As a former athlete who hates the color pink, I never had a real interest in joining a sorority. My family currently lives in Alabama and as you may know, Greek life is pretty intense down south. My superficial knowledge of recruitment included monograms, cattiness and floral designer dresses. In other words, everything I hate combined into a week of forced conversations.
After making my decision to go to Virginia Tech, I concluded that going Greek would provide me with the perfect opportunity for leadership, community service and undying sisterhood. After meeting girls in several sororities and researching each chapter, I began to see myself thriving in the Greek community.
Each round of recruitment was hectic in its own way, yet in the end it was completely worthwhile. Here’s a basic rundown of my adrenalizing recruitment experience.
Open House
I can sum this up in three simple words: tiring, redundant, painful. Imagine going through speed dating with hundreds of girls asking you the same questions over and over. Each girl in recruitment visited all thirteen chapters in a span of two days. By the end of those painful days, everyone’s energy levels chugged along on E. I lost my voice, developed fresh foot blisters, nursed mild frostbite and managed to memorize each question and answer for every party I attended.
Philanthropy
After slimming down my schedule to nine chapters, the pressure eased up a bit. This round brought less redundancy and more heart to heart conversations. Personally, I felt the most connected to the chapters during these two days. Each sorority presented a video and a presentation of what charity/ cause they dedicate their time and efforts to. Since community service played a big part in my decision to rush, I enjoyed this round a lot.
Sisterhood
Double-day rounds officially ended and I became excited to narrow my parties down to six. Most of the older girls I met during recruitment said this was their favorite round. With a cute video and more relaxed conversations, the chapters showed what it feels like to be a sister in their sorority. Naturally, this excited me. However, final decision time crept closer and I fell hopelessly in love with all six of my remaining chapters.Preference
After much mental dispute, I chopped my list down to my final three houses. Preference round is when girls supposedly have this magical epitome moment where they feel an overwhelming sense of belonging. Sadly, this moment never hit me. I adored all three chapters at a painfully equal degree. That night we had to make our final decision. As ridiculous as it sounds, I ranked my chapters by flipping a rusty penny (best two out of three).
Bid Day
Bid-day nerves hit me like the metro during rush hour. However, I wasn’t feeling the same nerves as my friends were. Because of the instability in my decision making process, I convinced myself that I made a horrible mistake. Thousands of girls flooded the ballroom shaking with anxiety as the Panhellenic council counted down from three. As the countdown ended, ripped envelopes flew through the air as each girl sprinted to the chapter written on their card.
I can’t say that I felt completely enthralled when I saw the chapter on my bid card. My brain still had a nagging feeling that I chose the wrong chapter. Yet, the moment I stood with my pledge class at the doors of the sorority house, I knew that rusty coin had worked its magic. Everything happens for a reason. It’s been two weeks since I received my bid and I have never felt more at home than I do with my new sisters. My advice to those debating recruitment: try it out. Coming from an anti-girly girl, you definitely won’t regret it.