If you went through formal recruitment, you can totally relate. If you know totally nothing about recruitment, here’s a brief look at what it’s like.
Round One: Sisterhood
It’s Saturday afternoon and the round’s almost over. Recruitment JUST started last night but it’s already going by so fast. Everybody you’ve met is SO nice! Everyone keeps giving you little cups of water! You have to pee SO bad! You’re trying to remember what you liked about the chapters–girls you met, the atmosphere, conversations you had about philanthropies, socials, and chapter dinners–but it’s pretty easy to mix up the details. Wait. Did you talk about your summer trip with a girl at Chi O or Kappa? Kappa? Kappa. Before you know it, you have to narrow down UC’s nine sororities and make preferences. Tomorrow you could be going to as many as seven houses. Overwhelmed much?
Round 2: House Tours and Finances
Today you’re getting the grand tour of all the homes you’ve been invited back to–all the way from Kappa Kappa Gamma on Joselin Avenue to Delta Delta Delta near the corner of Straight Street. Let’s be honest, right now you really just want to see what the houses look like and which couches you can see yourself napping on. When they talk about finances, it hits you: “Oh yeah, dues are a thing.” It’s all there: chapter and national fees, house maintenance, and money that will go towards socials, sisterhood events, weekly chapter dinners, and even the T shirts you’ll get. Just “paying for friends?” You don’t think so. You have a better idea of which chapters might be for you and when you pick as many as your top four favorites, your only thought is: “I have wait until Friday to see who invited me back?!”
Round 3: Philanthropy Night
Finally! You’ve heard people say sorority girls only care about parties and PSLs, but for a lot of active members, Philanthropy Night made them know where they belonged. For these girls, it’s so much more than just a few service hours. You learn that Tri Delt’s most recent national accomplishment was raising $15 million in just 3.5 years for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and that Chi O just found out that they granted a wish for The Make-A-Wish Foundation and are about to send a little girl to Disney World. They even get to see her off at the airport! At Gamma Phi, as you’re finishing making hair ties to be worn by girls they’ll support through Girls on the Run, you realize how great it’s going to feel to contribute. The girls you’ve met are right–you really do get something out of giving.
Round 4: Preference Night
Tonight is really what it’s all about. You’re a long way from Round One. Now, it’s just one or two houses. You’ve been invited back for a reason: they see something amazing in you that you might not even see in yourself, yet. Tonight you recognize the faces of girls passing by and they remember you, too. Anyone will tell you that she loves her sorority and her sisters, but tonight you learn what makes that chapter truly special. They let you in on parts of their traditions and rituals. After all, you might be one of their future sisters! These are places that could really feel like home. Tomorrow, one of them will be!
Bid Day
Today’s the day and You. Can’t. Wait. As you open your bid, you can’t help but be nervous. Once you see your name on the card inside the envelope in your hands, your mind becomes set on one thing: you’re SO EXCITED to run down the hill on Sigma Sigma to your new sisters! Welcome home!