Sorority rush season is upon us, and if the thought of walking into a room full of chanting strangers or making small talk for hours on end makes you feel queasy, you’re not alone. The whirlwind of recruitment can feel like a social obstacle course: back-to-back events, carefully curated conversations, and endless seas of nametags. For extroverts, it’s a chance to shine in the spotlight, neatly wrapped up with a bow on top. But if you’re an introvert, it can feel more like a chore, or worse.
Rush is often painted as a fun, fast-paced experience full of cute outfits, new friends, and endless smiling — but for many introverts, that doesn’t exactly sound like a good time. No matter how strong your desire is to join a tight-knit group of girls to move through your college experience with, it’s easy to feel intimidated (or downright terrified) by the social marathon that is sorority recruitment. You might worry about running out of things to say, getting lost in all the voices, or being overlooked next to someone with a more outgoing personality.
But here’s the thing: Being an introvert isn’t necessarily a disadvantage in Greek life. Sororities aren’t just looking for the loudest person in the room. They want someone who will make meaningful connections and contribute to their causes and community.
In an exclusive conversation with Her Campus, sorority rush coach Sloan Anderson shares some of her tips for introverts going through recruitment. Her overall message? Greek life is a wonderful experience with space for every personality type.
Here’s some of Anderson’s best advice for any introvert currently preparing for recruitment.
Don’t discount yourself just because you’re an introvert!
No matter who you are, sorority life has the potential to be a great experience for you. “Definitely go through rush,” Anderson says. “It’s honestly one of the best experiences — joining a sorority. I think it brings out so many good things in every person.”
Additionally, know that the active members you talk to during recruitment don’t actually expect you to have off-the-charts energy levels or wild stories. “The best way I think about it is you don’t have to be the most talkative person,” Anderson explains. “Like, they’re not expecting you to walk in and be talking to a wall for 10 minutes or anything like that.”
Stay specific with your answers.
According to Anderson, it’s common to get bogged down by the simplest questions. “For example, one question that people are always asked for fall rush is, ‘What did you do this summer?’ And for most girls, that can be a hard question, because they just list off everything, like, ‘Oh, I hung out with my friends. I worked a lot. I went on vacation with my family.’” The problem, with this, Anderson points out, is that rush is really overwhelming, so those long-winded answers tend to get lost in the sauce. This is actually to an introvert’s benefit, as you can instead focus on saying something simple and impactful, rather than just talking for the sake of talking. To answer the question she used as an example (it really is a common one), Anderson suggests you talk about one specific, fun thing you did. “Talk about one thing, and then share your favorite memory from it,” she says. “So, for example, I could be like, ‘This summer, my friends and I made a huge bucket list of 10 things we wanted to do before we all left for college. And my favorite thing we did was…’ and I just talk about it for one or two sentences. Just having that story or memory behind it helps them connect to you.”
Don’t worry about being perfect — just be you.
Remember that during recruitment, active members want to learn about who you are and what matters to you, so, above all, be sure you’re staying authentic to yourself. According to Anderson, being specific when talking about your life helps you naturally open up about it, because it “takes the pressure off having perfect answers,” she says. With less pressure, it’s much easier for active members to see you for who you are — which is all they really want!
“Every answer doesn’t need to be perfect,” Anderson emphasizes. “They’re not expecting you to be a pageant queen or a professional speaker. They really, truly just want to get to know you.”