Being in a sorority is one of the most rewarding things you can experience in college. It is so much more than just flaunting your letters. It is sisterhood, a family, connections, and memories that last a lifetime. Although it's amazing in the long run, the process of getting into one you truly love can be taxing. This process is called recruitment, or rush. There is no way around it, and although it can be a very fun week, it can be pretty intimidating. So here are a few tricks of the trade to help you get through the jitters of it, instead of going in blind.
1. Singing, and lots of it.
This may be the strangest and most surprising part of recruitment, but there are always songs welcoming you in and while you are walking out. Don’t worry, this is not a normal practice, it’s just basic (and loud) recruitment protocol.
2. Perfect and very put together girls.
They don’t look like that every day, ladies, and they’ll make that clear so you don’t feel out of place, it’s fine! This is all about you! They just want to put on their best selves for you. Just remember they are in air conditioning while you have to be out in the heat for the majority of the day.
3. Overzealous girls.
For sorority girls during recruitment, their game face is just a very big smile. They’re all so excited that you’re there and it definitely shows!
4. New friends that might choose another house.
Some girls in your RC group may be some of your first friends in college, however, some of them may choose another house than you. Just make sure to keep in contact! It’ll broaden your horizons having friends in different chapters anyways!
5. Being tired.
There are early morning wake up calls and you’re walking around in heels in the heat. They’re bouncing for hours on end and talking nonstop. Everyone is tired, it’s OK!
6. Noise everywhere.
Countless conversations will get interrupted by you asking “I’m sorry what?” or them saying “Sorry, say that again?” Even simply walking down the street to go to another house, people are singing and clapping. Noise. Everywhere.
7. You're going to be sweaty, and that's OK.
At some point throughout the day, your makeup will inevitably run down your face, and no coffee filter can fix that. It’s summer, it’s hot, it’s OK.
8. Potentially feeling like you're not putting on your very best self.
There's always that doubt that as a parallel to the girls you're talking to, you're not being the best you can be. They want to impress you just as much as you want to impress them, if not more! Putting on a smile is nice, but you don’t have to change into a whole other person to try to impress them. At the end of the day, they will know better than you if you belong in that house or not.
9. The possibility of getting dropped form a house you really liked.
This happens to everyone at one point or another. Connections can be very fleeting, even if you feel like you had a good conversation with a girl. Again, they know more than you, if you would belong with the girls in that chapter. But you can’t let one chapter dictate whether or not to continue in the process. Odds are, getting them out of your mind will open you up to a house that you didn’t give a chance to before, resulting in you liking it even more!
10. One of the most rewarding experiences.
Even though it may seem intimidating, at the end of the day, you will gain 100, 200, even 300+ new sisters, so many new friends, and a lifetime of memories. After all, it’s not jut four years, it’s for life!
