For Greek organizations across the globe, annual formal recruitment is a long-anticipated event that involves weeks of planning and preparation.
Sorority recruitment, in particular, is the source of a lot of excitement, and many college-aged women each year sign up for the process in hopes of finding a group they can really bond with.
Though sorority recruitment can be a lot of fun, it's definitely not for everyone, and there's a lot to take into consideration when deciding if it's right for you. Here are 10 things, in particular, you should take into consideration before signing up to rush.
There will be screaming. Lots of screaming.
For sororities themselves, the whole point of recruitment (at least at first) is to get you pumped up to be a part of their organization. Expect a lot of cheering, a lot of chanting, and a lot of energy in general when visiting each chapter. You're going to want a good night's sleep and a lot of coffee in your system before you tackle welcome round.
You need to plan outfits ahead of time.
Outfits make up a huge component of recruitment, and you'll typically have some sort of dress code for every event. Rolling out of bed and throwing on whatever feels most comfortable isn't the best strategy because first impressions are EVERYTHING when you meet a new group for the first time. If you're not the kind of person who enjoys planning the perfect outfit for every occasion, you may want to consult with your more fashionably-inclined friends.
You need to be really good at small talk.
In the early rounds especially, you will be exposed to most of your school's chapters for very small periods of time. Conversations will mostly be limited to your name, major, hometown, hobbies, and reason for going Greek. If small talk isn't your thing, consider going in with predetermined answers and segues into more interesting topics to avoid awkward silences.
Signing up for recruitment can be a financial commitment.
Recruitment is a lot of work for sororities, and all the resources put into the process can come with a pretty hefty price tag. You can expect to drop anywhere from $10 to $75 on registration alone, so you shouldn't take the decision to rush or not rush lightly.
You have to manage your time well.
Recruitment typically lasts about a week, and with all that the process entails you're likely not going to have a lot of time to breathe. Getting homework done as soon as possible is key, and you might consider taking a week off of any other extracurricular activities if possible. Your priorities after each round will pretty much be showering, sleeping, and getting ready to do it all again tomorrow.
You need to make friends pretty quickly.
Making friends with the girls in each chapter is something that will come with time, but making friends with the girls in your recruitment group is key for maintaining your sanity during rush. Having a group of people to commiserate or celebrate with after each round will be a huge help and make the process much more bearable. If you're naturally standoffish and have trouble forming shallow bonds, rushing may be difficult for you.
There are a lot of rules about what to wear.
Not only are you going to have to plan outfits ahead of time (refer to No. 2), but you're going to have to be very, very strategic about it. You want to show off your personality through your clothes, but for most rounds you have to follow dress codes that could require jeans, formal dresses, skirts, heels, sneakers, or anything in between. The last thing you want is to show up either wildly overdressed or looking sloppy when everyone else looks more or less uniform.
There are even more rules about what to talk about.
When speaking with members of a chapter, you are expected to avoid 5 "B's"; as defined by College Candy, these are Boys, Booze, Bush (politics), Beliefs, and Bucks. If you're the kind of person who doesn't love being told what and what not to say, or if you prefer to get to know people through talking about these things, recruitment may be something you want to reconsider.
At some point, you will face rejection.
The whole point of sorority recruitment is ending up in a place you truly belong with people who share your values. This can only happen through some serious digging into who you really are and what you really value, and it's entirely possible that these things are different than what you believe them to be. You are pretty much guaranteed to be rejected from at least one organization that you really, really liked for this reason. This happens to everyone and isn't anything that should crush you, but if rejection is something you have a really hard time with, you may want to reconsider going through recruitment.
You aren't guaranteed to love every minute.
Recruitment is hard. It's long and strenuous and exhausting for everyone, and you may have some rounds that are really, really draining. Most people you talk to will assure you that all the exhaustion is worth it in the end, and it can be, but they would be lying if they told you that rush is a straight week of rainbows and sunshine.
At the end of the day, you are the only one who can decide if the results of the process are worth all the time and work you put into it.
