Most Important Words of Advice

[33girl]

Quit listening to all those people who say "look around at the girls at pref, those are the girls who will be in your pledge class and who will be your closest sisters!"

Your sorority is NOT just the girls in your pledge class, unless you choose to be very lazy and make it so. This is especially true of smaller chapters. In a chapter under 80 or so, your pledge class doesn't mean squat in the long run, after your pledgeship is over. Look at them, yes, but don't let either awesome or sucky rushees standing next to you at pref make your decision for you.

I think this bad advice is what makes people come on here all freaked out that they aren't bonding with their class.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by 33girl

don't let sucky rushees standing next to you at pref make your decision for you.

Hahahaha! LOLOL! Oh my gosh, we are rolling on the floor over here.

[HQWest]

In the words of Mick Jagger -

"You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
well you might find
You get what you need "

[SLAM<3 Always]

I promise your social life won't be ruined if you don't get "top" house! Even the houses which aren't considered "best" on campus still have an active social life, participate in Greek events, have formals, etc and you will still meet more people on campus than if you didn't join (usually).

At my school it's very common for certain sororities to always have events with the same fraternities, as I'm sure happens across the country at other universities. Don't judge a sisterhood on a brotherhood. Your promise is forever and you won't know 99.9% of the guys you meet in college 10 - 20 years down the road. If you know one, you're probably married to him. If you know 2, it's probably your husband and the best man in your wedding.

Remember everyone is human. The sisters in every house are just like you and also joined to meet new people. They have their own talents and abilities, cherish them.

Just because you joined ABC, doesn't mean you will only ever be friends with ABC sisters. It's more than ok, it's encouraged, to meet sisters in other organizations including the house which dropped you. Along those same lines, if your rude to everyone in a particular house during recruitment they will remember that even when you join another organization. Is that how you want to start out your college experience?

[GammaPhi88]

Be nice to your Rho Gammas. Don't speak badly about any sorority towards them. It is okay to talk with them about having a tough time or being upset generally with your schedule, but don't say anything mean about any house. In a perfect world, you could be less filtered and say what you want. But it isn't a perfect world, and you never know how seriously they take disaffiliaton. So don't shoot yourself in the foot.

Also, leggings are not pants.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Quit listening to all those people who say "look around at the girls at pref, those are the girls who will be in your pledge class and who will be your closest sisters!"

Your sorority is NOT just the girls in your pledge class, unless you choose to be very lazy and make it so. This is especially true of smaller chapters. In a chapter under 80 or so, your pledge class doesn't mean squat in the long run, after your pledgeship is over. Look at them, yes, but don't let either awesome or sucky rushees standing next to you at pref make your decision for you.

I think this bad advice is what makes people come on here all freaked out that they aren't bonding with their class.

This is very true. Example: I'm friends with the women I pledged with, but my college best friend and house roomie is in the class 2 years before me. I also continue to be best friends with my Little Sis who pledged the semester before I graduated (and is 2 years younger than me.) So your class doesn't always determine who your friends are.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This is very true. Example: I'm friends with the women I pledged with, but my college best friend and house roomie is in the class 2 years before me. I also continue to be best friends with my Little Sis who pledged the semester before I graduated (and is 2 years younger than me.) So your class doesn't always determine who your friends are.

Hell, some of my closest friends from my chapter are not even women I was close with IN COLLEGE.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

You're right, but I think that's a big if. RXs are young and the rules are complex, so they may often get things wrong. But students are geniuses at half-hearing, getting a message backwards, etc. Anyone who works in student services will tell you that the single biggest challenge is just getting students to absorb instructions. With rush, throw in that these are new freshmen, it's a nerve-wracking situation, and they're in an artificial social structure that doesn't have any parallel elsewhere in life. I would expect a LOT of mis-hearing and tangling of information inside the PNMs' heads under those circumstances, even when the RXs are explaining it well.

No doubt. I think that the advice "to trust your recruitment counselor" is still a little complicated since in some ways, we might as well say, trust what you believe that your RC has told you even though you completely misunderstood.

I do think that most RC are probably good, informed, caring folks, and a PNM would be better off with RC advice than that of a lot of other sources they'd be likely to consult.

[keyplayer]

The one thing I can say is DON'T QUIT! My top choice dropped me right before pref when I went through recruitment last year and I thank the Lord that they did. I know now that they are not the house for me and I ended up exactly where I was supposed to. It's true that when a door closes, a window opens.

[KSUViolet06]

Remember: You can only get ONE bid.

Whether you have a full schedule or 2 chapters left after a round, in the end there can only be one.

So don't concern yourself with how many invites the next girl has.

[Gingerdeltaz]

bump

[carnation]

I hope that you'll ignore the drop-dead gorgeous PNMs in their designer clothes. You don't know what else they may or may not have going for them and they might be released after day 1 for grades. Keep blinders on re: the other PNMs and concentrate on your own recruitment!

[AXOrushadvisor]

Take very good notes that you can use when trying to rank the Chapters. How you felt when you were there. Conversation, activities and did you connect. Also why you want to go back.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

Take very good notes that you can use when trying to rank the Chapters. How you felt when you were there. Conversation, activities and did you connect. Also why you want to go back.

super advice!

[AXOrushadvisor]

^^thanks It was actually a conversation I had with my daughter in the car. We have 1 more year!