A Big Bang Theory Recruitment Story

[scgoldengirl]

Hello everyone. I've been a big fan of this forum for ages and have decided to come clean with my VERY retro recruitment at a mid sized university in the South in the late 70's. Not an SEC school but not a small school either. There were 9 sororities at my school when I rushed. I'm using The Big Bang Theory for my recruitment. Sorry if it's already been used, but my sororities are:

Penny
Sheldon
Leonard
Raj
Howard
Bernadette
Amy
Barry Kripke
Mrs. Wolowitz

Will post more details later!!!

[scgoldengirl]

Oh, forgive my manners. It's very nice to finally talk with you guys after lurking on your board for months.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Ha, great theme, and thank you in advance for sharing your story!

[WCsweet<3]

Already rooting for Bernadette.

[DGTess]

Have to root for Raj. Who wouldn't? Imagine going through rush unable to talk to girls!

[scgoldengirl]

Okay, got back sooner than I thought that I would.
First of all, a little background info. I was a 2nd semester junior when I rushed. In fact, hours-wise, I was a senior. I had just transferred from a really academic private college and my GPA was a mess. But no matter, I was, after all-me. And I just knew in my 20 year old mind that these sororities were just going to be climbing all over each other in an effort to give me a bid. Honestly, talk about being clueless. I didn't register for formal rush until almost the last minute. I had only been invited to 2 summer parties because I waited so long to register. I didn't secure one rec-even though they weren't really a requirement back then, I'm sure that you didn't receive a bid without one. And I was just so sure that I was going to have zero problem because I was such a special snowflake.

Enough about my immaturity of youth and on to the first day of rush. The first parties were on Monday where you go to 9 parties, Tuesday-7 parties, Wednesday-5 parties, Thursday night-pref night with 3 parties, and Friday afternoon was bid day. This particular year of recruitment was record setting in terms of number of girls rushing and it was going to be very competitive. Depending on what part of the state you were from, determined what you considered to be the "top" sororities. And I was dumb enough to listen to this nonsense.

These parties are in no particular order as this was over 35 years ago. But I can still remember how I felt in that first set of parties.

Sheldon-This was considered the "top" sorority at my school. Very organized party and beautiful girls. Really well put together first day for them. But I was not comfortable in this party. I couldn't see myself here.

Raj-a very small sorority. In fact, there weren't enough members to talk to everyone in my group. They just set up their scrapbook in the middle of the chapter room for us to look at and they just stood around. It was as if they had thrown in the towel already as far as formal rush went.

Leonard-the beauty queen sorority. They had their pick of the local girls and most of their membership was from certain parts of the state. Definitely did not fit in this one, but they were very nice.

Amy-another one of the top sororities. Liked it and was definitely interested in coming back. Easy to talk to these girls. They were very friendly.

Howard-this is the one that I thought that I wanted. My best friend was a Howard at another college and I just knew that I was meant to be in this group. Super sweet and the last of the "Top" 4 that I visited that day.

Barry Kripke-this sorority was smaller but lacked that spark that so many sororities seem to have on that first day. Wasn't sure how I felt about this one.

Penny-great sorority. This is the classic example of why you cannot listen to tent talk. This was not a top tier sorority according to tent dwellers but honestly, this was the ONLY sorority that I felt at home with on that first day. Naturally beautiful girls, friendly, sweet. I just loved this sorority. They have a reputation of having the most members of the university's dance team. Gorgeous girls with personalities to match.

Bernadette-didn't know what to think about this sorority. I remember their first day skit and how much I thought it sucked. It wasn't funny and I couldn't understand why everyone was laughing so much. I thought that I might cut this one first. They're a good sorority, but they just didn't do it for me.

Mrs. Wolowitz-another small sorority but with the highest GPA of all of the pledge classes. I really liked these girls and thought they were very sweet.

So first day of rush is over. I pretty well knew who I was going to cut the next day. And yes, this is back when you actually cut sororities or they cut you. My least 2 favorites were Raj and Bernadette. Those are the 2 that I would cut on Tuesday morning. i don't remember feeling very nervous about the next day but once again, I must remind the reader that I was that very special snowflake. I felt like any sorority would be lucky to have me.

[scgoldengirl]

Okay, so here I go off to get my cards for Tuesday's parties. I get the packet in hand but wait a minute. There's only 8 cards. Sheldon has dropped me so now I can only cut 1 sorority so I have to keep Bernadette for now. I drop Raj and prepare for another day of parties. Most of the girls in my rushee group got all 9 cards back so my feelings are a little hurt but I have a full day of parties so no point in getting too upset.

Penny-once again my favorite. These girls are amazing and this is where I feel at home. They do this cute skit "Thank God I'm a Penny" based on the John Denver song. So 70's but they do a great job.

Leonard-this group serves the best dessert. Ice cream in flower pots. It's delicious. I'm not comfortable in this chapter room but I sure do love ice cream.

Howard-a girl from my home town recognizes me at this party and goes out of her way to make sure I'm comfortable. I really do like this sorority.

Bernadette-the party is so loud that I cannot hear anything that the girl who is supposed to be talking to me is saying. She's gorgeous and very nice but I don't think I heard one word that she said. Everybody must be having a great time because it is really, really noisy. I'm on the fence with this one.

Amy-not as much fun as yesterday but I can tell this is a great group of girls. I thought I had a good shot with this one as a group of Amys had approached me about joining when I was at my previous school.

Barry Kripke-just can't feel the love with this group. They seem to be going through the motions but their hearts don't seem to be in it. Kind of a cold feeling that I got with them.

Mrs. Wolowitz-although this is a really small group, they're very aggressive in their rushing and make you feel very wanted. I like them.

Day 2 is over. I'm thinking that I'll cut Bernadette and Barry Kripke. All of my fellow rushees are already choosing their big sisters. I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'm not as confident as the younger girls are. My roommate has decided to cut Penny because she doesn't like that they performed a song that has God's name in it. To her, it's blasphemy. She seems to be doing good in rush and is confident that she's going to end up in Leonard. I'm not super nervous yet but I am a little concerned at this point.

[scgoldengirl]

I've been pretty vague so far regarding the groups, but today I'll go into more detail and I'm sure many of you will be able to figure out the parties. Wednesday is a big day in our recruitment with 5 parties and you have a better sense of where you're going to end up or at least that's what most of my fellow rushees thought.
I get my cards for the day but I only have 4 so I don't even have a full schedule. Leonard, Howard, and Amy have all cut me. I really start to get upset because everybody else seems to have 5 parties to attend. Now the big sister quest is in full force and everybody is so excited. They know where they're going to pledge. I'm confused as I don't understand how some of these girls have full schedules. It's not fair, I don't like it, but I'm not dropping out. I'm attending my 4 parties and let the chips fall where they may. I have decided that I'm going to have a good time and not worry about who cuts me.

Penny-still love this chapter but I'm from an area of the state that is coastal. I've been looking at boat stuff all of my life. Not sure I want to look at it in my sorority. But this chapter is doing such a good job of rushing. I still like them a lot.

Barry Kripke-I really don't like this chapter. They've done a skit today about an orphaned girl who is thrown out and has to find her home. She finds her home with this chapter. All of the members are crying as well as rushees. It's a horribly sad skit. I don't like having my emotions played on and they are doing exactly that.

Bernadette-okay, I've been hard on this chapter all week, but Wednesday is different. They are all dressed in matching nightgowns, and mattresses are all over the chapter room floor. It is one gigantic pajama party. It's gorgeous and I love it. Now I feel really comfortable here. I'm laughing with everyone and having the best time. I hated to see the party end. Funny how your perceptions change during the week.

Mrs. Wolowitz-probably the least desirable chapter on campus but I loved these girls. They make you feel wanted and after the bruising my ego took that morning, I needed a little encouragement.


Wednesday parties were over and now it was time for a reality check. I got cut hard that day so I wasn't sure what to expect on Thursday morning. I ran into a friend of mine from high school that afternoon in the stairwell of the sorority dorm. She also was a transfer student and she was almost in tears. She had been cut heavily that morning as well. She had also seen all of the younger girls excitedly going through the rush experience. I felt bad for her. It was sad to see someone so down. But we both knew we were going to see it to the end.

[Gingerdeltaz]

Cannot wait for the rest of this! Love your honesty and I am officially a Big Bang ADDICT!!!!

[TriDeltaSallie]

Fun, fun, fun story!

[OPhiAGinger]

I LOOOOVE how your impression of Bernadette changed so drastically in this round. I'm so glad you weren't able to cut them in previous rounds like you had intended! Go Bernadette! And I also love those hard-working Mrs Wolowitz girls. (Why am I so drawn to the underdogs?)

[madoug]

I imagine this was before UC quotas, yes

[violetgeek]

I've always wondered how people can figure out the school in a recruitment story -- but I'm pretty sure I know!

More please.

[scgoldengirl]

It's Thursday and this is where the rubber hits the road. Sorry-I like that expression and had to use it somewhere in this thread. And I'm so glad you guys are enjoying my story.
Anyway, time to go pick up my packet to see where I go for pref night. And it's pretty traumatic in the lobby that morning. Cuts were extremely heavy. We had been warned by our rush counselors to be prepared. My roommate and the rest of the younger girls that I've been hanging with are invited back to only one party for Pref night. They've already made up their minds that they are going to suicide. They really have no choice. I've lucked out this time. I've gotten invites to all 4 parties from Wednesday so it's goodbye to Baawee Kwipke. Nice girls but just never really connected with them. I'm feeling a lot better at this point because I know that I've got 2 really good choices that night, but I would have been honored to wear the letters of any of the 3. I'm pretty sure that I know which one that I want but I tried to keep an open mind.

Mrs. Wolowitz-they put on a great pref night. We had shrimp cocktail and they really rushed those of us who were there. Such sweet girls. But I knew this chapter was hurting for membership. Being there were so few rushees at this party, the ones who were there were treated with such kindness and attention.

Bernadette-beautiful pref night. They were all wearing gorgeous dresses that were made more so by the candlelit room. It looked like a dream. The chapter room was breathtaking and whatever doubts I had before were gone by now. I felt relaxed around these girls. I knew this was the one.

Penny-I'll have to say one thing about this sorority and that is they know how to recruit. They did a great job. They made you feel welcomed in their home and they knew how to rush you without making you feel pressured. I really felt like they did the best job of all of the sororities. When you left this chapter room, you felt good. Such a positive experience.

Signing my bid sheet was probably the easiest thing I did all week. I felt very fortunate to have 3 Pref parties to go to because so many girls had sailed through the first part of the week only to be cut Wednesday night for Prefs. It was a humbling experience but it ended well. Like so many of you have said before. It only takes one. The process will work itself out. I went to sleep Thursday night knowing that I would end up wherever I was meant to be.

[scgoldengirl]

Actually, it was hard even back then for an UC to get a bid. I think the most that our chapter could pledge were 2 UC's. That seemed to be the norm for most chapters. Some pledged only one.