The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment: Part 1
With the school year looming nearer, sorority recruitment is coming up soon, and many of you have emailed us asking for tips. Therefore, this series is for those of you who will be going through recruitment for the first time, but it’s also for those of you who want to reminisce about going through recruitment, or for those of you who just want to know what being in a sorority is like!
I am a recent alumnae of Alpha Omicron Pi and, as someone who just spent the last 4 years of her life with 70 other women, there are so many things I have learned along the way that I’d like to share with you.
Now, I know what you may be thinking…
Is Greek Life for Me?
Honestly, Greek life is not for everyone. For example, if you know you will not have time to devote to an organization, or you know you won’t be able to work with a large group of women for any extended amount of time, it’s probably not for you. There’s no doubt that sororities require dedication and commitment, and if you can’t give 100%, it’s going to be a struggle.
And I’m not going to sugar-coat it too much: Sorority life is not easy all the time. We all know that if you put a group of women in a room for long enough, drama is probably bound to happen. But, if being in a sorority has taught me anything, it is how to work with people I wouldn’t normally work with. It’s all about people skills! Below, I’ve listed a few more benefits of Greek life for prospective rushees:
Benefits of Greek Life:
- Instant friends on campus! When I went through recruitment, it was the 3rd week of school. My first 3 weeks were quiet and lonely. The Monday after Bid Day, though, my hands were exhausted from waving to my new sisters.
- Leadership opportunities. Organizations have to operate by electing officers. If you were super involved in high school, sororities are a great way to see if you want to run for other offices in other organizations on campus.
- Grades. Statistically, Greeks have higher GPAs. Try to argue that one against concerned parents!
- Activity on campus. If you are not in a Greek organization or another organization on campus, you may not know about all of the fun activities your school offers! Homecoming events, intramural games, and volunteer opportunities are all examples.
- It looks great on your resume if you have experience working in an organization. The fact that you can work with a large group of people and know how to juggle school, life, and an organization can be appealing to future employers.
- Most of all, it’s fun. We’re talking socials, mixers, sisterhood events, study dates, older girls who can tell you which professors to take, an endless wardrobe, etc.
Now that you have an idea of the potential benefits and drawbacks of Greek life, you probably know whether or not it’s something you’re interested in. If you are a freshman (or any other year) bound for college and considering going through recruitment, I have put together a sort-of “insider’s guide” of things that I wish I had known. Read on for more!
3 Things to Expect at Recruitment:
- Clapping. Lots and lots of clapping… and singing. No, we were not all cheerleaders in high school!
- Expect your voice to be 90% lost by the end of your first night. You could be talking for hours and the rooms may be loud, so be prepared!
- Feeling like a broken record. Everyone will ask you the basic questions to get to know you, and you will wish you could just write everything about yourself on an index card for people to read. However, remember that the members are trying to get to know you in a short period of time. Be patient!
What to Bring:
Product Info: Wallet – Lodis, Bag – John Lewis, Sandals – Nordstrom
- Flats or flat sandals. This is the biggest piece of advice I can give you about being comfortable! You could be on your feet at houses or walking across campus for hours and hours. Those 4-inch heels, while cute, will be your worst enemy!
- Snacks. Stash a granola bar in your purse for in between parties or breaks. The Greek organization on campus may provide dinner or snacks, but it never hurts to bring something you know you will eat.
- Deodorant. Trust me. Just trust me.
- Chapstick. Self-explanatory.
- Mints. After you inhale that slice of pepperoni pizza, pop a mint before the next party and you’ll be ready to chat some more.
- Oil blotting sheets. During the first few weeks of school, it is likely to be hot and walking from house to house can make you glisten. Blot the shiny!
- A small clutch or purse. You don’t want to tote around a carry-on all day without a place to put it! Only bring the essentials.
What to Wear:
Product Info: Dress – Topshop, Sandals – ASOS, Ring – Zumiez, Earrings – Betsey Johnson, Belt – Beltme.co.uk, Lipgloss – Drugstore.com
Most Greek offices have a brochure or manual you receive at orientation that tells you about the parties each night. For each party, there is usually a dress code. Some nights are formal and others are more casual. Check the manual for a guide, but most of all, be comfortable! You want to make a good impression and be yourself, so dress comfortably and classically and you will feel more confident!
Want More on Sorority Recruitment?
We’ve covered this topic a bit in the past! For more info, see our posts:
- Rush Tips: The Dos and Don’ts of Sorority Recruitment
- How to Dress for Sorority Recruitment in Winter
For even more tips, tricks, and info, be sure to check back next week for part two of our guide to sorority recruitment.
Thoughts?
Do you have any recruitment advice for freshman considering joining a sorority? Are you going through recruitment? Do you have any questions or concerns about Greek life in general? Let us know in a comment!
Posted on on August 7, 2011 / Filed Under: College Life / Tags: Greek, Greek Life, recruitment, sorority, Sorority Style
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Alex
What this article fails to mention is that each school has a different style of the Greek Life system. I went to school in the Northeast and joining Greek Life there wasn’t as formal. Also- and this is something I still struggle with to this day- I still don’t know whether or not joining was worth it. Did I meet some of my best friends there? Absolutely. But I can count those good friends on my hand and the rest of my sisters, I rarely speak to after two years of being out of college. I also found that once I got involved in more clubs on campus (more so when I was on College Senate and working on changing campus policies)- when my obligations required me to cut some of my time with the sorority- my sorority didn’t support me, instead, they resented me…even though I was working to make the school a better place. Maybe it would have been different at another university with another sorority, but I’ll never know.
Also, after being out in the real world, I have to say- my Greek Life experience is actually looked down upon by employers rather than it is lauded. I work in the political field and ever single time I bring it up, I never get a positive reaction back.
Before you join- ask yourself- are you willing to make a commitment to this group of girls for the next four years of your college? Will they support you if you take on other responsibilities? It’s a big decision and trust me on this one- it isn’t like joining a club where you can drop out at any time. If you drop your letters in a sorority, trust me, it won’t only be your sorority who will hate you and make your life hell…it will also be everyone in Greek Life. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen, and it was the one reason why as much as I got frustrated- I never dropped my letters because I was so afraid of being ostracized.
Lynne
I have a question about winter recruitment. I’m an incoming freshman at a small school; there are only six sororities and five fraternities, and almost half the student body is involved in Greek life. At my school, I won’t go through recruitment until winter, but I was wondering on sorority etiquette before then. Since I’ll surely run into different girls in the sororities once they know I’m interested (some have already been contacting me!) how should act? I want to be friendly without narrowing my options. Thanks!
LG
Do not form judgements about sororities before recruitment. This is the downfall to winter recruitment. Throw out what your friends say, what you see at parties, etc before entering recruitment because sometimes stereotypes are ages old or they are made by other organizations. We may be the weird sorority, the slutty sorority, or the rich sorority but there are bound to be great girls and a fit for you. The process is mutual, so the women in the organization will know whether you are a fit as well.
Hope this helps! Best of luck and have fun!
Danielle
great outfit!
Hannah
I love that CF is doing this! I’m a recent alumnae of Alpha Xi Delta at a [very] small school, and looking back at those four years I wish I had known a little bit more about what I was getting into! My basic advice for any potential Greek woman is: BE YOURSELF! Don’t ever feel like you have to look or act a certain way just to join a certain sorority. If they don’t love you for you, your time there will never be fun or enriching.
@Lynne – My school had delayed recruitment (in January) also. If your school is anything like mine, there will probably be informal recruitment events around campus that will give you an opportunity to get to know the women in various organizations. Keep an eye out for campus notices and invitations in your campus mail.
I can’t wait to see what the rest of this series brings.
Rachel - Butler University
Great post Sarah! As a fellow Greek, I love having guides like this to encourage women to try out their university’s rush week-you never know what you’ll find! I agree with Hannah’s advice as well: stay true to you, and get ready to have a great support system and tons of fun in college with sisters who love you!
mary
the purse link doesn’t work
Ellen
Speak of the devil! I was just beginning to worry about this. Such a great post and so, so useful because in my opinion the process is very confusing. I’ll definitely be referencing this in the future!!
Sarah
My school doesn’t have a Greek system, but I do love that outfit! Not a fan of Maybelline lipstain though. I’d recommend Revlon Just Bitten.
bee
i don’t usually comment on these articles, but as an aopi too, i just had to give you snaps on such a classy, helpful, and cute article about recruitment. way to go sister!!
a-lo <3
Meaghan
@ Lynne – I agree with Hannah. Delayed recruitment, or as it was called on our campus, continuous open bidding (COB) or continous open recruitment (COR) is a great alternative to rush week. In my experience, the events were more spread out and a lot less formal than rush.
Make sure you are honest with girls, and make it clear that you’re excited to learn about their house and meet their girls, but that you are interested in visiting the different houses during COB/COR. They usually have one person in charge of recruitment, and so she WILL want to contact you and may try to get some sort of commitment from you (it IS her job, after all)! But trust me, she will understand if you say you want to wait until COB. If girls are aggressive in trying to recruit you, or try to make you feel guilty, or act offended, you really need to think carefully about what it would be like to join that sorority.
My most important advice – be honest, learn as much as you can and treat EVERY girl like a future sister. After all, joining the greek letter system means you will be joining a community with ALL these girls, not just one sorority!
Hope that helps – best of luck :)
Sam
My school doesn’t have greek either but I really like the outfit.
Kaitlin
I love that you are doing this series! As the Panhellenic President at my university, I love when women spread the positives of sorority life and quash the negative stereotypes.
@Lynne, there is a very good chance you will run into sorority women in class, at parties, or by going to their recruitment events in the fall even though you any join til spring. Just make a
Good impression by being yourself!
I also recommend going to events this semester even though you can’t join yet if your campus allows these events. It is a casual way to meet different sororities before the crazy spring recruitment.
Paula*
I thought about joining a sorority, but since I’ll be entering university as a junior I think I’ll be too old :p
These posts are always fun to read, though!
Jamie
Hey! Just from a different perspective, in addition to the comments about COB/COR, it’s important to note that the recruitment described here could be vastly different depending on the college you’re going to. My school has a deferred recruitment, meaning freshmen cannot go through recruitment until their second semester. Additionally, the events aren’t really stylized into “parties”, and the Greek houses aren’t the mansions you might see on TV so events are rarely held in the houses. Just a thought to keep in mind :)
Otherwise I really enjoy this article and think you hit a lot of important points.
jackson
These posts are always fun to read, though!
Re
I have a question: what if you’re on the fence about joining a sorority? Is it one of those things that you should join even if you’re only 51% sure? What if you don’t like it after a few months of being in?
Meaghan
@ Paula – I’m an alumn and joined my sorority as a Junior, and I didn’t feel like I missed out at all, I was so involved. I WOULD suggest going through the less formal recruitment process, rather than rush week, just because sometimes there are incentives from headquarters to recruit younger girls (more years ahead of them to be involved in executive positions and pay dues etc. etc.). I would definitely recommend you check it out regardless – as I said, I joined as a junior and tended to gravitate towards the older girls rather than my pledge class, but I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything!
@ Re – you should definitely try it if you’re on the fence. The way it works is that after you pledge, there’s a sort of trial period (~6 weeks) before you become a full sister. During this time, you get to see what your new house is like, what the girls are like OUTSIDE of a formal rush situation. It’s understood that girls may have a change of heart about greek life and it does happen that girls decide during this time that it’s not for them. HOWEVER, if you pledge one sorority, there is often a time limit (one year or so, depending on your campus) before you can pledge another house, so it’s not something to take lightly.
Danielle
I am on the same boat as Paula! I’m eighteen and working on two degrees at two different colleges (one online for fashion merchandising and one at a local 2 yr for business administration) and I plan on transferring to a typical 4 yr university for my business degree to extend it to marketing and I’ve been just a bit curious about this because I didn’t know how common it was for juniors to join and how the proccess differs. Thank you Meaghan your answer helped a lot!
Shay
I almost joined a house but backed out last minute. I just heard so many bad things about the greek system at my school that i decided that whether they were true or not, I didn’t want to be associated with something that had a poor reputation around campus. I agree that you should do what feels right for you and not necessarily believe everything you hear, but at the same time you have to decide if you are comfortable taking on a less than favorable reputation. Turns out the greek system at my school had pretty bad year and got in lots of trouble on campus. I’m not saying this is the norm everywhere…but in a lot of cases the reputation houses have, they got somehow. Just a thought…
Carri
@ Re- I would recommend going through the Rush process, even if you aren’t sure if you want to join a sorority. As cheesy as it may sound, it is a great way to meet new people. If you do decide to join one, that is awesome. If you don’t, that’s cool too.
Meng
I’m going to be a junior and I’m thinking about joining a sorority! I was wondering if I should do it because I’m going to be taking an upper division science class and also a physics class and those might be kind of demanding. How much time commitment is pledging? I heard it depends on how fast your pledge class wants to get things done.
Natalie
@Meng – It really depends on how intense Greek Life is at your school and how much you want to be involved. I would recommend going through recruitment and asking that kind of question. Also, do you know anyone personally that has pledged? When I pledged, I had an extra meeting and event each week, but make it work with my schedule. Also, think about how many events you want to go though. One of the biggest time sucks during pledging is that fact that you want to go to everything because it’s all new!
Sarah, as far as your post – I agree, flats and sandals are a must! I went through 5 days of recruitment and walking to all the houses and then standing a majority of the time kills your feet and the last thing you want to do is look uncomfortable! Steve Madden has a ton of cute flats and sandals.
Amanda
As an alpha chi omega, I’m so happy to see that you used an AXO picture for the blog!! Your’e completely right, it’s not for everyone, but for some it is an amazing experience. I’ve only been a part of it for a year, but I’ve met some of my very best friends through it. Recruitment is one of the most exciting parts of being in a sorority, so enjoy it! And just be yourself, if you’re not yourself, you might not end up in the right one! Good luck :)
Lizzie
Thanks! This was so helpful I had no clue what to wear and the outfit is perfect! I want to join a sorority really badly. Could you talk about the costs of it. Is it really in a college students budget?
Lizzie
Is it still a good idea to join if you are planning on transferring to a different state school?
Kaitlin
@Lizzie- My chapter dues are $225/semester, and I believe we are the cheapest on my campus out of five sororities. One of my best friends goes to a D-1 school with over 20 sororities, and her house has a chef and a maid, so I’m sure her dues are MUCH more expensive than mine!
General rule of thumb about sororities, which will answer many of the questions here: every sorority is different at every school. The cost, time commitment, reputation, etc. is going to be different everywhere. You really need to ask those questions to the sisters when you visit them either at formal recruitment or during COR/COB at informal recruitment. Learn as much information as you can before you make a decision!
Ally
I also have to say I agree with Alex (the first comment). I joined a sorority my freshman year, and I was able to double up my workload and get out of undergrad a year early. While I was involved around campus, my biggest problem was that my senior year of college was jam packed with law school applications, the LSAT, and LSAT prep courses. I had LSAT prep course four nights a week, four hours at a time in most cases, and another four hour class on Sundays. In my sorority, class was an excuse to miss mandatory Sunday meetings and events during the week, but for a group of people who call themselves my sisters it was utterly disgusting how much resentment and hatred I received because I wasn’t at all of the meetings. Just as Alex mentioned, I met some of the greatest people in the world and still talk to them to this day –but the vast majority of them I don’t talk to anymore. I never dropped my letters for the same reason, plus by then I had already taken a little sister and I had a responsibility to stay for her if anything.
If you want to join a sorority, just be prepared for the commitment and to have the attitude that the sorority will come first before anything else. My biggest downfall was joining the sorority with the girls that had all the easy majors on campus (Communications, Education, English, etc. – they’re the easiest majors on campus and hardly required much work) while I, in turn, was a double major in two of the hardest majors on campus (Political Science and History, with a minor in Philosophy). I say it was a downfall because my sisters just did not understand what all my majors required, on top of LSAT prep courses.
@Lizzie – Costs are going to vary 100% depending on what kind of school you go to. Out of all of my friends, I have heard dues ranging from $200 to almost $2000. It all depends on housing, how big the chapter is, etc. Your school’s website should have an estimate on expenses for each house, if not, it’s not a bad idea to call and ask a ballpark range for dues.
@Lynne – Actually, again, its going to depend on what school you go to. I am a recent Phi Mu alum from a smaller private university, and Greek life is a HUGE deal for us. We held recruitment each year in January for the freshmen, but in the Fall we were instructed not to talk or socialize with underclassmen planning to go through recruitment, it was considered premature dirty rushing and we could get in a lot of trouble if it looked like we were favoring people for the recruitment process. Just keep in mind that the older sisters might not be able to openly associate with you outside of classes, but there should be some open house style events before recruitment where they are able to talk to you in that case. Good luck!
Anne
Alpha love!
susan
Ally,
Must disagree with you about education being an easy major. Are you aware of the off campus time we spend in classrooms actually applying what we are taught? Do you have any idea how many lesson plans must be written for no apparent reason? Do you have any idea how many hours must be spent preparing bullentin boards, classroom aids, etc. which will only be used one time or might only be shown for approval? And………I personally am going to be required to pass six professional exams before I even get the opportunity to do my practicum and be consider for licensing. This is not easy if you do it right!
Kristen
A few quick things: “alumna” is singular, “alumnae” is plural.
Another benefit: if you join a national organization, you become part of a network that extends well beyond your school. You may be able to move to a different city and have an instant connection with other people because of your Greek affiliation. Also, I’ve gotten to attend my sorority’s national convention and other events outside of my campus that truly broadened my horizons.
Maritza
So if I missed Rush week this spring semester, I can’t be in a sorority by fall?? I’m confused on how this works. I really want to be in a sorority starting this next school year!