An MIT Recruitment Story...no, Virginia, this isn't the SEC!
 

I had mentioned in another thread this spring that a close colleague's daughter would be attending MIT this fall and was very interested in sorority recruitment. Her mom knows that I volunteer for my sorority and we had a couple of big discussions about recruitment, recs, etc. Mom came to the US for graduate school, but grew up and attended college overseas, so she was eager to learn about sororities. As the summer went on, Future Engineer became increasingly nervous about the workload at MIT, and thought that joining a sorority might take away from her academics. After arriving on campus, however, she changed her mind again. Her roommates were going through recruitment, and Future Engineer decided she would join the fun.

PNMs can sign up for recruitment right up until the day before it starts. There are 3 rounds, and 5 of the 6 sororities participate in formal recruitment. The parties go from all 5 on Philanthropy Day, to max of 4 for Sisterhood Day, to max of 2 for Preference Day. All of the rounds are held at the central commons building.

Mom was a bit nervous that they hadn't secured any of the recs I had told her about. She was also worried about Future Engineer not having planned her recruitment wardrobe. Future Engineer headed off to Philanthropy Day, happily dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

The code will be:

Engineering
Technology
Gigabyte
Math
Science

Future Engineer enjoyed meeting women from all of the sororities. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served at various parties, depending on the time of day (dining etiquette might be more important than recs during MIT recruitment). She enjoyed learning about the philanthropies each group supports. By the end of the day, Future Engineer had two early favorites and ranked the groups:

1. Math
2. Technology
3. Science
4. Gigabyte
5. Engineering

Future Engineer’s mom was amazed at how invested she was in the philanthropies, as they all seemed to be endeavors she hadn’t paid any attention to previously! Future Engineer was very impressed with the volunteer work done by the chapters, and she explained to Mom that this work affected her rankings. Mom was a bit skeptical.

This might just be my favorite recruitment thread ever. Go-Go Gadget STEMGirl!

Looking forward to hearing the rest!

Future Engineer was happy to receive invitations to her top 3 chapters for Sisterhood Day!

Once again, she opted for a T-shirt and shorts. Her mom seriously questioned this choice of attire, and felt she was making a mistake by dressing sooooo casually. However, Future Engineer assured her that she fit right in. She also assured mom that not having recs was perfectly fine, as there were quite a few international students and most of her fellow PNMs would be first-generation sorority members.
Lunch was served during this round. Future Engineer’s visit with the sisters of Math cemented this group as her solid favorite. She absolutely loved this chapter! She also enjoyed Science, but Technology slipped quite a bit in her rankings. At the end of the day, she flip-flopped her #2 and #3 from first round, and ranked the groups:

1. Math
2. Science
3. Technology

Future Engineer could only return to two groups for Preference Day. She was quite set in her rankings, and her mom hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed. Mom didn’t understand how she could be so committed to one sorority, when she had only been “rushing” for 2 days and hadn’t made a final decision to go through recruitment until after arriving on campus.

Only 5 of the 6 chapters on campus participate in recruitment?

I sat with the MIT ladies and one of their advisors opening night of convention this year.

AEPhi does not participate in FR at MIT, much like SDT at some other campuses

tangent: is it campuses, campi, something else?

Future Engineer followed the dress code and pleased her mom by ditching the shorts and T and wearing a dress for Preference Day. She was ecstatic that her favorite group, Math, had invited her to Pref! However, she was less excited to see that she had not been invited back to Technology, and her other invitation was to Science. There was a wide gap between the 2 groups in her rankings, and although her Rho Pi Chi had told them to keep an open mind, this was very difficult. She was set on her favorite from the beginning!

The preference day parties confirmed her rankings. Future Engineer had her mind made up. She felt she belonged at Math. They seemed to have a great sisterhood, and she felt she would fit right in. The sisters of Science were not able to sway her. During the rankings, she even considering SIPing for Math, but her Rho Pi Chi talked her out of it and she ranked both groups:

1. Math
2. Science

From the end of Preference Day to the beginning of Bid Night, a 24-hour period of silence ensued. Future Engineer told her parents she wasn’t sure that she would accept a bid from Science. She was absolutely enamored with Math. Her mom was worried and told her give it a try if she matched with Science. Mom may not be Greek, but she was giving good advice!

Uh-oh: While a 24-hour period of silence had commenced, Future Engineer still attended a fraternity party that evening. Mom was worried about this, but Future Engineer assured her that she hadn’t been drinking or engaging in any other questionable behavior. However, Mom and Dad learned from the very active MIT Parents FB page that a party attendee had fallen out of a 3rd story window at this party (non-student, not seriously hurt). Now Mom was really worried.

I LOVE this recruitment story!

I, too, love the thread (and a recruitment story that is so close to me, for maybe the first time ever!)

It really captures the mindset of a PNM so well.

Bid "Day" was last night. Future Engineer sent her mom a one word text: MATH!!!



Otherwise known as:


































































































THETA!!!


Mom asked me what goes on at Bid Day. I told her: T-shirts, swag, pictures, bonding, singing, snacking, and no boys. She said the last two words were music to her ears. ;)

YIPPEEEEE!!!!!! I was looking at the Theta Bid Day pics last night, wondering if one of those young ladies was the PNM of this story!

I just had a feeling from the start of the story...great thread!

Congratulations!