IrishPipes' Retro Recruitment Story

[amycat412]

Originally Posted by TSteven

I can well image that it would be confusing.

Do you think it would it have been helpful to have some sort of visual aid in the room when ranking? Perhaps pictures of each house and the corresponding letters/abbreviations? It seems like it might be easier to link the chapter (members) to the physical house (the blue one with the orange trim) than just to letters (abbreviations).

The rush booklets USC sent out the summer before my freshman year in 1987 had a page with a pic of the house, both greek letter and nicknames, and colors, mascots, etc-- blank page on the other side for notes. It made it MUCH easier to decipher things.

[bluefish81]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Our stages went 22-8-5-3. In my opinion this was ridiculous. I had trouble distinguishing some chapters after first stage, but we had to cut back to 8 so a lot of chapters got cut when I would have loved to have gone back. The “regret with interest” was not available, nor were release figures that prevented chapters from inviting you back when they had no intention of pledging you. I am positive that many rushees confused chapters with similar names simply because the whole process was so huge and overwhelming.

Wow! 22 to 8! That's a huge cut, especially when the first day is generally so insane. I was expecting you to say that it went from 22 to oh, maybe 12 or 14 or so.

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

tsteven, those are good suggestions.

when i rushed at fsu there were 18 sororities. our rush counselors suggested that we take notes in our booklet about what the house looked like, what they sang, what they wore, who our hostess was, what we talked about, any other members we met, etc. it did come in handy when we had to accept or regret invitations.

When I rushed at Iowa State in 1997, I think our booklets had little pictures of the houses in them - which was nice. It also had some general info about the chapter - colors and symbols maybe?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

IP, I picked out about 8 of the chapters from your notes, even though I did not rush until 1999. It's amazing how much stays the same. Maybe I will do mine sometime soon.

As a side note, my rush was 19 >> 10 >> 5 >> 3, so they didn't make you cut down quite as many from round 1 to round 2. We actually had 22 parties in round 1, but only 19 were NPC. The others were associate members of our CPH, and 4-H, which has full standing in the CPH.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Our stages went 22-8-5-3. In my opinion this was ridiculous. I had trouble distinguishing some chapters after first stage, but we had to cut back to 8 so a lot of chapters got cut when I would have loved to have gone back.

Wow - that's just crazy. So, you were supposed to be able to narrow down to 8 chapters after a whirlwind first round where you briefly toured 22 chapters? Pure insanity! I can't even imagine!

I had enough difficulty going from 16 to 12 during my first round! Your opinions of a chapter can change so drastically after going back a 2nd time - I bet a lot of PNMs dropped houses that they regretted later.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

IP, I picked out about 8 of the chapters from your notes, even though I did not rush until 1999. It's amazing how much stays the same. Maybe I will do mine sometime soon.

As a side note, my rush was 19 >> 10 >> 5 >> 3, so they didn't make you cut down quite as many from round 1 to round 2. We actually had 22 parties in round 1, but only 19 were NPC. The others were associate members of our CPH, and 4-H, which has full standing in the CPH.

For my rush, Phi Beta Chi and 4-H did a presentation at the orientation, but did not participate in rush even though they were housed sororities and members of panhellenic. To be eligible for 4-H you had to have 4 or 5 years of 4-H under your belt so I guess they didn't want to make everyone go there when so few would be eligible. Phi Beta Chi was a Christian group, I believe.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by susan314

(Think about it - some girl gets her heart set on pledging a "top tier" sorority, but realistically speaking she's more likely to get into/be happy in a "middle" group. After round one, she cuts all of the middle and smaller chapters b/c the "top" houses string her along for awhile...once the "top" houses make their cuts, she's left with nothing. This girl might never go Greek, even though she could have been a fabulous member in several houses. irishpipes, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me that sort of scenario happened all the time during your days at Illinois. )

You sort of stole my thunder!!!

Oh, and we did have a wonderful rush book - it was called "Picture yourself." It had one page for each chapter with a picture of the physical house, the letters and written out name, founding date, etc. and one random photograph of a few members. It was invaluable, but still, it was very difficult to take meaningful notes first stage because we were walking between parties. Walking while writing is a challenge and a skill I do not possess. Hence, the poor descriptions!!!

First stage parties were only 20 minutes long, and the next party would start on the next half hour so we only had 10 minutes to get from one house to the next. Anyone who has been on campus could tell you this is no easy task. U of I does not have a sorority row of any kind. Houses are scattered all over Champaign and Urbana in clusters.

[irishpipes]

Sorry to post 3 times in a row.

I guess I could tell you that the following chapters are no longer in the running:

Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Phi
Alpha Chi Omega
Gamma Phi Beta
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi Epsilon
Zeta Tau Alpha
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Delta Tau
Phi Sigma Sigma

For those who know U of I, feel free to guess which "county" they were!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Sorry to post 3 times in a row.

I guess I could tell you that the following chapters are no longer in the running:

Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Phi
Alpha Chi Omega
Gamma Phi Beta
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi Epsilon
Zeta Tau Alpha
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Delta Tau
Phi Mu
Phi Sigma Sigma

For those who know U of I, feel free to guess which "county" they were!

Sligo = Delta Phi Epsilon
Roscommon = Sigma Delta Tau
Wicklow = Alpha Sigma Alpha
Kildare = Alpha Omicron Pi
Longford = Phi Sigma Sigma
Leitrim = Chi Omega

Those are my guesses. I am certain on a few of the ones you are going back to, but I will keep my mouth shut. And you threw me off on Tipperary, because I thought that was Phi Mu.

[irishpipes]

I guess I'll speed up since tomorrow I will be busy, and we have a long line of retro threads heading our way...
************************************************** *****

Second stage – Day 1

I wore a colorful ankle-length skirt with fun pictures of hats and stuff on it with a wide red belt and a yellow short-sleeved sweater and red flats.

Waterford: This was one of my favorites from first stage, and I couldn’t wait to come back. Gerri talks to me again here. She actually remembers me from Street Scenes and we are able to have a real conversation. She tells me that she knew I was coming through rush and was so glad she got to get to know me better. They have a cool slide show that is really fun (rather than emotional, like the ones the other chapter did.) This is such a happy chapter. I love it.

Dublin: Tricia hugs me and says she just knew I would come back here and that she wanted to talk to me more but it would have to wait because she was paired with someone else. It was nice to see a familiar face. In fact, I see Kristen, another freshman who is from my high school, at this party. I didn’t know she was rushing! I wish I could talk to her but before I know it, the party is over. It was a good party and had a nice slide show, but not as amazing as some others.

Monaghan: This is still a very comfortable chapter to me. Everyone seems so natural and nice. They didn’t do a slide show like the first two did.

Kilkenny: This is one of my favorites from first stage and I am dying to get back there! I see my roommate here! Martha waves wildly and I am paired with a senior named Kim from Indiana. She is hilarious and we click immediately. The slide show here is very well done and I love the music they used for it. I find myself getting a bit lost in it and even a bit misty-eyed.

Second stage – Day 2

I wore white pleated crop pants with a royal blue top and these awesome royal blue Mia flats with a criss-cross on the top (my favorite shoes.)

Limerick: This chapter blows me away again. Tracy greets me just like last time and we talk like old friends. During the slide show she makes eye contact with me a few times, as if to see if I like it. It was amazing and I still love this chapter!

Kerry: This chapter is hilarious. They do an introduction that is very funny instead of the same old song/cheer. I like that they are gorgeous but still laugh at themselves. They do a shorter slide show and then a little song. I have noticed that a lot of rushees have mentioned liking this chapter. I can see why!

Tipperary: I am excited to go back here, I am ashamed to say mainly because Pam and Joelle were so impressed by it. This time I still am not feeling much of a connection and I realize that this isn’t the place for me, although they were very nice.

Clare: I was excited to come back here since I didn’t feel like I learned a whole lot first stage. Again, I remember everyone being nice but I just didn’t get that homey feeling like I did some of the other places. This chapter didn’t do a slide show. I was disappointed because I really enjoyed those at the other chapters that did them.

My favorites from second stage are Waterford, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Kerry. Since we are able to go back to 5 next stage, I am hoping for those 4 plus maybe Monaghan? There is a clear break between my 4 favorites and then ones that were just ok to me.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

You sort of stole my thunder!!!

Well shoot...I didn't even think that it might have played into your personal story, since you ended up in a chapter...it was just the first thought that popped into my head when I read about the 22 to 8 set up.

(Really, I could go back and edit the comment if you want...after all, how many people probably saw it late on a Friday evening... )


P.S. I'm guessing Wexford was Alpha Xi Delta. Also guessing that Offlay = Delta Gamma (with the chapter celebrity being Donna Mills - do I get bonus points if that's right? lol )

[susan314]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Kildare = Alpha Omicron Pi

Unless her story has a massive plot twist, I strongly suspect that Kildare is not AOPi...


P.S. I'm glad to see Alpha Gam is still in the running - when you said that you had to cut down from 22 to 8 chapters, I was sad that I might not get to see your experience with us for at least one other round...

[OldAOPi]

4-H does rush? I actually work for Extension and am a county 4-H Extension Educator - not in your state, but it used to be a part of rush?

[amycat412]

Originally Posted by susan314

Also guessing that Offlay = Delta Gamma (with the chapter celebrity being Donna Mills - do I get bonus points if that's right? lol )

OOOOOO good guess/point...as 87 was around the height of Knots Landing, wasn't it?

Irishpipes-- LOVE your outfit descriptions. Being a child of the 80s myself, I can completely picture each outfit vividly and you were very stylish!!!

[irishpipes]

Very impressive, Susan! I will go ahead and tell you that you are right about Offaly and Donna MILLER, aka Donna Mills! (And no need to edit, you're just very intuitive!)

************************************************** *******
Back to the story...

Next day, back to the classroom. A lot of girls are already there and are talking about who they like and dislike. I notice that Pam and Joelle didn’t even go back to Tipperary after they were saying it was the best chapter! Big lesson for me – stop listening to them!!! Pam and Joelle are stuck on Kildare, Waterford, and Kerry. I wonder if they are really going back there or if they are just trying to impress everybody. Legacy girl is still harping about Cork. I am glad for her, but she is getting annoying. Especially because she is kind of a homely girl and I wonder if they like her as much as she likes them! Melissa likes Galway and Kilkenny, and Kim likes Galway and Clare. I am beginning to see that we are not all impressed by the same things. I am learning a lot – quickly. Kim and Melissa both hated Waterford, which was one of my favorites.

The Rho Chis pass out the lists of invitations. They warn that we probably won’t get anywhere near as many invites as last stage and we shouldn’t be surprised. We can choose up to 5. My paper lists:

Dublin
Kilkenny
Limerick
Waterford
Wexford

Whoa – hold the phone. Wexford? I cut them after first stage. No offense, but maybe the whole paper is wrong! I ask a Rho Chi, who explains that a chapter can invite you back even if you have cut them – it just means that they really, really like you. (I was an idiot and accepted this explanation.)

A lot of girls are crying about their lists. Pam and Joelle are triumphantly circling theirs. They must have gotten all of the chapters they wanted. I sit down and circle all 5.

************************************************** ******

I see Jenn and Shar back at the dorm. They ask how it has been going. I explain who I have left and they both are excited about my list. They tell me I have some really good chapters left. That makes me feel really good since they are sophomores and know the chapters and reputations better than I do. Jenn likes Clare, Kilkenny, and Offaly. This makes me feel like a loser because Offaly cut me after first stage! Jenn said she had a good rec for Offaly so she feels pretty confident that she could go there if she decides that's what she wants. Shar likes Kerry and Leitrim. Again – Leitrim is a chapter that cut me first stage, and Kerry just dropped me. I wonder if I am not doing as well as I think I am. They advise me that 3 of my remaining chapters are really good and for the other 2 parties I should attend and “work on my game.” In other words, get a feel for the round and relax before the “good” chapters’ parties. Since they are sophomores, I figure this is sound advice. (I can't remember if we were required to go back to all 5 parties or not.)

Erin, my neighbor, is considering dropping out. She said that the chapters she liked had all cut her and she didn't have a full schedule for third stage. I don’t know what to say. Some of the chapters she still has on her schedule are ones that I liked. Erin is upset because after first stage she had like 14 invitations and now she has fewer than 5. It seems that a lot of chapters invite rushees back even though they don't want us, and because we aren't mind readers, we go back, eliminating chapters that were better fits. It seems that all of the "top" chapters have done this to Erin and I don't know what to say. She is convinced that she did something wrong at the second stage parties since the strong chapters all dropped her at the same time.

I haven’t seen the girls from across the hall, Laura and Anne. I wonder if they are still rushing?

Missy from our floor has been cut by Cork and dropped out. She doesn’t even remember who asked her back (or at least she won't say.) As soon as she saw that Cork cut her, she dropped. I guess she must have known a lot about them before she came here, because I can’t imagine being that dead-set after 2 parties. She's sort of strange anyway and whines a lot. To be honest, I'm glad to not have to hear her play-by-play anymore.

************************************************** *******
The chapters eliminated this stage for me were:

Alpha Delta Pi
Delta Delta Delta
Sigma Kappa
Phi Mu

Happy guessing!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by susan314

Unless her story has a massive plot twist, I strongly suspect that Kildare is not AOPi...


P.S. I'm glad to see Alpha Gam is still in the running - when you said that you had to cut down from 22 to 8 chapters, I was sad that I might not get to see your experience with us for at least one other round...

You never know.

But it turns out I was right about Phi Mu, so I don't feel so bad about getting a few wrong

Anyway, guesses this round:

Tipperary: Phi Mu
Clare: Sigma Kappa
Monaghan: Alpha Delta Pi
Kerry: Delta Delta Delta

I am working largely off of physical house descriptions, so if anyone moved between her rush and mine, this won't work at all.