Retro Recruitment.....with a different ending

[AlwaysSAI]

Has anyone ever posted a retro recruitment thread with a not-so-happy ending?? I would love to post mine!! It's funny how even after all those tears and all this time I still remember every little detail.

[susan314]

I think it would be interesting to see the story. With many of these retro recruitment threads, a lot of us made mistakes yet things still ended up working out okay. It might unintentionally bruise the ego of PNMs who didn't do anything "wrong," but still didn't end up with a good recruitment experience.

Although sad, a story where things didn't work out in the end (at least as far as NPC recruitment goes) might bring some balance to everything. Also, you have found happiness in your current situation and that might be a positive lesson to PNMs. (Rather than hearing NPC members say "oh, you can still have fun in college even if recruitment goes bad," they can see from someone who has actually been through it.)

[dukemama]

I would definitely be interested in hearing your story...because I can relate.

[AlwaysSAI]

My freshman year at UNC-Greensboro I remember walking down College Ave. on the first day of classes in the fall of 2004 and all the sororities and fraternities had booths set up. I mentioned to a friend of mine that I didn't want to rush this semester because I wanted to get settled into college life and have myself established before I joined a sorority. I was sure I was going to rush the following semester.

Greek like isn't too competative at UNCG. Greek life was banned until the mid 1980s. We have 5 NPC sororities chartered on campus, all of whom participated in recruitment. They are:

Alpha Delta Pi
Phi Mu
Alpha Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Sigma Sigma Sigma

That spring informal recruitment was held by each organization. I attended every party for Chi Omega, two for Phi Mu, and one for Tri-Sigma. I never heard anything back, but I wasn't too disappointed. I really just went out to see what sororities were like. My sister, who went through formal recruitment at Western Carolina U and joined Alpha Gamma Delta told me that informal recruitment is a lot different than formal recruitment. So, I decided to go through formal recruitment the following fall. This, of course, gave me ample time to prepare to make the best possible impression on each organization.

I spent that entire summer preparing. I researched every organization on my campus. I knew where, and what year each organization was founded. I knew each one's mascot, open motto, colors, philanthropy, original founding principles. I seriously, knew it all. I researched the placement statistics for my campus and knew that there was a very small chance that I would not be placed somewhere. I even estimated that each pledge class would be 15-20 members large if 100 girls went through and finished recruitment. I read every book I could find on sororities and did ample online research to prepare myself for the process.

My whole goal in becoming a part of greek life was that I wanted to leave a legacy somewhere. I didn't want to be one of those kids that spent four years in college and then just left. I wanted to leave something behind. I wanted to be apart of something larger than myself. A sorority seemed like the way to go.

[LOVEinZTA]

Wow, the whole researching thing - that's me in a nutshell! haha I'm still in shock when we get a NM in the fall that says "Wait, one of your colors isn't pink?" and I have to explain the difference between our philanthropy and our colors. I could have listed off tons of info on all of the chapters at the school at which I rushed - it's just a little obsession of mine

[tld221]

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

Wow, the whole researching thing - that's me in a nutshell! haha I'm still in shock when we get a NM in the fall that says "Wait, one of your colors isn't pink?" and I have to explain the difference between our philanthropy and our colors. I could have listed off tons of info on all of the chapters at the school at which I rushed - it's just a little obsession of mine

[AlwaysSAI]

I sat around all summer and waited for the recruitment applications to become available. Needless to say, I was the first woman registered (as I later learned from the Greek Advisor).

Finally, it was fall semester! I was thrilled! Recruitment began in early September. So, I had a good 3 weeks to get everything together. I had many pep/prep talks with my sister about what to do, what not to do, what to wear etc. While, I was nervous, I felt really prepared.

Tuesday=Meet our Pi Chi's and our group
Wednesday=Meet & Greet
Thursday=Philanthropy Night
Friday=Skit Night
Saturday=Pref
Sunday=BID DAY

On Tuesday night I went to meet with my Pi Chi's and group. I was in the Omega group. I had a lot of other really pretty girls in my group and a few that I met the semester before at interest parties. We played and icebraker and the Pi Chi's did a fashion show of "What to Wear". Honestly, I had my outfits picked out since July and I was so thrilled about my dress for Pref day. It was stylish, but would also allow me to stand out, with many beautiful pastel colors. I couldn't wait for the rest of the week to continue! I felt like my dream was finally coming true.

Sidenote: I was a sophomore going into recruitment. I had a 3.2 GPA and was VP of my residence hall my freshmen year. I also listed many other campus activities I was involved in on my application. I listed my legacy to Alpha Gam thinking that it would give them confindence that I was at least familiar with Greek life. My sister and I discussed her writing me a rec as a fellow greek, but decided against it. I didn't know I could contact local alumnae for a rec. Had I known, I would have also done that.

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

Wow, the whole researching thing - that's me in a nutshell! haha I'm still in shock when we get a NM in the fall that says "Wait, one of your colors isn't pink?" and I have to explain the difference between our philanthropy and our colors. I could have listed off tons of info on all of the chapters at the school at which I rushed - it's just a little obsession of mine

Zeta,
While all of the research I did sparked an interest in the history of orgs for me, that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to present the best side of myself and I wanted each organization to know that I was committed to the process even before joining. I wanted to stand out and impress the women of each chapter and I thought that coming in informed of the National organization's activities would give me a chance and the sisters a chance to really get to know me, instead of going through the normal "This is an intro to Alpha Chi" thing. I wanted to stand out and I thought that was the way to do it.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by tld221

I think she's referring to the pink ribbons for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation. Even though Zeta's might make a lot of use of the pink ribbons due to them being a symbol of the Komen Foundation, pink is not actually one of ZTA's official colors.

[LOVEinZTA]

Originally Posted by tld221

oh it happens - apparently using the phrase "Think Pink" while talking about breast cancer awareness on philanthropy day confuses some of them. I don't know.

[CZAXOTerp]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

Zeta,
While all of the research I did sparked an interest in the history of orgs for me, that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to present the best side of myself and I wanted each organization to know that I was committed to the process even before joining. I wanted to stand out and impress the women of each chapter and I thought that coming in informed of the National organization's activities would give me a chance and the sisters a chance to really get to know me, instead of going through the normal "This is an intro to Alpha Chi" thing. I wanted to stand out and I thought that was the way to do it.

Yeah, I can't say I remember chatting about the colors or too much about the history of an org when I went through rush. All of that info, plus philanthropy, local & nat'l founding dates, was in the rush booklet.

Also even if I knew a lot about a chapter & was then being told info I already knew during rush I probably would have just nodded my head and expressed interest instead of saying that I already knew that because I wouldn't want to seem like a know-it-all. I remember from going thru rush that Theta of course was proud of being the first GLO for women and AOPi was proud of the fact they were the first sorority on our campus- I can't imagine any rushee being told and then replying, "oh I know."

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by CZAXOTerp

Yeah, I can't say I remember chatting about the colors or too much about the history of an org when I went through rush. All of that info, plus philanthropy, local & nat'l founding dates, was in the rush booklet.

Also even if I knew a lot about a chapter & was then being told info I already knew during rush I probably would have just nodded my head and expressed interest instead of saying that I already knew that because I wouldn't want to seem like a know-it-all. I remember from going thru rush that Theta of course was proud of being the first GLO for women and AOPi was proud of the fact they were the first sorority on our campus- I can't imagine any rushee being told and then replying, "oh I know."

It wasn't an "oh, I know session", I asked simple questions. Like, for example, I knew AXO started as a music sorority, so when I was with the girl rushing me I asked her if the symphony stayed the same after the music requirement was removed from eligibility. Or, on philanthropy day, at Phi Mu the girl rushing me was talking about the sand art, but not the actually philanthropy, so I asked about it. "What else do you do for CMN? What kind of unique things does your chapter do for the children?"

I didn't walk up to every sister gloating about my knowledge. If it came up, I spoke about it. Like, at Sigma, the girl rushing me and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing the history of the Robbie Page foundation and how if formed as Sigma grew instead of her telling me the whole story of how the boy died. Seriously, I was classy.

It definately was not a "oh, i know, you don't have to talk to me" session. It was the best way I knew to express my interest and show sincere commitment to an organization. I was prepared and I knew what I was getting myself into when I went greek.

[CZAXOTerp]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

It wasn't an "oh, I know session", I asked simple questions. Like, for example, I knew AXO started as a music sorority, so when I was with the girl rushing me I asked her if the symphony stayed the same after the music requirement was removed from eligibility.

Honestly I was initiated more than 10 yrs ago and I am one of those ppl who knows tons of random info (like Cliff from cheers) and I don't know the answer to this one... that question would have thrown me for a loop.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

Like, at Sigma, the girl rushing me and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing the history of the Robbie Page foundation and how it formed as Sigma grew instead of her telling me the whole story of how the boy died. Seriously, I was classy.

As a past RPM committee member, I would've been that girl. I was the "go to" sister for philanthropy round presentations. It would've really impressed me that you already knew the background about him.

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by CZAXOTerp

Honestly I was initiated more than 10 yrs ago and I am one of those ppl who knows tons of random info (like Cliff from cheers) and I don't know the answer to this one... that question would have thrown me for a loop.

She told me that it did stay the same even after the music requirement was removed. Maybe she was just guessing, but I honestly wanted to know. If you read it, I think you can kind of tell.

And, I love the part of the AXO symphony about "appreciate all the is noble in another be her badge what it may". How beautifully spoken.