As the first semester of my first year drew to a close, emails encouraging me to register for sorority recruitment flooded my inbox. At first, I was rather uncertain as to whether or not a sorority would be right for me — I was not what many would consider to be a “party girl,” I went to the club one time and I have not been back, and the thought of dressing to impress every single day of the semester filled me with dread. Once the stress of finals was behind me, I pondered registering for sorority recruitment once again, deciding that I really had not found my place at Rollins. I decided at the last possible minute that I would register for recruitment. As the day of the start of recruitment grew closer, I was both nervous and excited for what the weekend would bring.
The weekend of recruitment was almost as action packed as the weekend of Orientation and it definitely brought me out of my comfort zone. The key component of recruitment is getting to know some of the members of each chapter so you can narrow down your choices for the sororities that you would like a bid from. I am a quiet person and I prefer a small gathering of people rather than a large one, and I was sure that when talking to the members of each sorority, there would be a lot of awkward silences. However, I was wrong.
The members of each sorority spend a lot of time training before recruitment and they know what questions to ask you to keep the conversation flowing. Every time I met with a sorority, I was asked a question that sparked my interests. I enjoyed learning about the different sorority chapters on campus and the organizations which they served. As you spend time interacting with each sorority, you will be able to see which is the best fit for you. If you are unsure about which sorority to join, then the recruitment counselors are available to help you decide which will be the best fit for you.
For most students, the recruitment process ends with the excitement of running home to a new group of friends and the future of making memories which will last a lifetime, but sorority recruitment is not for everybody. If you find that you are not fitting in with the groups of people you are meeting, then then recruitment counselors are able to help you decide whether to continue with recruitment or to drop. Dropping out of recruitment before bid day is OK. Many people decide during recruitment that it may be too difficult to balance Greek life with other school obligations or decide that Greek life is not for them. As long as you drop out before Bid Day, you will be able to consider trying Continuous Open Recruitment (COR) if you are interested or go through Formal Recruitment at the next year.
Recruitment is a very exciting time in your college career. I do not regret going through with recruitment and I enjoy spending time with my sorority sisters.
