By: Molly Feser
The time has come. The weekend you have been so excited/nervous about for weeks, possibly months. You might have registered for recruitment at the beginning of the summer three months ago, or maybe you registered two days ago in a last-minute decision to join the Greek community. More than likely you’re going through recruitment with your friends or your roommate and you can’t stop looking through each other’s closets for the perfect outfit to wear for each night, all while talking about where you’re going to “run home”.
While you’re stressing over things as simple as what you’re going to wear each night, you haven’t even experienced the real questions you’ll have once you’ve entered the recruitment process. Here are some questions (with answers) you’ll probably be asking yourself during this crazy experience.
1. Why am I not going through this with my friends?
There are hundreds of girls going through recruitment, so everyone will be split off into groups. More than likely, you will not be in the same group as your friends. This is disappointing to a lot of girls because they thought they would be experiencing this exciting time with their friends. If you’re lucky you’ll know at least one person in your group, but it is possible that you won’t know anybody. However, this is good practice to start meeting and chatting with new people! (Because you’re about to be doing a whole lot of it)
2. Why is everyone chanting and screaming in my face?
Probably the scariest and most intimidating part is visiting each party on Night 1 because they are very, very ready to meet you. Each sorority has their own chants and songs that they have practiced and perfected just to welcome you! They want to show you how well they know these chants so badly that they will be doing them pretty loudly. It only lasts for a minute, though, and soon you will be ushered in by one of the sisters who will warmly take you in and try to make you feel at home.
RELATED: What to Keep In Mind During Recruitment
3. Will I ever eat again?
There’s no getting around it – these are going to be some long nights. You will be talking a lot, standing a lot, and probably losing energy. After several hours of talking to girls, the only thought that will probably be on your mind is food. You will get breaks for dinner, but it is probably a good idea to bring a little snack for those short breaks you have in between parties.
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4. How much more of this small talk can I take?
One thing a lot of girls don’t consider is the amount of time they will need to hold conversations for during this process. You will be talking to multiple girls from multiple sororities, and you will most likely be hearing the same questions over and over. Small talk is painful for most people, but if you can think of different fun experiences you’ve had over the summer that you can chat about, or any questions you want to ask them, the conversations will go smoother and won’t feel as if they’re dragging.
RELATED: An Introvert’s Guide to Recruitment
5. What are they even talking about?
One of the hardest things to do is talk about Greek life to someone who is not in Greek life. There is a lot of lingo that you haven’t learned yet that is just in sorority girls’ everyday vocabulary and they forget that not everyone understands it. They might mention terms like chapter, big/little reveal, certain executive positions within the chapter, or Greek Week, which is a very weird concept to explain. Don’t feel lost if you don’t completely understand what they’re talking about. No one fully gets everything that happens in a sorority until they’ve experienced it themselves.
You might go into recruitment thinking that it will be the most exciting time of your life, but quickly become overwhelmed with confusion and nervousness. However, now with some warning of what to expect to feel and think you can focus more on keeping an open mind about each sorority you’re visiting and being yourself.