Since the year 2013 has officially commenced, this brings the start of many new beginnings. It means the start of a new year, a new semester and, for those interested in sorority recruitment, a chance to begin the search for the perfect sorority for you. With formal sorority recruitment just around the corner, many may be wondering what clothing they need to be getting this break to prepare for the many rounds and various dress codes. While there are some minor suggestions on the Maryland Panhellenic Association website, here are some more in depth tips for how to dress for each round of sorority recruitment.
Round 1: House and Values Tours
House and Values Tours is the first round of sorority recruitment where you get a brief look at all 15 sororities UMD has to offer. You will be quickly navigating to each sorority’s house over the course of two days so it’s important to make sure you are dressed comfortably but also appropriately. According to the Maryland Panhellenic Association website, you will be provided with a shirt for this round, but it is important to dress in nice but casual bottoms as well as comfortable shoes like boots. Try wearing skinny jeans or maybe jeggings (jean leggings) to make running around College Avenue easier. Also, flat boots with rubber soles will be of great benefit for all that movement, especially if it is raining or snowing.
Round 2: Philanthropy
Once you have visited every individual sorority, you are then required to cut down your choices to your top 10. After the mutual decision of which sororities you will be attending for round 2, you will be learning about these remaining sororities’ philanthropies as well as other acts of community service they participate in all year long. This round is quite similar to the last, but lucky for you, you no longer have to wear the same recruitment t-shirt as everyone else. Philanthropy round is a bit nicer than round 1, but try not to be too dressy as each round progressively gets dressier with time. Jeans are still acceptable, but it might be beneficial to wear a pair of nicer jeans instead (definitely none with rips or holes). A nice silk shirt like this one by Forever21 or a sweater is perfect for on top. Flat boots is another safe and comfortable option, but if you want to wear low heels, those are acceptable as well.
Forever21 Blouse:
Photo Credit: Marti Reiff
Round 3: Skits
Just like philanthropy round, a mutual determination decides which sororities you will be visiting next. Now it starts to get a bit more competitive, however, since you may not be asked back to every house you requested. If you do get asked back to the full amount, you will be visiting six houses this day. This is said to be the best and most entertaining round of all of sorority recruitment as you get to see the fun and engaging atmosphere that each sorority presents. That is because each house performs a skit for its Potential New Members (PNM’s). Since this is the second to last round of formal recruitment, it becomes once again nicer in the clothing department and you should be dressing business casual. Nice pants (not jeans), a dress or a skirt are common for this round and are typically worn with heels. Remember not to wear any dress or skirt too short since you do not want to give off the wrong impression. Also, try not to wear heels that are too high or uncomfortable to walk in. Even though you are only visiting up to six houses this round, you will still be walking all over College Park so it’s important you are able to move and get to each house comfortably and on time. A pair of wedges with rubber bottoms like these from ALDO is ideal.
ALDO shoes :
Round 4: Preference Round
Finally, the last round of sorority recruitment approaches and you are left with as many as three houses to see for more than an hour each. This is the most exciting round of formal recruitment because it gives you an inside look at three houses that could be your potential new sorority. Of course with the end of formal recruitment comes the dressiest round. In this grouping, PNM’s are expected to dress formal with a nice skirt or dress. Don’t go overboard and wear a ball gown, but you want to be formal without over dressing. A nice finger-length dress like this one by Aqua is the perfect option with a pair of nice heels and a cardigan. Heels are definitely important for this round because not only are you meant to be more formal, but you will only be visiting at most three houses so walking everywhere shouldn’t be as big of an issue.
Aqua dress:
Although it is not an official round of sorority recruitment, bid day is the final stage. It is the day you find out which sorority offered you a bid! There is no formal dress code as you go and accept your bid throughout the entirety of the day following preference round, but that night you will be going to your individual sorority house and meeting the girls you will be calling your new sisters. Another exciting part of bid day? You are given your bid day shirt, the shirt that will be the first to identify you as a sister of that particular sorority. There is a small bid day celebration that night where you will meet your pledge class and will then run to your new house from there with your class. You will be provided with your bid day shirt, but make sure to dress comfortably on bottom in jeans or leggings and wear sneakers or boots. You will be running and you wouldn’t want to trip or fall behind!
Sorority recruitment may be a stressful few weeks of decisions, but once it is all over it is most definitely worth all of the trouble. There are so many different things to worry about throughout the process, but deciding what to wear should not be one of them. Hopefully through these tips and some other descriptions on the Maryland Panhellenic Association’s website, deciding outfits for each round will be the least of your worries. Enjoy formal recruitment and make sure to dress not only appropriately, but fashionably too!