Happy Recruitment Week! If you are still on the fence about going through sorority recruitment in future years, or just curious about the process, hopefully my experience (on Zoom) will answer some of your questions!
As a PNM (potential new member) in the class of 2021, things were a little different than the typical rush experience, as it was entirely on Zoom. However, I wanted to share my experiences in case it can help someone feel a little less stressed about recruitment. Or, if you are unsure whether to rush, I hope this helps you decide what is best for you!
At Loyola, there are seven sororities- Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Chi Omega, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Phi Sigma Sigma. Their Instagrams are linked, since I know you all will be going to go stalk them! However, the best advice I was given before recruitment was to go in without many preconceived opinions on the different sororities. While it’s fun to check out their super cute Instagrams, social media isn’t reality and you want to ensure you end up at the sorority that truly fits you!
Here is the day-by-day breakdown of how recruitment looked for me!
Day One:
On the first day, I visited all seven chapters as an “Open House” or “Welcome Round,” which just means everyone who is rushing is invited. I wore the provided t-shirt, jeans and some jewelry. The best part of recruitment on Zoom was that there wasn’t a ton of stress on the outfit, since you could only see shoulders and up on Zoom.
During this round, I talked to a few different girls from each chapter for a total of 50 minutes. Each chapter will also have some speakers and other things going on, but this is mostly an opportunity to get the vibe of the chapter and ask questions.
Since this is such a long day, I recommend trying to write some notes (good and bad!) down in between chapters to make sure the chapters don’t blend together in your mind. I remember going back to my first-day notes as I was trying to make my final decision, and I was reminded of things that I had totally forgotten about. For recruitment 2022, there will be two days (Thursday and Friday) for Welcome Round.
Day Two:
The next day, I visited five chapters for “Values Round.” For those who are unfamiliar with the process (as I was before rushing), Loyola operates under a mutual selection process. This means after the Welcome Round (on Friday) you will rank all the houses you visited and submit them. Then, you will get a schedule for Values Round with five houses on it. You might get your top five or you might not! Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get all your top choices — the process really works, and you will end up at the right house for you!
During the Values Round, I was able to talk to a few of the same girls from the day before and meet some new people. They will talk to you about their chapter’s values and continue to answer any questions you have. I continued taking brief notes because it was so beneficial for me the day before. Values Round is business casual, but I wore a nice top and jeans since you couldn’t see the bottom of my outfit. I would recommend a dress, skirt or flowy pants for in-person!
Day Three:
The third day is called “Preference Round,” where you visit two houses (same mutual selection process) to learn about their ritual traditions. Because you get to have longer conversations with fewer people, I was able to have deeper conversations with some of the girls I had already met. I wore a dress because this is the fanciest round.
Bid Night:
This is the most exciting part of recruitment weekend — finding out which sorority you are in! Because it was on Zoom, I opened my email with my recruitment group, but typically, you would “run home” to your sorority in-person!
Coincidentally, my Zoom actually crashed right as we were supposed to open the email, and I missed the actual opening with my group (technology, right?!). Thankfully, I was able to join back in to celebrate! Afterwards, we joined a different Zoom with our new sisters, which is typically like an afterparty. I wore a casual-cute outfit of a jean jacket and leggings. During an in-person recruitment, you will get a shirt to wear that reflects your sororities Bid Day theme! For my recruitment, they sent us a super cute Bid Day package in the mail shortly after Bid Night.
If this all seems overwhelming, don’t worry! You will have a Recruitment Guide to help you through the entire process and answer all your questions. You can also check out the Panhellenic website for more info.
Good luck to all those who will be rushing!