It’s Bid Day. You nervously sit in a room with your walk-around group waiting to have your sorority revealed. Your name is called and your anticipation rises as your recruitment coordinators give you a crisp white envelope. You shred open the seal, pull out the stationary card, and THERE IT IS! The emblem of your new sorority family! Later, you join your pledge class and excitedly converse before it’s time to walk into the room where the older girls who hand chose YOU await. There are squeals and hugging as you put on your bid-day t-shirts and you are all infinity united by the greek letters on your shirt. It all ends in a happily ever after right?
Although you may feel like you are at the end of the exhausting recruitment odyssey of smiles and speed-dating, the process of making this group of girls your home has really just begun. Here are some tips for making the most of your sorority.
1. The first two months matter. Meet the girls! Go to all the bonding and social events! I know you have a lot of other things on your plate, but this is the time when everyone is meeting each other and it shows other girls you want to be involved. It is much easier to be bonded into friend groups as they form then to jump in after the fact.
2. Realize that making friends takes effort. Yes it’s a “sisterhood,” but if you really want bonds to form you need to go the extra mile. Be the girl that gets a group together for dinner! Or go support a sister who is in a play or in a sports team!
3. Feigned familiarity often becomes true familiarity. When you see someone from your sorority in the lunch hall or at the bus stop, don’t just give a polite wave! Go over and talk to them! Ask them about their day or tell them a funny story from last night. It may take effort at first, but after a couple of times it becomes natural.
4. Talk to the upperclassmen. Ask one of the upperclassmen you really enjoyed talking to during recruitment on a lunch date. Remember, you were chosen to be a part of the sorority because the people in it enjoyed talking to you, so chances are they will jump at the chance to get to know you better. Also, don’t be afraid to ask us to introduce you to other girls we think you would like!
5. What if I don’t feel like I belong? Whether this is because you feel like your sorority has already developed Mean Girl style cliques or maybe a large majority of your friends ended up somewhere else, it is worth giving your sorority a chance to prove itself. Every sorority has some people you may not get along with but EVERY sorority has its true gems and if you write it off at the start you will miss out. Not to mention that the social events held by your sorority such as date functions and mixers with other fraternities and sororities create great opportunities to meet people outside of your sorority. Membership in a sorority greatly increases your ability to network new friendships by giving you greater access to the entire Greek community.
6. Remember, you have 6 weeks to try on this sorority. But again, give your sorority a chance. If you decide not to accept the bid at the end of six weeks you cannot go through recruitment for a full calendar