Bid day potential conflict

JKWildcat · #1 08-06-2005, 02:12 AM

Hey Ya'll! I am SO excited for Rush to start.. A little over a week left, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ready.

However, I am looking at my calendar and bid day happens to be on the day I "enroll." I am a transfer student so my enrollment date is different then the incoming freshman, and it is going to interfere.. Apparently enrollment/orientation is an all day thing.

Any suggestions on what to do? Will my rho chi be able to assist with this? I had called the greek office and they told me that enrollment wasn't something I really needed to do, etc.. However the office of admissions has a completely different view on that.

I just have a few accessories left to get and I will be so ready for rush!

neonsparkles · #2 08-06-2005, 02:42 AM

First and foremost I would talk with your Pi Chi/Rho Chi/Rho Gamma AND the Greek Advisor at your school. I am sure you are not the only person who this would affect and they will have a solution for you!

That said, I didn't decide to go to Ball State until July (yeah talk about putting a decision off until the last minute!). I went up on a weekend with my parents to register for my classes and took care of all the paperwork. My friends who ended up as RA's always cringe when I say this but I never had an orientation, and I skipped all the freshmen events the first couple of days to hang out with all the new friends I made. I understand your administrators may have a different opinion... but as long as you get signed up for everything you will be fine and you don't need an all day orientation.

aephi alum · #3 08-06-2005, 01:09 PM

It shouldn't be a problem. It's likely that you're not the only transfer student rushing. Generally, bid day activities include receiving your bid and spending some time with your new sisters... icebreakers, games, food, gifts for the new members, and maybe a pledging ceremony.

Talk to your rho chi. If you do receive a bid, she will contact you privately to let you know which sorority it's from, and she'll give the sorority a heads-up that you won't be able to attend all the bid day activities. Then, you can meet up with everyone once orientation is over, or just sneak out of orientation early if you want. You will have plenty of time to get to know your new sisters later on.

Good luck!

roqueemae · #4 08-06-2005, 01:39 PM

My school's late orientation is the same day as bid day every year.

Every year we have this. Usually a girl(s) from orientation staff will go to orientation and hand over the bid and give a tshirt for the girl to wear the rest of the time at orientation. They also exchange phone numbers so after orientation is finished, she can meet up with the chapter for bid day activities.

kddani · #5 08-07-2005, 09:24 AM

Remember that a lot of orientation will be pretty useless. Honestly, i'd look it as a blessing to have an excuse to get out of orienation or at least some of it. How many welcome speeches do you really need to hear?

I would talk to your academic advisor and find out exactly what is going on at orienation and what you could miss or not miss.

And for the previous poster, the reason there's 18 events and 15 hours is because there's probably 3 breaks mixed in there or something.

kddani · #6 08-10-2005, 06:59 AM

WHY DON'T YOU CALL FSU AGAIN IF YOU'RE SO CONCERNED?

No one here is going to be able to tell you anything different than they will. And BOTH offices told you you will be fine!

FSUZeta · #7 08-10-2005, 08:23 AM

carried away, don't take my advice for the gospel because its been a while since i was a pnm at fsu. that being said, if you are enrolled, have your class schedule, have an advisor, have your parking permit if you live off campus, locate the buildings where your classes will be held and being a member of a sorority is important to you, then i would not attend orientation and would go to the ice water parties. my reasoning is this: the chapters at fsu are allowed to invite "x" amount of pnms back after the ice water parties based on a formula, which is based on their return rates from previous years.if you miss the first 2 days of recruitment, it is most likely that you will be cut heavily by many chapters, who have to cut pnms from their invitation list due to the panhellenic formula. if you do not attend the parties, they do not get to know you and all those pnms they did meet will be at a better advantage than you to remain on their list.

have you had recommendations sent on your behalf to the fsu chapters?

return rate = percentage of pnms who accept an invitation to a party based on the number of invitations extended.

PenguinTrax · #8 08-10-2005, 10:24 AM

I would find out if you can attend a different orientation session. The only alternative is attending half parties during icewaters, which might be arranged, but you need to start working on it now via the Greek Life office.

I know that you were told 'not to worry', but I would call back and specifically ask how this will be handled. Press for details.

As a transfer student (and non-freshman?), missing the first 2 days of Recruitment @ FSU would be a mistake. Unless you are an outstanding scholar with high activities AND have letters of introduction by noteable alumnae to each and every house, the chances that you would be invited back sight unseen is slim, especially for the larger chapters on campus. As FSUZeta stated, the return rate figures would impact you negatively in this instance. If a chapter has to cut a high percentage of PNMs based on return rates, they are going to cut an upperclassman that they've never met long before they cut a freshman that they have met.

33girl · #9 08-10-2005, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Carried Away
I won't be missing the first two days entirely, but I think it's definitely going to cut into the time I can spend at each house especially on the first day.

That's going to hurt your chances almost as much if you blew it off - the less time spent, the less sisters you will meet and the less you'll be remembered at voting time.

Honestly, blow off orientation, unless there's something that says you can't attend classes or get a bid if you don't go to it.

aephi alum · #10 08-10-2005, 12:40 PM

Agreed...

Call both offices again. Don't let them get away with saying "it's ok, you'll be fine" - get them to tell you specifically what the best course of action is.

If I were you, I'd prioritize recruitment. Round 1 is your only chance to get to meet all 15 sororities, and you're unlikely to be invited back sight unseen.

As for orientation, you can either blow it off entirely, attend the first hour or so each day before your RG meetings, or attend freshman orientation instead (which presumably does not conflict with recruitment).

honeychile · #11 08-10-2005, 12:49 PM

I'm trying to remember one thing that I learned at Orientation that helped me throughtout college...

amandadyer · #12 08-10-2005, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by honeychile
I'm trying to remember one thing that I learned at Orientation that helped me throughtout college...

I can't think of anything that I learned at orientation, but I remember that on the way there, running late, and waiting for the crosswalk signal to change, I met a girl who was also on her way and waiting to cross the street to go to orientation. Our parents had just helped us unload our stuff and had left, and we were both a little nervous about being "on our own", so it was nice to have met someone who was in the same boat.

Well, she ended up being one of my dearest friends, and still is. In fact, she went through formal rush during the fall of our sophomore year, and pledged DG. She talked me into attending a COB event the following spring and I pledged also. She's now my Big Sis, and she was my roommate when we got an apartment.

So hopefully, if you have to go to orientation, SOMETHING good will come out of it. It did for me!

Amanda

yehornay · #13 08-12-2005, 10:34 AM

carried away, I sent you a pm, check your box.

#14 08-13-2005, 10:35 PM

the one thing i remember at my orientation was i looked to my right and i looked to my left and those two students were still there at graduation!

LauGh A Lot · #15 08-14-2005, 04:08 PM

carried away.. i'm also going to rush at FSU but i'm a freshman not a transfer. i thought orientation was pretty pointless.. the only thing i got from it was choosing my classes. but you can register online on your own time. i ended up being sick halfway through orientation and they just told me to register during my own time. so, i would def. call the orientation people again and re-explain the situation..