I also want to use code names for some prominent people in my story. “Amy” and “Lauren” are two friends who were not SuperhardcoreEnthusiasticCrazy about rushing as I was, but with a tiny bit of convincing I got Lauren to sign up, and with significantly greater effort, Amy decided to go too (for the “experience,” of course). “Kristen” was my closest girl friend at school so far, we lived in the same dorm. Kristen and I had met lots of Greeks out at night and on the weekends. We talked about recruitment a lot. We walked past the sororities often, and she would often look admiringly at Funshine Bear (attractive house!), which also had a chapter at a university which her best friend from home attended (this bff was also going through deferred rush!); I think they (misguidedly) decided they could try ending up at the same place. Kristen was also a legacy, but to a different chapter, Good Luck Bear, which was a respected and influential house on campus. “Nicole,” and “Mackenzie” are 2 girls from my PX group, and “Katie” is my PX!
The first day/round are the open houses, where we visit all 12 chapters.
The second round, where we visit a max. of 9 chapters split between 2 days, is house tour/philanthropy round.
The third round is skits (my favorite!), where we visit a max. of 6 chapters.
The last day is preference, where we visit a max. of 3 chapters.
During winter break, my mom and I went shopping for “northern” rush clothes— seersucker, sundresses, and strappy sandals would not fly for this school in January! I got a few new coats (not “new” to replace old, but new for me completely!), dressy boots, wool skirts and slacks, etc. I got my hair trimmed and a manicure so I looked put-together, I wasn’t sure how primped PNMs would or wouldn’t be at my school! I know I always appreciate when a PNM explains her outfit for each round in these stories, so of course I will!
The night before the first round all the PNMs attend an information session. We meet our PX and groups, get recruitment booklets, and watch a hilarious skit put on by all the PXs about the do’s and dont’s of recruitment. This just made me even more excited to get started!
Here we go with… OPEN HOUSE DAY!
This day was casual, jeans (SO casual!!!) and a sweater. I wore jeans (haha) and a black narrow-ribbed cashmere sweater with a purple tank underneath (just for a splash of color!)
Birthday Bear
I still remember that this was definitely my first chapter of the day. This chapter was the newcomer on campus, and was on the smaller side membership-wise. The girls were sweet and nice (I usually hate the adjective “nice,” but here it is totally appropriate), but the conversations were a bit awkward. Somehow, guns and shooting came up… I can talk about ANYTHING and make it seem natural, so I don’t know if/think these girls could tell I thought it was a strange topic of conversation. I mean, I have done target shooting/used rifles before, but it just seemed a little off. At this house, I kind of had the feeling that it was my job to make them feel more comfortable rather than vice versa. Although the topics were a bit strange, the conversation flowed.
Grumpy Bear
This was known as a top chapter on campus, and they have a bit of a party reputation. Nicole and I were seated together with two sisters. I was talking to sister A, and Nicole was talking to sister B, and we were occasionally talking as a group. I was really hitting it off with sister A, who left to go grab some hot chocolate for all of us, leaving sister B, Nicole, and I doing a 2-on-1, which ended up being OK for awhile…but then awkward because sister A never came back! (Maybe this is touchy to say, but I think it is always strange to be doing 2-on-1s with one sister and 2 PNMs, because at the end of the day, the PNMs are competing with each other.) After their end-of-party cute story (which was HILARIOUS by the way), sister A finally showed up (hot chocolate-less!!), which I didn’t really know what to make of. My first instinct was that it was a bit rude, but maybe she had a bathroom emergency or something. I really wanted to give sister A/this chapter the benefit of the doubt because we clicked, but still.
Bedtime Bear
LOVE LOVE LOVE (cue Beatle’s “All You Need Is Love”)! These girls were so warm and welcoming. I remember really clicking with one sister—we talked about classic rock and Led Zeppelin, and other random fun things. She seriously was like my mirror image in personality! She was very animated and enthusiastic. I was actually disappointed when the next sister came over to talk and she had to leave! The other girls I talked to here were cute and friendly too, but that one sister still really stands out in my mind!
Friend Bear
I think this was my favorite house of this round of parties! I loved them! While they do have a reputation for being “Barbie”-esque (I know, I know), I thought they were warm and really interested in what I had to say. I talked to Amy at the end of the day (who comes from a “hippie-ish,” “granola” type family/background) and despite their stereotype, even she loved them too and said the sister that walked her to the door gave her a big hug! So much for stereotypes! I remember talking to a huge group of awesome seniors, and one from my home state (which is pretty rare at my school)! Yay! She was hilarious in a straight-up/sarcastic way (as much as is appropriate during rush), while still being approachable. I remember them telling me how they all lived together in a house (“annex”) off-campus that was passed down to sisters in the next grade each year. I remember wanting to be in this chapter and wanting to get to live in the “senior” house—it seemed like they all had so much fun together! Their story at the end of the party was really funny.
Secret Bear
This house was great. They have a reputation for being the “sporty” chapter on campus, and I actually ended up talking to a sister who was on crutches because of a soccer injury! My senior year of high school I also was on crutches for a few days for a soccer injury, so we bonded over that. However, this girl was slightly tom-boyish, and while I love playing and watching sports (woo college football!), I’m definitely on the girly side. The next girl I talked to was an over-the-top girly girl, so I guess I met the two extremes of this chapter! She was very bubbly and sweet, and I remember we talked about fashion (her shoes were adorable, I was slightly jealous the sisters were inside and got to wear cute shoes instead of “practical” ones for trudging in the several feet of snow). I liked this chapter too, although I wanted to meet more sisters to get a better feel for the rest of the members.
Tenderheart Bear
This was my legacy chapter! Let me start off by saying my mom is not the type to pressure me into anything, but she always encourages me to keep an open mind and form my own opinions, and her advice about recruitment was no different. This chapter’s physical house is not a very attractive structure, which was a little disappointing. Unfortunately, I felt extremely uncomfortable at this chapter. I so desperately wanted a few good things about this chapter to report back to my mom, but it was tough. The sister I talked to had electric blue eyeshadow and frosty pink lipstick, and she talked badly about a professor she had had for a class that I was pre-enrolled for, which I thought was rude and really rubbed me the wrong way. Not a good vibe. When I called my mom later that night and told her, she understood that it wasn’t a good fit for me, yet felt sad because the sorority she loves was struggling on my campus.
Funshine Bear
I remember this house being decorated so beautifully! This was the house that Kristen had admired from afar during fall semester, and I was excited to meet them. The first sister I talked to actually looked like a petite/mini version of someone I went to high school with, so I felt like I knew her for years! She was sweet and genuine, although seemed a little “innocent” to me (not sure if that’s the right word for what I’m trying to describe); maybe she was a little nervous or had a “recruitment persona” on. The other sister I remember talking to was AWESOME--really spunky and funny. We definitely clicked, but she kept asking me something inappropriate (hard to explain…I was a member of a campus organization that put on events/concerts and she was trying to get me to reveal aka leak confidential information, but I’m not sure she realized this wasn’t OK and was probably trying to make conversation). Overall, I liked them. I wanted to see more.
Wish Bear
I don’t remember a lot of specifics from conversations at this chapter. I remember they seemed like big partiers (I don’t mean for this to sound negative—I mean more along the lines of fun/rowdy/outgoing). The conversations flowed and I had a generally good vibe. I do remember their recruitment chair seeming very put-together and poised, which I liked!
Love-A-Lot Bear
I remember this house having an unusual set up: you walk in the front door, and there’s like NO SPACE/standing room whatsoever (this was NOT a foyer, try along the lines of a mid-size shower stall) and the staircase is directly in front of you. Anyway, the girls in this house seemed REALLY spirited, perky, and super nice. I remember not being sure about this chapter. The girls were really bubbly, but I didn’t really “click” with anyone; I felt like we were on different wavelengths or they didn’t “get” me or something. I know this expression isn’t exactly right, but it may help communicate the feeling I had: I felt like, mentally, “we were two ships passing in the night.” I needed to meet more sisters.
Share Bear
A girl from one of my classes fall semester was in this chapter. I knew because she often wore her letters to class (which was excruciatingly at 8am Mon-Thurs!). I thought she was pretty cool, but I knew of the stereotype for this chapter, and wasn’t sure I’d fit in—many of the girls know each other from home beforehand (which totally put things in perspective for me thinking about out-of-staters doing an SEC recruitment, but admittedly not as extreme at my school!). I actually enjoyed my time here. If I remember correctly, I think I may have met the president or incoming president. Sorry I can’t remember many specifics, but I do remember that the “tent talk”/PNM buzz was that they had the best hot chocolate! I think I ended up liking them more than I thought I would.
Laugh-A-Lot Bear
Ok, this house takes the cake for most spirit/enthusiasm! They had a brand newish (haha) house, and it was gorgeous inside! The couch I was on was really comfy too. The conversations here were more of the same basics that can be expected from the first round, nothing really stood out, but I did have a good time.
Good Luck Bear
Last house of the day, finally! (All the other chapters are out of order, I only remember where I visited first and last!) I was exhausted at this point…and tired and freezing with inches of water/melted slush squishing in my boots, and it was already pitch black outside (I never realized how going back to standard time DRASTICALLY
changes the daylight up north)!! This was Kristen’s legacy chapter. I was a little unsure about this one too, many of these girls come from the same areas and know each other (they do a lot of who-do-you-know/do-you-know-so-and-so here), but I was relieved when I met someone from my home state! This was a relief because I was so tired, and made me perk up a bit. It actually turned out that her family knows the most obnoxious, full-of-himself student from my high school, and they don’t like him either (seriously, one year in history class our teacher was handing back papers and had accidentally stapled his to mine. The last sentence of his essay was, “and this led to the birth of XXXX. Obviously, great things are to come of him.” My mom and I were just speechless and disgusted.
Sorry for the tangent.) Anyway, I’m not big on talking badly about other people, especially during rush, but it was the end of the day and that’s what came up. She was quite stylish and sophisticated. She was the only sister I met though, so I needed to see more….
So at the end of the first round we went back to meet with our PX groups to rank our preferences. Katie, the PX, was hilarious and always upbeat, and kept our spirits high!
I placed 9 houses as #1,
#2 Love-A-Lot
#3 Birthday
and #4 Tenderheart (I was disappointed, I wish this chapter had been a better experience! Poor mom
)
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