having doubts about their house being remodeled though. On bid day, you run to your new house, where you are greeted by your sisters and have dinner. I didn’t know if this was an experience I wanted to miss out on, even though it seemed petty.

Kangaroo- I loved being back at this house for skits. Theirs was my favorite by far. The girls all looked so nice. I was paired with someone new again for this house. I really liked the active I was talking to. She told me how she couldn’t wait to take a little, and all I could think was what if I was her little? This chapter typically excels in a lot of events in Greek Life (Homecoming, Derby Days, Greek Week) so I would love to be a part of a winning chapter. I thought this could be the house for me, and was really looking forward to coming back for preference.

Dolphin- I felt really comfortable here. I was talking to someone new again, but still felt like it could be home. Their skit was a little outdated, but still really funny. They had a drink that was blue that the active warned me I would like so much, it would be “like crack.” Then proceeded to tell me, wait til what they serve at pref! It was funny, but I remembered our rules for PNMs and not bringing up drugs, even in a joking way so I was just like “uhhh haha”. My roommate was legacy here, and I kept thinking about how cool it would be if we ended up in the same house. I thought I wanted to come back.

I was torn; I had 4 top houses, and 3 top spots. All I could think about was what if I ranked the wrong way and ruined my chances in the house that was right for me. In no particular order, my top 3 was:

Dolphin
Kangaroo
Penguin

Houses I would rather not return to:
1. Turtle
2. Camel
3. Giraffe

Immediately after ranking, my rho gam asked me how I felt about my rankings. I immediately told her I wasn’t sure if I should have cut Turtle because of the housing situation. She told me that when she was going through recruitment, the house that she ended up in was undergoing remodeling at the time as well, and she still loved her experience. I was disappointed with how I ranked, but figured it would work itself out in the end. Preference was the next day…. So exciting!

[AZTheta]

For any PNMs reading:

The important point to remember in the entire process, every step of the way, is that the chapters are ranking as well (selecting who to invite back) so... you might well get an invite to a chapter that you thought you "cut". The reality is that you aren't "cutting"; you are indicating your preferences in terms of invites you'd like to receive. You simply do not know where you'll be returning until you receive your list for each round.

That's one reason why we repeat ad nauseum "keep an open mind".

[Sciencewoman]

I think Turtle is going pull through to Pref. Forget about the house remodeling...they had awesome snacks! C'mon!

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

I think Turtle is going pull through to Pref. Forget about the house remodeling...they had awesome snacks! C'mon!

I definitely noticed that snack thing as an alumna advisor. Flavored popcorn is easy to make and inexpensive. That is a wonderful, clever snack to serve for recruitment.

[MDGreek]

Preference round was finalllllly here! I got my schedule back bright and early and it read:

Penguin
Turtle
Kangaroo

Turtle had brought me back! I was so glad. Meanwhile, I was a little disappointed that I would not be returning to Dolphin
, because it was the only chance that my roommate and I would be sisters, but I realized that I needed to remember the only person I was rushing for, was myself.

First up was:

Penguin- This house had an extremely beautiful pref ceremony. The sisters really spoke from the heart about their chapter, but for some reason I just couldn’t connect with what they were saying. I wanted to be placed with the active I had originally spoken with, but unfortunately I was preffed by the girl who wasn’t as upbeat. This could have been part of what influenced my decision, but no matter what the case, I just didn’t think that this was my house.

Turtle- I was a little disappointed by the lack of emotions I felt at the first house, so I was hoping this was better. I was preffed by the active who impressed me the first round. She was one of the sweetest people I had ever met and I really connected with her. She remembered little details that I barely remembered mentioning. Their preference ceremony was a little crowded because it was in the main room of the fraternity house, and by now the new nude pumps that I thought were a great idea, seemed worse and worse. Fun fact: Turtle’s pref ceremony is all standing haha. But I really enjoyed myself here and knew that this was it.

Kangaroo- I wanted to either really love or hate this house because I knew I was going to have a hard time making up my mind. I was preffed by the active who originally made me want to come back to this house. It turns out, she had organized the whole ceremony! Kangaroo’s pref ceremony is absolutely breathtaking and very centered around the PNMs. I loved being a part of it. This time when the girls in the chapter shared their experiences, I felt myself holding back tears as well. I really could see myself in this sisterhood.

Now what to do?! I called my mom (who only knew about Greek Life from what I had told her) and cried. She didn’t understand the tears, she said I should be happy that I found two wonderful houses, but I didn’t want to have to choose. Our ranking for pref cards is all digital. I knew that I wouldn’t be ranking Penguin, so I wouldn’t be guaranteed a bid, which was very stressful. I clicked on the remaining two houses with my eyes shut (which the Rho Gam helping me did not approve of). I looked at how I had chosen afterwards. Blindly, I had ranked……

1. Kangaroo
2. Turtle

I was okay with this ranking and signed off (digitally of course) on my pref card. The Superbowl was that night, so I went home to be with my family and watch the game (my roommate came along too. She had ranked Dolphin and only one other option, so we both had the chance of getting the terrible call, it was nice to at least be stressed out with someone. 11 am rolled around the next day and no calls came. We went back to school to pick up bids at 12 noon.

[Sciencewoman]

Turtle! Turtle! Turtle!

[DG Illinois]

That is a scary way to pref, but obviously you loved them both. I was surprised you didn't put penguin as your 3rd choice since you had always liked them, but it looks like you got past the dreaded phone call so congratulations on your choice! Looking forward to hearing where you ended up!

[MDGreek]

My roomie got crowned and accepted her bid to Dolphin also known as Zeta Tau Alpha, As for me…….



I was a new sister of….






















Turtle




Which is also known as……













ALPHA XI DELTA!!!!


Couldn't have been any more excited. AXiD was the one of the only houses that I loved every single round. Remember the great girl that preffed me? She's my big now. After a fall colony recruitment, Alpha Xi Delta joined in their first formal recruitment, with a pledge class of 41. It was the biggest of all chapters. I couldn't be any more proud to be a part of it.

Here is my beautiful pledge class. Notice we're in front of our house? We still ran there!! And the sisters treated us to a nice dinner out.

[honeychile]

Happy, Happy, Happy for you! I've known several AXD's in my life, and each one has impressed me in some way. So glad that you found the right home for you!

But who was Kangaroo??

[clemsongirl]

Congrats! I too want to know who Kangaroo was

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Yeah for an Alpha Xi Delta ending. I hope you love it as much as I do.

[KDCat]

Congrats!