Going into college, I never thought I’d want to join a sorority. All of my siblings were involved in Greek life, but I just didn’t think it was for me. Then, a few weeks into my freshman year, I met a girl in my American History class who was affiliated with a sorority on campus and she didn’t have a single bad thing to say about it. She raved about the women she’d met, the friends she was making in her member class, and all the amazing experiences she was having just a few weeks into the semester. It all got me thinking: What if I joined one too?Â
Since rush had already ended by that point, I thought I missed my chance to join a sorority. Part of me was slightly relieved (I didn’t want to go through the stress of formal recruitment), while the other part couldn’t help but feel a little sad. But then I asked my older sister if there was any other way I could join a sorority without going waiting for next year’s formal recruitment — or going through formal recruitment at all. That’s when she told me about continuous open bidding, or COB. At my school, COB is the informal version of recruitment, in which you meet with a few active sorority members on campus to get to know one another on a personal level in a laidback setting. The process sounded way less stressful than formal recruitment — in fact, it sounded right up my alley.
There was only one sorority doing COB at my school that semester, and since I didn’t know much about them, I looked online to see what their reputation was. It became very clear to me very early on that this chapter was the “bottom” sorority at my school. People were pretty harsh online about the active members, and the stereotypes associated with the chapter as a whole were pretty rough, too.Â
But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from giving this chapter a chance. The negative things people were saying online didn’t faze me — they were all mean, shallow things that told me more about the people posting than the chapter they were posting about. In fact, the chapter seemed to align with my values and, based on their social media, the women looked nice and welcoming. I wanted to see it for myself and form my own opinion, regardless of any arbitrary status assigned to it. After all, it doesn’t hurt to try, right?Â
So, I reached out to the chapter on Instagram, set up a coffee date with two active members. The women were funny, kind, and incredibly easy to talk to. We had shared interests and they immediately felt like friends. The reputation of the chapter on campus barely fazed me to begin with, but after going on my COB date and learning more about the organization, I knew this was something I wanted to do. Soon after, I was joining the other women in the fall 2024 member class.Â
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for my first chapter meeting. I felt like a total fish out of water. But that feeling quickly melted away when another girl in my member class walked up to me and introduced herself out of nowhere. I think it was because she could tell I was new and felt out of place. We’ve been inseparable ever since, and now she’s one of my closest and dearest friends. I never would have met her if it wasn’t for our sorority, since she’s two years older than me and in a completely different major. Since then, the two of us got super close with two other chapter members and have formed a sort of quad now. I genuinely couldn’t have survived college so far without the three of them and I couldn’t be more grateful for the chapter bringing us together.Â
Plus, a month or so into my sorority experience, I got my big. She is the funniest person I’ve ever known and I can’t imagine a better person to look up to and rely on. She was actually one of the women I went on my original COB date with, and I’m so happy we clicked immediately. My big’s two other littles (my fellow triplets), my grandbig, and my own littles are all incredibly funny, sweet, and thoughtful. I got incredibly lucky with my entire Greek family and I only get to call them family because of our sorority.
When I joined, my sorority was the smallest on campus. That — coupled with a few harmful stereotypes — is what led to its “bottom” reputation. But it’s since grown, essentially doubling in size from when I joined. I have no idea whether its “bottom” status has changed — TBH, it’s just not something I pay attention to. Regardless, what I learned — and what actually matters — were the connections I made to my fellow members. While I’m not affiliated anymore (I ended up not vibing with the chapter as much as the women within it), I still owe so much to the organization.
All this to say, if I’d been hesitant to join my chapter just because of its “bottom” status, I would’ve never met some of the most impactful people in my college experience. It brought me the people who will be at my future wedding and memories that I’ll hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. Thankfully, being in the “bottom” sorority never really held any weight with me. Who comes up with the ranking anyway? And who cares? It’s my experience, nobody else’s. I was proud and happy to be a member of my chapter, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters the most.