My Midwestern Recruitment Tale

[ohMycron]

So, I love reading these and decided I wanted to share mine with you guys, especially because rush hasn't yet begun at my school.

I came into my freshman year of college without much knowledge of sororities. My neighbor, who is about 10 years older than me, was a Chi-O. She wrote me a rec, but I (not knowing anything about sororities) somehow thought that would work for all the chapters and didn't bother to get any others. I wasn't even sure I was going to rush and made the final decision at the last possible second (right before registration closed). I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in a sorority but decided I would give rush a try. (I had heard rush was a great way to meet people.)

At my school, we had eleven sororities, which I will name after sports, as the Olympics is currently taking place.

Cycling
Diving
Discus
Volleyball
Gymnastics
Rowing
Softball
Basketball
Swimming
Water Polo
Judo

So, I showed up to college and met several fabulous ladies before rush even began. One of them was going through rush. She knew SO much about it and made me very, very nervous. I was really unprepared! I hadn't bought special outfits! I hadn't got a pedicure!

Another girl (who became my best friend ) who was considering going through recruitment (as recruitment takes place after move-in at my school, you could register for recruitment basically up until the day before) was scared off by this girl. We were talking about it the other day and she says she regrets not rushing to a degree. She loves her college experience but feels she's missing out. However, even though she wanted to be in a sorority, she wouldn't trade her experience for the world. Not being in a sorority has allowed her other opportunities.

So, Day 1 came and off I went, terrified by how little prepared I was.

[Benzgirl]

Dang, we have never had this many recruitment stories from the Midwest. I think we hit the Retro Jackpot!

[LttleMsPrEp]

I'm excited to hear your story.. i'm a PNM anxiously waiting for rush to start for me (3 weeks left!!!) so i'm stoked to read other recruitment stories to pass the time.. since i'm a bit partial to the sport i'm rooting for gymnastics

[Kansas City]

Yippie for a midwest story. I'm going to pull for "cycling" because those guys have the BEST legs!!!

[ohMycron]

So, on the first day we (all the PNMs) had to meet in an auditorium before we began first rounds. We were met at the door by a few nice ladies handing out nametags with our group number on them and information booklets. Very Knowledgable Neighbor (we were both in Group #7) whispered to me that they must be Rho Chis. I had no idea what in the world a Rho Chi was but wasn't about to let my ignorance show. Instead, I replied "Oh, I knew that" and walked with her to the auditorium door.

The hallway outside the auditorium was very quiet, but as we got closer we could hear music. Inside, it was overwhelming. There was loud music blasting, girls in costumes, and general craziness. I was slightly overwhelmed, but smiled and started having a good time. I don't remember exactly what we did in the auditorium, but our Rho Chis took us to another room after the presentations had ended. I looked around my group and was VERY glad I knew someone. The rest of the girls in the group were dressed far nicer than the information packets had suggested. I felt really out of place. I was so nervous during introductions. Our Rho Chis were terrific though and I really liked and clicked with all three of them. They explained the rules, answered questions, and gave out contact info and by then, it was time for our first party.

As we walked, I talked with the girls in my group. My mom's co-worker had rushed 6 years ago at a different school in the Midwest and dropped out because she didn't like the idea of a sorority. However, she made a lot of friends from her rush group and knew I could do the same! I started talking to the girls in my group.

Most of them were complete bi-atches. I can see that from my 18-year old perspective and now. I also see all the rush faux-pas they made. There was a girl dressed head to toe in Swimming Colors; another who was VERY vocal about going Discus-or-bust; two BFFs who assured us they would be getting the top-tiered house; another who said "Each one of you is threatening my spot in my future sorority"; another who was bored with the process as she "knew" where she was going; another tall, skinny blonde who was positive the fact her Dad was CEO of an important company would place her right in Gymnastics; and a brunette who was legacy to 3 houses, as well as a double in-house legacy.

There were other girls who may have been nice, and were just overshadowed by the awfulness of these girls. I'll could remember thinking as we walked towards our first house was how one of the only reasons I rushed was gone! I hated my group, felt dressed wrong, and just wanted to go back to my friends. I didn't want to do this at all. I was honestly thinking about leaving as we reached the first house: Softball.

[AlphaXi_Husky]

What a way to start things out! Hopefully Softball turned things around for you.

More please!

[Benzgirl]

Gooooooooooooooo Swimming!

[LucyKKG]

I'll root for diving!

[kchaptergphib]

ROWING all the way! Yea! And I'm so happy to hear another MIDWEST thread.
GO ROWING!

[LttleMsPrEp]

I soo can't wait to hear how this ends.. i'm def. hooked (i'm still rooting for gymnastics though)

[baci]

let's go...let's roll!

[ohMycron]

So, we get to Softball and are greeted with a loud cry as the door to the house opened and girls yelled their songs at the top of their lungs. I was so overwhelmed. I feel bad but I think I wrote off Softball completely because I had 100% no idea what was going on. I don't remember anything about the girls. I remember the house was beautiful.


Next we went to Cycling. The same thing happened again! I was slightly more ready this time. I at least got an impression from these girls.... but it wasn't a good one. They were very snobby. The girl who was rushing me (in retrospect, it MUST have been her first time) talked the whole time. There were some questions, but not many beyond "what's your name?". She talked about her LV suitcase, past trip to France, her dad's job, etc. I just sort of nodded. I realized as I walked out that THAT was an example of a house you would cut.


Judo- These girls were without a house. They did an excellent job of explaining it and making it an asset, not a flaw. However, you could tell they were trying to become top tier. They double sat us, which IMHO isn't a problem. However, I (a dark brunette who was not a size two by any means) recieved very little attention compaired to skinny blond triple legacy who was sitting with me.


By this point I was getting worried. I was never going to find a place where I fit. I was seriously considering dropping out, especially as I had a class conflict. I talked to my Rho Chi on the way to the next house and she said that they could accomodate me and do half-parties for the Day 2 of Round I. I was skeptical.


We arrived at Swimming and finally! I felt a click. The house was gorgeous, the girls I talked to were nice, pretty, vivacious, and interesting. I loved it! I was excited because I felt I had finally found a place I might fit into. I was willing to keep going.

Diving and Discus really blended together. There wasn't anything remarkable or negative about either house. (By this point, I expected the cheers and smiled as they sang )


I headed home to share the excitement with my new friends, feeling much better about the rush experience. I thought maybe I would find the sorority for me!

(I'll post Day 2 of Round I later today I hope!)

[Denise_DPhiE]

I am hanging on every word....this is a retro thread, I presume?

[ohMycron]

Originally Posted by Denise_DPhiE

I am hanging on every word....this is a retro thread, I presume?

Yes!

[ohMycron]

Sorry it's been so long since I've written! It's been a crazy week. Back to the tale!

So, I was slightly worried about fitting in, but things turned around after Swimming. So, I decided to continue on, even though I had a class schedule. I ended up doing half-parties. I LOVED this. One, I wasn't with my cruddy rush group, so their tent talk and negative attitudes couldn't impact. Plus, I got special attention from a lot of the houses because I was there only a short amount of time. (I wouldn't recommend doing it if you don't have to, obviously, but it isn't such a bad thing, PNMs.)

Volleyball was a beautiful house. The girl rushing me was so excited to be there! It really made me want to be a part of their sisterhood. She made me feel excited to become a Volleyball. I was sad to leave early.

Next was Gymnastics. I was in a seperate room from the other PNMs, which kinda made me feel awkward, but I was rushed by the President which made me feel special. We really got along well, too. They gave out GORGEOUS cookies here, which are one of two foods I remember from rush (besides all the Preference Party Cheesecake!)

LOVED Rowing. I loved the house, the girls, the idea, the location, the ideals, philanthropy, everything! Unfortunately, one of the girls rushing me seemed extremely bored by me. She twirled her hair, and was very monotone. I still loved the house anyways and could see myself there.

Basketball was pretty good, as well. (In retrospect, I know they are a top tier on our campus.) They were an excellent national organization with a stellar reputation. The girl who rushed me was actually my major so we got along very well. They were so huge, though! Over 100 girls! I was a little worried about being lost here, but they were so interesting.... I wanted to give them more time!

My last house was Water Polo. I don't remember much about them. They were completely unremarkable.

So, I went back to the commons to fill out our paperwork. I ranked:
1. Swimming
1. Rowing
1. Volleyball
1. Basketball
1. Gymnastics
1. Diving
1. Discus
1. Water Polo
2. Softball
3. Cycling
4. Judo

Then, I ran off to class....