Recruitment: A Submitted Question

I received a question via Instagram. I was shocked because I didn't know you could send stuff to people on IG, but whatever. I answered it the best I could at the time, but I gave the girl the link to my blog. I'd like to post the question and a much more extended answer than what I sent to her.

Message:
Hi, I saw that you are in a sorority and I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions. I'm going to be a freshman in college in August and I think the idea of joining a sorority sounds wonderful, I'm just not sure if I would get recruited or even how it works. I'm not the prettiest, skinniest, or most bubbly girl out there, so I'm afraid I wouldn't make it, but I really want to try and give it my all. Do you have any tips? How does recruitment work? Thank you so much. :)

First off, snaps to this girl for actually starting college wanting to go through recruitment! Four for you Glenn Coco, you go Glenn Coco!!!!

So there's a lot of stuff to cover in this question and now that I'm on my computer I feel I can do a lot better answering all of the questions. So, here we go.

Getting Recruited
"I'm not the prettiest, skinniest, or most bubbly girl out there, so I'm afraid I wouldn't make it..." I know that we've been taught and conditioned to believe that all sorority girls are drop dead gorgeous stick figures with a huge personality, but that's Hollywood's idea of Greek life. Obviously there are sorority girls like that, or the stereotype wouldn't exist. For most sororities, how you look doesn't affect you getting a bid to an organization. Sadly, movies and TV shows have shown sorority girls sitting around looking at pictures of girls and playing the bid/no bid game based on the submitted picture. At my school, when you turn in your rush packet, you are asked to submit either 3 or 4 pictures. They are distributed to the sororities, but not so that the girls can be judged. They are used as a tool to recognize each potential new member (PNM). Now, you're attitude and personality are some things that the sisters of a sorority will take into consideration. Personality has a lot to do with getting a bid. You don't have to run around, meet everyone, talk the loudest, or smile the biggest, just be nice.

Do you have any tips?
This has got to be the most common question for any sorority woman. Just how do you get a bid for a sorority? First of all, you obviously have to show some interest in being recruited by going through rush or attending an open recruitment event. That's my biggest tip. SHOW INTEREST! Secondly, just be yourself. There's no script to recruitment where the sorority women ask you questions and if you give all of the right answers, you get a bid. The sisters want to find life long friends and you can't really do that with someone who pretends to be someone they aren't just to get in. So, seriously, just be yourself. That's really the only tip to getting a bid from a sorority.

How does recruitment work?
So, be recruitment I'm assuming she means rush week. While each school is different, there is a basic format. I am going to go through my school's recruitment process day-by-day just so you can kind of know what to expect.

Monday: Rushee Meeting
At my school, Monday is the night where each rushee meets with our Greek Life Adviser, Recruitment Director, and Recruitment/Rush Counselors (or Rho Gammas). Recruitment/Rush Counselors are typically sorority women who have agreed to disassociate themselves from their sorority for the duration of rush. They lead the rushees through the rush process. On this day, the rushees may ask questions about the upcoming week, they are separated into their three rush groups (we have three NPC sororities on campus), and are introduced to their rush counselors.

Tuesday: Meet and Greet
This is the day where each rush group is taken to visit each sorority. I believe that they spend one hour with each sorority. The sororities decorate rooms (because we don't have houses) in our student center. Each organization can use skits, songs, videos, memorabilia, etc. to introduce the rushees to their organization. This last year my sorority showed a video that one of our alumni made that was a remix of Thrift Shop and we showed a video of pictures from the past year. Then we had a time where we mingled, had snacks, and just got to know the girls.

Wednesday: Philanthropy
On Wednesday night, we introduce the rush class to our philanthropies. My sorority spoke about our national philanthropy and the volunteerism we participate in locally. Then we crafted (in true sorority girl style) Popsicle stick book marks to donate to the library and "Thinking of You" cards to donate to the local nursing home. We were able to mingle while doing the crafts and get to know more of the rushees.

**Wednesday, after all the girls have gone, the sisters sit down and discuss the rushees. Each sorority has a different system of how to extend an invitation for Thursday night's activities.**

Thursday: Preference Night
This is our more serious night. Wednesday night each sorority votes in some way on who to extend a Pref night invitation to. The rushee can receive an invitation from each organization. Each rushee is asked to dress up for this night. It is a formal event. We sit down and eat some small food (we had bite sized cheesecake this past year) and talk on a more serious note about Greek life and why they want to join a sorority. This is the night where each rushee has a lot of thinking to do. If you receive a pref invitation from a sorority, you have the possibility of getting into that sorority. After the pref parties, rushees fill out their preference card. If they only received one invitation, they can only rank that sorority. If they received multiple  invitations, they must rank the sororities.

Friday: Bid Day
Friday is the most exciting day ever!!!!!!!! Rushees who received a bid from a sorority gather. Their rush counselors reveal which sorority they belong to and then they go out to our quad. Each sorority has a path lined to their sisters. The rushees are called out one by one and are given a manila envelope containing their bid card and a piece of paper with the sorority's letters printed on it. They all open their envelopes at the same time, then take off running!!!!!! It's so exciting and rewarding after a week of stressing!

These are our new sisters running to us on bid day Fall 2013!

Recruitment is a fun, stressful, and exciting season. If you attend rush week, yet don't receive a bid, don't take it personally. The sisters may have felt as though they didn't get to know you enough during the few days they had. Keep your eyes open alerting you of open recruitment events that you can attend. Who knows, you may get a bid after the sisters get to know you just a little bit more!