Spring 2008 Live Recruitment Story

[coopertemplegrl]

Hey all. I've decided to write my recruitment story because i know i found these stories very interesting when i was anticipating rush. I go to a non-southern school with deferred recruitment and 12 panhellenic sororities:

kappa kappa gamma
kappa delta
delta gamma
delta delta delta
alpha chi omega
sigma delta tau
alpha omicron pi
kappa alpha theta
alpha xi delta
alpha phi
alpha epsilon phi
pi beta phi

Because this is a live story, and because its always fun to guess in the end, I will give these sororities code names. In no particular order:

N*Sync
Backstreet Boys
98 Degrees
Boys 2 Men
LFO
Hanson
B2K
New Kids on the Block
O-Town
Five
Westlife
Blackstreet

Recruitment started today and we visited 6 houses.

98 Degrees: This was the first house i visited and based on what i'd heard, i went in with the feeling that i wouldn't fit in at this house. As soon as the door open the screaming begins and someone came over and grabbed me. The girl that grabbed me took my coat, and sat me down. Instead of sitting in a chair across from me, she sat down on her knees in front of me. This made for some very awkward eye contact. The conversation was slightly awkward and i had to reach for topics to keep the conversation from lagging. This was pretty much the same pattern for the other 4 girls i talked to at this house. They were nice, and their story was cute, but i left this house knowing it was definitely not for me.

Hanson: After the first house, i was on edge about whether it was me that didnt belong in recruitment or if the house i had just visited just wasnt a good fit. This house answered that question. I felt much more comfortable at this house. The conversation flowed and as superficial as it is, i found myself noticing how even our outfits had things in common. I'm not going to feel bad about this because honestly, you can't help but be superficial when you only meet a girl for 10 minutes. I really liked this house and found myself laughing and not wishing i could pull out my phone to check the time. I now understand what people mean when they say some houses just feel right.

B2K: I walked into this house knowing i would not want to join. They have a horrible reputation on campus, and as sad as it is, i can't force myself to ignore all the stereotypes. As soon as i walked into the house, i immediately understood the stereotype and saw that it was completely based in fact. The set up of this house was not conducive to good conversation. Because membership in this house is SO LOW, each girl took 2 pnm's and sat down with her for the entire time. All the other houses I visited I talked to 4-6 girls, which kept the conversation from lagging. I did not enjoy the stories they told, and found myself wishing i could leave.

Backstreet Boys: After lunch, we headed over to another house with a not so hot reputation. I tried really hard to go into rush with an open mind, but as I am meeting this girls, I find myself agreeing with everything i had heard. The stereotypes here are surprisingly accurate. The 3 girls i talked to were slightly awkward, but nice. It was obvious they really enjoyed being in the sorority, but i got the slight impression that it was not really their first choice. I started falling asleep and yawning, even though i tried my hardest to hide it. I was so tired at this point, and still had 2 houses to go.

LFO: The next house i visited was LFO. As soon as i walked into this house I could feel the energy, and it woke me up immediately. Unlike the first house, where i was tapped on the shoulder and directed as to where i should sit, when i entered this house i was literally GRABBED AND DRAGGED to my seat, and i was smiling the entire way. The bond in this house was so clear and I had a lot in common with the sisters i talked to, and they all made sure to come and say goodbye before i left. the story was really funny and i found myself leaving this house thinking that recruitment might be worth it after all.

Five: Finally, the last house of the day. I was so tired at this point and ready to get this day over with. The set up of this house was really cute, a little more preppy than the others, which is nice if thats youre thing. The conversation was slightly forced in the beginning, but flowed nicely with the last 2 girls i spoke with. The story they told was funny and from some of the conversations i had, i definitely got the feeling that this was a party house.

Tomorrow i visit the other 6 houses. After the final house, i list the 3 i dont want to go back to. Thursday is house tours and we can see up to 9. I walked away today with LFO as a clear favorite, but enjoyed my time at Five and Hanson too.

[violetpretty]

Go Hanson and Blackstreet!

[Kappamd]

I'm totally pulling for N*Sync right now!

[ktbug10474]

new kids on the block had a bunch of hits
chinese food makes me sick

GO LFO!!!! lol

[LucyKKG]

Haha I love the code names! Good luck!

[ssuadpi]

Go O-town. I loved them in high school. Haha.

[KSUViolet06]

I'll root for NSYNC, since I saw them twice in concert in HS!

[ErinBee]

I absolutely love the Backstreet Boys!! Yay for them!

[BabyPiNK_FL]

BSB is my ultimate fave from 7th grade up until now so I'm PRAYING for a turnaround! GO BACKSTREET BOYS! (But I will take 5ive as a close backup cos I love me some British boyband!)

[Zeta13Girl]

Go *N Sync ... They are definently my all time favorite

Second choice Boyz 2 Men cuz I'm a philly girl of course!

[barnard1897]

Have fun and try to keep up your stamina! I know it's hard to stay alert after so many ridiculous conversations. Some chapters have better recruiters than others. It's not always the case that bad recruiters make bad sisters and in fact the opposite can often be true. I have done recruitment training for chapters around the country over the years. If a chapter doesn't have alumnae nearby who really know how to coach the girls properly, this can affect things, but it does not reflect on how great of a sisterhood they have or how great of an experience they can share.

Also, as I am sure you know, early impressions can change so it's good that you have gone in with an open mind. If it's one thing we've heard time and time again from PNMs and NMs on this site, it's that people can do complete 180s just a few days into recruitment and that they end up really loving houses they didn't care for early on (as well as vice versa). Stay the course!! Can't wait to hear how it all goes.

[coopertemplegrl]

So today we continued and visited the other 6 houses:

Boys II Men: This house has one of the best reputations on campus and i went in thinking that this would be the house i would want to join (bad, i know). I was highly disappointed. I didnt feel as though this house lived up to the hype at all. The conversation was slightly forced and I didn't find their story the least bit funny. This was not the best way to start my day.

Westlife: This house was the opposite for me, it had a not so hot reputation around campus and an unattractive house (the actual physical structure). It was at this house that i had some of the best conversations i have had all rush. I had several things in common with most of the girls i talked to and was finally able to stray form the traditional, mundane conversations i had been having for the past 2 days. But, their story wasnt funny and I have a feud with one of the sisters in the house.

O-Town: This house also has a very positive reputation and this time it lived up to it. I knew a few sisters in this house and they all made sure to come up and say hi. The girls were friendly and full of energy. The conversation didnt lag, the story was funny, and the house is beautiful. Nothing negative to say about this one.

N*Sync: I went into this house without any preconceived notions, as i had heard so many different things from so many different people. I thought the song they screamed/sang upon entering was really cute and catchy. The sisters were friendly, but the conversation didnt keep me all that interested. I also did not find their story funny, and had to force myself to laugh at certain parts. I was tired at this point, and left the house as indifferent as when i entered.

Blackstreet: The next sorority i entered was kind of far away from the others and i was not a huge fan of the exterior. However, the girls i talked to in this house were really friendly and the conversation was good. I had a few things in common with a lot of girls and they seemed to take a genuine interest in me. Theyre story was cute, but not as good as some of the others. At this point i've realized that the stories are a great way to gauge how similar your sense of humor is to the house, and that is really important to me. I left this house pleasantly surprised.

New Kids on the Block. FINALLY. The last house. I was so tired at this point that I just wanted it to be over with. Luckily the girl who grabbed me grabbed my friend as well, so there were two of us to one person, this took some of the mental pressure off since i was definitely lacking at the moment. The girls i knew in the sorority went out of their way to come over and say hello, which was much appreciated. The conversation was decent, but I did not find their story funny in the least.

At the end of all 12 houses we went back to a room and got our preference cards. For house tours tomorrow, we can visit up to 9 houses, and marked 1 next to the 9 houses we would like to return to. We then number our least favorites 2, 3, and 4. I ranked as follows:

2. B2K
3. 98 Degrees
4. Backstreet Boys

We get our sheet of houses tomorrow morning. Im anxious, excited, and pretty nervous. I cant wait to see the houses!

[Aphigal]

I don't get the funny stories?? Are they doing skits? Or is it just like a story one member tells?

Good luck with recruitment!! Can't wait to hear more.

[coopertemplegrl]

its a story one girl tells that has a "moral" at the end. kind of like: and the moral of the story is a Backstreet Boy will always have your back. It's basically just an experience that one sister has had that defines what it means to be a sister in _________ sorority.

[AOII Angel]

I'm not sure what these "stories" you mention are exactly. Recruitment is tough because the parties are aimed at one type of person, but if you aren't into cutesy skits and a little cheese, you have to ignore a lot of the fluff that defines recruitment not sorority life! Good luck with the rest of recruitment.