It is mid-July and everyone knows what that means—Recruitment Season is right around the corner. Colleges across the country will be flooded with girls being led from house to house attempting to find their perfect home in the Greek Community. Whether your school's recruitment period takes a weekend or a week, this will be one of the most stressful times of your life. If you’re going into recruitment then chances are you’ve researched your college’s sororities, picked out your outfits and designed Pinterest boards of future crafts.
But before you get that bid card and run home to your new family there are a few things that you need to know. So settle in all you potentials; here are your top 10 tips for things you should do during recruitment from someone who's seen both sides of recruitment.
Tip 1: Keep An Open Mind
The most important thing about recruitment is to keep an open mind during the whole process. Recruitment is an amazing time of the year when everyone is just eager to try to find their home in the Greek Community. But before you can find your home, you need to get through the next few rounds of recruitment.
When I entered college I spent probably a week researching the different chapters on my campus. One night I stayed up until well past midnight and looked through the chapters’ philanthropies, their social media presence and of course checking Greek Rank for people's input. Before I even submitted my application for recruitment I had my dream chapter picked out. I was so determined to get a bid from this one chapter and become a sister that when I got to their room I froze up. I could barely make conversation and I really didn’t leave a lasting impression.
I did not end up getting invited back and I was crushed. Like some girls during recruitment I wanted to cry but instead of storming out I went on and continued the second day. On the walk back to my dorm I debated dropping out; my heart was crushed and I thought no other chapter would live up to my fantasized expectations. I ended up getting a bid from another chapter and when I got that bid I neared cried from excitement. My fantasies of this other chapter being my dream chapter were gone and I was so completely excited to be a part of my new family.
What’s the moral of this story you might ask? It’s you need to keep an open mind when it comes to recruitment and the whole process. In my two years of being in Greek Life, I’ve seen countless girls go into recruitment with the mindset that I had. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t but the most important thing is to keep an open mind.
Trust the process is what I tell every girl who is going through recruitment and honestly it is the most important thing to remember. Largely, Recruitment is a mutual selection process between the chapters and the girls going through recruitment. If you trust the process, then you will end up finding your home and you will love it. I wish I had focused on the process and just enjoyed it.
Tip 2: Make Sure Your Calendar is Clear
Recruitment is a very time consuming week or weekend and it typically is held in the first few weeks of school. The bulk of people going through recruitment are Freshmen. Freshmen year is probably your ‘I don’t know what to do with all this freedom’ year so going through recruitment could mess up your schedule. Some nights you might get home from recruitment and just want to pass out.
If you can, try to get as much school work as you can out of the way ahead of time. This will make your life so much easier and that way when you’re trying to chat with a sister of a prospective house you’re not stressing about your Econ homework. You’ll have a much less stressful experience if you’re totally relaxed about classes. Tip 3: Be Yourself
Alright before you start groaning at how clique this tip sounds…hear me out. A lot of schools are transitioning to values based recruitment. You don’t have to brag about little things in your life or try to show off. The sisters of each house are looking for people who are totally compatible with their chapter. Show off your personality, talk to sisters who have similar interests as you and try to connect as much as possible. I’ve been on both sides of recruitment and it’s just as hard to be a sister than it is to be a girl going through recruitment. It’s both sides trying to impress each other. Just relax, take a deep breath and smile. Everything will be okay and you will find our home.
Tip 4: Actually Finish Recruitment
This goes back to my first tip in keeping an open mind about every house. Unless you don’t get invited back to any of the houses—finish out Recruitment. If you don’t get any of the houses that you wanted and you cannot picture yourself at all in the house you got a bid from, you can always decline it. If this happens then you can always re-rush; there’s no shame in that and it gives you some experience if you want to try again.
Tip 5: Have Fun and Relax
Yeah, this is stressful because you’re trying to put your best foot forward and find your home. But enjoy this process. The house you’ll be invited to join will not only be your house for four years, but hopefully your family for life. You’ll be connected to hundreds of chapters around the country and thousands of sisters. For the rest of your life you can proudly declare that you’re a sister of your house. So relax; you will find your home.
