The weekend that many of you have been waiting for is finally here: Formal Recruitment! In case you didn’t pick out your outfits months ago or just want more advice on what would be good to wear, HCOSU has compiled some suggestions for what to wear to each round. We strongly advise against choosing your outfits the morning of/ night before so as to keep stress levels down.
Meet the Chapters Round. This will take place on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. Keep in mind that it’s supposed to rain on Friday evening, so wearing rain boots and then changing into cute flats might be a good idea. The sororities should all have a place where you can keep your coat, extra shoes and bag. This round is supposed to be casual attire, so a cute top, nice dark jeans and riding boots or flats are all good ideas. The temperature on Saturday is supposed to get up into the 60s so plan your outfit accordingly. You probably will not want a heavy coat (everyone gets cranky when it’s hot and we have to walk around a lot), so we suggest bringing a lighter jacket that can fit into your bag, if need be.
Philanthropy Round. This is on Sunday, January 13th. This round is a little dressier than Meet the Chapters, but you can still wear nice jeans—or a skirt is fine, too. This is the round in which the Chapters will talk about their philanthropy and do a craft or project with you that pertains to their philanthropy. If you want, you could familiarize yourself a little bit with each sorority’s philanthropy beforehand. You can find those on each chapter’s website.
Sisterhood Round. This round takes place on Saturday, January 19th. You will learn about each chapter’s sisterhood and what makes it unique. The dress is, again, dressier than the previous round. A skirt, nice pants, blazer, cute blouse, heels or nice flats (if you are anti-heel) are all good options. It is business casual, so no jeans or leggings! If it’s chilly outside, which it probably will be knowing Columbus’ weird weather, tights would definitely be a good choice if you’re wearing a skirt. We’re just really big fans of tights, in general.
Preference Round. Yay, the last round! This will happen on Sunday, January 20th. The dress is semi-formal, which means a dress or skirt and heels or nice flats. You could wear nice pants, but any opportunity to wear a nice dress is a must. If it’s cold or unpleasant outside like it has been recently, it’s a good idea to bring Uggs or boots to walk to the houses in and carry your heels in your bag. You’ll spend the most time at each house during this round and visit the fewest houses because you’ll have narrowed down your choices. This round is exciting, and sometimes nerve-wracking, because it can be hard to choose a top house between two that you really love, but you’ll have your recruitment guides for help. Bid Day is the following day (which is the most exciting day of the year) and you’ll get to meet all of your new sisters from your perfect fit sorority!
For all of the rounds:
- You should definitely take a large bag that you can carry around all day and put essentials in, such as a little hairbrush, mints, nuts or a granola bar, fruit snacks, water bottle, extra shoes, headband, a mini umbrella, lip balm and anything else you might need. It’s a very long day and you’ll be talking for most of it. The last thing you need is to be starving, not be able to fix your hair, or have chapped lips and a sore throat from talking all day and not be able to fix it.
- Do not try out a new hairstyle or makeup trick for the first time on the morning of recruitment. Furthermore, do not go over the top with makeup—it’s pretty distracting to talk to someone wearing a ton of eye makeup.
- Do not try to change your style or wear something you’re not comfortable in for recruitment. The most important thing is to be yourself and find somewhere that you fit in! You should try on your clothes beforehand to make sure everything is comfortable because you’ll be wearing them all day and won’t want your outfit to hinder your conversing.
- Make friends! Talk to the people in your recruitment group and ask them questions, or maybe plan on getting lunch with them if you have a break in your rounds. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and they are going through the same thing you are.
- Be sure to check the weather the night before. You may have to change up what you were planning to wear a bit.
- Be yourself when you are talking to everyone and show that you are excited to be there. Even if you don’t particularly like that house, be polite. The conversations that aren’t about sorority stuff and that feel like talking to a friend about random things are definitely the best and the ones that will be remembered most and stand out.
Happy Recruitment, ladies!
Sources
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/collection?id=2190889 (all outfits can be seen here)