While this is not the case for most people, I had a really good rushing experience. I attribute this solely to my attitude throughout the process. I went into the recruitment process with an open mind and positive attitude, and this allowed me to prepare for whatever would happen.
Having just been through recruitment last August, the experience is fresh in my head and I feel well-equipped to share some knowledge and advice with people who will experience this process in the near future. HC Bucknell has compiled a list of what we consider the most essential tips to surviving sorority recruitment.
Keep an open mind.
This was the only way I kept my sanity intact throughout the whole recruitment process. Every sorority has something to offer. The minute you write one off because of something trivial is the minute you ruin your chances of having a positive rush experience.
Don’t follow your friends.
You are picking a sorority based on who YOU are, not who your friends are. The same goes with the sorority: they are picking you based on who you are, not your friends. Do not let where your friends want to go affect your decision whatsoever. This process has to be a personal, individual one. I know plenty of girls who just rushed a sorority because it was the one all their friends liked the best, and they ended up miserable because it wasn’t where they belonged.
Don’t take ANYTHING personally.
If a sorority drops you, it is not because they hate you! Unfortunately, it is common for people to simply fall through the cracks. Once you start asking questions like “Why did they drop me? What did I do wrong? Why don’t they like me?” you are setting yourself up to be upset.
Don’t get your heart set on any one sorority.
This goes along with keeping an open mind. If you have your heart set on a specific sorority, you are far more likely to get your heart broken if that sorority drops you. I went into the process with the attitude “I don’t care which one I am in” and made myself believe it. Eventually, I did believe what I was telling myself! On bid day, I knew I would be happy in either sorority I had left, and this made opening that envelope a whole lot less intimidating and shocking.
Be yourself. Don’t try too hard.
I promise you that if you have to pretend to be something you aren’t to fit into a sorority, you will never be truly happy there. You want to be surrounded by people that you automatically click with and feel comfortable with. If you constantly feel the need to prove yourself and act differently from who you really are, you probably aren’t in the right place.
Trust the process.
You are probably going to hear this a million trillion times throughout recruitment. But honestly, listen. It’s true. Everyone ends up where they are supposed to. Even if you are not originally thrilled with the sorority you get a bid from, give it some time and I can almost guarantee you will realize that it is where you should be.
Don’t let reputations or stereotypes influence you in any way.
I can’t stress this enough. At Bucknell, we aren’t t allowed to rush until our sophomore year so we have all of our first year to learn about the different reputations of each sorority. I can’t count how many times I heard exact opposite things about the same sorority throughout the year. One day a sorority is “for the smart girls” and the next day it’s “for the party girls”. Reputations are so fickle and constantly changing. It’s up to you and your pledge class to decide who you’re going to be. Also, boys are dumb. If they start hearing awesome things about what they used to consider a not-so-great sorority, they will easily switch mental gears and start believing it. So don’t let a sorority’s current stereotype encourage or deter you from rushing it.
Learn how to move on.
If you get dropped from a sorority, even if it is the one you had your heart set on (which, as I said before, you shouldn’t do anyway), move on. Immediately. Instead of focusing on how great the sororities are that drop you, focus on how great the sororities are that actually WANT you. If they don’t want you, you don’t want them. It just wasn’t meant to be…so move on!
Understand that a sorority can’t take anything away from you, it can only add to you.
No one is going to think “Oh that girl is in that sorority…she must not be as cool as I thought she was”. This goes back to what I was saying about stereotypes. All that matters is that you’re happy and you make the most out of whatever sorority you end up in.
Have fun! (Okay, try).
I was absolutely DREADING rushing in August. I agonized over it all summer. To my pleasant surprise, it was actually not bad at all. TBH, it was kinda fun. I met so many cool upperclassmen and a ton of girls in my own class that I had never even seen before. Being stuck in a hot hallway with someone after hours of making conversation can prove to be a great bonding experience. Also, I learned a lot. From talking to so many upperclassmen, I learned about which classes to take for my major, where to study abroad, which professors to stay away from, and even where the best place to go skydiving is. You can make your rush experience fun if you try and have the right attitude.