Informal vs Formal Recruitment for New Student

[newtransfer]

Hi ladies! I'm transferring to a new school as a sophomore in september, and I'm a little apprehensive about starting over. My question is this: my new school has informal recruitment in the fall, and formal recruitment in the spring... would it be bad for me to check out informal recruitment before I go through the formal process? I guess to clarify, if I participated in informal recruitment with a few sororities and didn't get a bid/chose not to join, would that hurt me later if I went through formal rush in the spring? (Assuming I don't do anything stupid or make a fool of myself.) Basically I just want to get a feel for some of the houses and start meeting people right away, but would it be better to wait. Any thoughts? Thank you!

[33girl]

Is the informal recruitment a more structured one (i.e. all the sororities participate) or is it just a few sororities rushing to try to get their numbers up?

If it's the former, I would definitely say go for it!!!

If it's the latter, I would see if you can find someone on here that goes to your school (use the search function) and ask what they think - if that would hurt your chances later. This really varies school by school and you're on the ball to be wary of jumping right into it.

You might also want to ask them how hard it is for a sophomore to get a bid as opposed to a freshman. Depending on the school, informal might be the only game in town for you.

Good luck!

[newtransfer]

From what I understand, not all of the sororities participate. I know that a lot of the houses on campus made above their quota... does this mean they will definitely not be not participating in COB week?

I have also heard that many girls wait until their second year to join, and that they participate in formal and informal recruitment. From the people I've talked to, being a sophomore shouldn't be a problem.

And one final question! I'm a legacy to a sorority on campus, and it's my understanding that I'm supposed to have my legacy relative send a former letter to the house... should I do that in the fall or wait til before formal rush in the spring. Sorry for all the questions but I really appreciate it!

[FSUZeta]

have your relative send the recommendation and legacy information over the summer. that way, if you decide to participate in informal recruitment and your legacy sorority is too, they will be on the lookout for you.

if lots of students wait until their 2nd year to join a sorority, and most participate in informal recruitment in the fall, then it sounds like it would be alright for you to participate too.

whatever you decide to do, be sure to explore other organizations on campus. should you not find your home in the fall, being active in a club or organization will not only help you make a connection to your new campus, but might let you get to know some sorority members too!

[newtransfer]

Thanks so much, everyone! I called the Greek Life Office today, and they told me that new students (freshman and otherwise) cannot participate in informal recruitment... it's nice to have that solved!

[thetygerlily]

Depending on the Panhellenic's rules, you may not be able to participate in informal recruitment. My school also had deferred formal recruitment (in January), and all chapters participated in informal recruitment in the fall. However, the Panhellenic Council's rule was that you had to have the opportunity to go through formal recruitment first- thus freshmen and transfers were not allowed to join in the fall through informal recruitment. We still invited them to get to know them better, we just couldn't extend bids. You may want to contact the Greek Life office to see whether you are able to participate- if not, you have an easy answer on your hands

[ree-Xi]

Well, now you can use that time to:

A. Join other groups/clubs (some sororities require membership in at least one other activity

B. Meet sorority women as friends without the pressure of recruitment. Classes, dorms, the library, the cafeteria are all great places to make new friends, period.

Two pieces of advice (I don't know you and would advise this to any new student) - be careful if you are attending fraternity parties and the like, because you don't want to have a rep as a hard-core partier, or someone who's too friendly with the boys; and when making friends with sorority women, don't let that be the focus of your conversations.

[newtransfer]

Thanks for the tips, ree-Xi... that certainly is good advice!