Hi everyone! I love the recruitment stories on this thread and I thought I'd post my own from several years back (I found my old notes!) Looking back on recruitment in comparison to where I am today, I understand so much more about the meaning of sisterhood and finding the right fit. I went into recruitment anxious, excited, very prepared but also unsure of how to be myself during the whole process.
At times I wasn't myself at all, and many times I felt lost and panicky.
And the ending definitely surprised me.
This is my story...
My school has 11 NPC sororities, and I've decided to name them after birth stones. The stones have no relation to the organizations and were chosen at random
Amethyst
Sapphire
Emerald
Onyx
Carnelian
Peridot
Ruby
Agate
Beryl
Garnet
Bloodstone
The summer before my sophomore year I was DEFINITE I was going to join a sorority. I had transferred and didn't know many people. My mom had been in a sorority (that's not at my school) and encouraged me to go for it with an open mind. I spent a lot of that summer combing through Recruitment advice columns, coordinating outfits and reading through pages of Greekchat
On the night of Meet the Greeks, I was SO excited. I loved my outfit and even though I was nervous, I knew a lot of the other girls were too. I got a chance to chat with representatives from all of the sororities about their philanthropies, sisterhood events and general Greek life, and afterwards I was convinced more than ever I was destined to be Greek!
It sounded so FUN and amazing.
The next day we were placed in our rush groups. I met a girl who was also a transfer and a legacy at
Garnet and we hit it off right away. She was also nervous and eager to make new friends.
I was floored by how many girls were going through recruitment. So many girls with perfect hair, make-up and outfits, but also so many girls who dressed more casually. Our Rho Gammas explained what to wear on each night, and I remember being so confused even then! Was my outfit TOO dressy, or was it just right? Should I be more casual? Did I look like I was trying too hard with my make-up? Relax, I told myself, just be yourself. But what did that mean? After all, I'm different with my family and friends than I am with strangers...anyone is! Especially strangers that are scrutinizing your looks, clothes and personality every night of the week.
Day One was fun but very overwhelming. We went to 6 of the houses that day and 5 the next.
The first house we went to was
Beryl. I was immediately amazed and intimidated by them. Their house was GORGEOUS, so girly and beautiful, and their decorations were fabulous. I remember going in thinking,
These girls look like models! I could never fit in here..., but after talking to one of the sisters for our allotted 10 minutes-per-house I felt completely comfortable. I was a little annoyed that I had to share my rushee with another PNM (and honestly afraid I wouldn't get a chance to get a word in!) but it ended up fine. I found the right moments to join in and let her speak too. The girl I talked to was awesome, very funny and down-to-earth. Still, as I left the house and scanned the line of sisters, I couldn't help but be in awe of their perfect hair, make-up and bodies.
Next we went to
Peridot and wow, it was awkward. The girl I talked to was very quiet and kept looking over at her sisters and talking to them. She didn't seem to know what to ask me and I felt very uncomfortable. I do remember that while watching a short skit in that house I noticed the sisters fixing each other's hair and resting their heads on each other's shoulders. I could tell they were very close but unfortunately I didn't talk to someone I clicked with.
Next we went to
Amethyst and I really liked it there. I enjoyed talking to the girls and I loved their house and mascot, which they had a statue of next to their fireplace. I don't remember much else about them that night, probably because I got bumped around between about 3 girls, which I later learned isn't a good sign.
After that was
Onyx, which I also really liked. I LOVED their recruitment t-shirts/theme and really liked the girls I talked to. We had the same favorite TV show, which took up the majority of the conversation. I left feeling good but oddly nervous. Did the girls really like me or were they just being polite? I honestly couldn't tell.
After that we walked to
Garnet and by then my feet were KILLING me. I had made the mistake of wearing stilettos and not bringing flip-flops to change into during the walks, but what could I do? I tried to stay positive and keep a smile on my face. When we got to
Garnet I really liked it there. The house was very nice and the sister I talked to was very friendly and easy-going. She seemed genuinely interested in my major and what I did over the summer. The conversation flowed but their slideshow on their sisterhood was very cut and dry, and I remember during it the sisters stood around in a specific order/shape that felt oddly military. I left with a good impression despite not having those warm, fuzzy feelings I'd heard you'd get when you found the right place.
The final house of the night was
Bloodstone. I have to say, the girl I talked to was very sweet but didn't engage me as much as many of the other conversations, but it could have been we were both exhausted. We talked about wanting to study abroad and I liked her, liked the skit, but felt a little "blah". Still I decided to keep an open mind even though I wasn't sure if this was the place for me.
Day Two
We started off the day with
Emerald. At that point girls were starting to get nervous. They started talking about the possibility of getting cut from all the houses, even though this was only day two! And these girls were beautiful and very polished and outgoing. It was comforting to know that girls that seemed perfect on the outside were just as insecure and scared.
At
Emerald I had one of the most awkward conversations of my entire life. The girl mostly just sat and nodded at me, there were many lulls in that short 10-minute conversation, and I wasn't impressed by the house or their recruitment attire or...anything really. Unlike the other sororities, they hadn't prepared a skit, a song or even a slideshow to start off recruitment. It felt like it was definitely missing something and I was very happy to leave that awful conversation.
Ruby girls were BUBBLY, loud and very talkative. They complimented my skirt and jewelry and kept looking at each other or talking to each other. Their skit was adorable and brought tears to my eyes as I thought, this could be me! I could right up there with them, I could be their sister! I left in a GREAT mood, thinking how much fun it would be to be one of them.
Next was
Carnelian, which instantly reminded me of
Beryl: supermodel-gorgeous girls, amazing house, lots of energy and excitement. Though the conversation was very superficial and one-dimensional, consisting of me and my rushee sharing our favorite fashion designers and where we liked to buy jewelry. The girls were nice and I wasn't bored but it felt very fake, like maybe they weren't as friendly as they put on. Though I left liking them, even though that same
Wow these girls are perfect-looking impression stuck to me on the way out...
Agate had a super-creative, funny skit and the girl I talked to was very perky and friendly, but I felt a little uncomfortable. She was VERY excited to tell me all about her sorority, and I felt like I spent most of the time nodding and smiling at her. During the skit she sat near me and kept looking at me, as if checking to see if I liked it. I left feeling so-so about this chapter.
The last of the day was
Sapphire, and it was LOUD in there. I swear I couldn't even hear my rushees over all the noise. I talked to two girls that didn't seem interested in me at all, and it all went by in such a blur. I was exhausted by then and ambivalent about this sorority, even though the house was beautiful and so were the girls.
At the end of day two it came time to rank. Basically we listed the 9 houses we'd be willing to go back to and "cut" the two we didn't want. This is when the tent-talk began. Waiting to rank, I heard two of the girls trashing
Emerald and how they hadn't been impressed with them at all. But in my head (I was too paranoid to join in the tent-talking) I agreed, my first experience with
Emerald was painful and I decided to cut them if I could.
So I ranked all of the houses in no particular order except for
Emerald and
Peridot.
At first I considered putting
Beryl in my bottom two, not because I didn't like them, but because these girls were so perfect and I didn't think they'd actually invite me back anyway. But I decided against it and went with my better judgment to cut the houses I felt most underwhelmed in.
I came in on Day Three excited and extremely nervous to see what my new schedule revealed for me...
Who cut me...and who kept me...
Recruitment Story with an Unexpected Ending!
Linear Mode
