Things I Wish I Had Known Before Sorority Recruitment

Sorority recruitment is such a grueling process, and in all honesty was not entirely enjoyable. My mom, dad and sister were all involved in Greek life in college when they were in college so I always knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. Seeing both of my parents still have relationships with people from their Greek organizations made me all the more excited to establish bonds with girls that I would be friends with forever.

Since LMU rushes second semester I had a bit of time to think about sorority recruitment before it actually happened. All of the sorority houses (there are 7 total) host open houses during first semester as a chance for the PNM's (potential new members) to get to know the different houses. 

At first I thought it was the best idea to visit each open house and get to know the chapter a little bit better. I ended up visiting 5 out of 7 of the houses and went into recruitment knowing a few people in each house. In a way, this was good because I saw a couple familiar faces while going through recruitment, but I also had preconceived notions of each house. 

Here's some of the best advice that I can give about going through recruitment and the things that I wish I had known before going through sorority recruitment.

You will get dropped from houses you loved.

All of my friends that had gone through recruitment in the fall told me this and I did not believe them. LMU is a school with such a strong sense of community and such genuinely nice people that I always thought recruitment would entirely reflect that. In reality, that is just how sorority recruitment works. After day one I was dropped from one house that I really liked, but that's just how the system goes. 

It's definitely a demeaning process because you feel like people dropped you because they didn't like you, but that's not always the case. Each sorority knows their chapter very well and they will understand where you will fit in and find your home. The best way to go about this is to try and make real connections with the girls you talk to at each house. When you're dropped it's best to try and keep an open mind and continue to visit the other houses you were asked back to and continue to try and find your home.

Keep an open mind!

This is another piece of advice that everyone always told me, but it's definitely something that was hard for me to do. I definitely had biases when it came to my opinions of each house and going into recruitment with that was definitely not beneficial to me.

I'm glad I went to the open houses because it was awesome to see familiar faces when going to each house during recruitment, but I should not have picked a favorite in my mind. It's funny actually, because the house I loved most at the open houses, ended up being one of my least favorites during recruitment.

As much as you might think you love one house, definitely keep an open mind because rush is full of surprises.

Prepare a bit.
I'm not saying you should come up with answers in your mind for any possible question asked, but definitely go into rush having a few fun facts up your sleeve. This honestly just makes conversation so much easier rather than searching for the answers to all of your questions.

The first day is definitely small talk just about your major and where you're from, but I found that the girls I had a more in-depth conversation with on that first day were the houses that I ended up wanting to go back to! Share what's most interesting about you: do you love to travel? Have you ever been skydiving? Fun and funny stories made the best conversations for me!

Everything happens how it should.
The number of people that told me this is astonishing, but I never believed them until the entire process was over and I realized that I ended up where I belonged. Whether you choose to believe me now, I know you will agree with me later.

The process is exhausting and makes you question who you are as a person, but at the same time it always ends up working out and finding you a house that you truly belong in. Ya know that saying you have to kiss a few frogs until you find your prince, well sorority recruitment is kind of like that. You'll definitely visit houses that you think you love and houses that you think you hate, but as the process progresses it will all make sense in the end.

I hope this helps any of you that are rushing in the fall or just wanted to know a little bit about the process. Any questions? Comment below or email me here!

What advice do you have about sorority recruitment?

Xoxo