pref day ceremonies
 

hii!

I am currently VPMR of the epsilon alpha chapter and we seem to be struggling with our pref. our girls can't seem to close the deal. I was wondering what other AOII chapters do and even what other sororities do for their preference ceremonies. A chapter I know does the whole "throw your wish into the well" and then sisters will say to the pnm "I hope your wish is the same as mine." I am looking for something with the same "wow" factor. If you have ANY ideas please let me know!! I have checked headquarters and their resources and nothing seems to stick out to me too much.

PLEASE help,
thanks!

I don't think those things like the wishing well do anything. Authentic heart-felt conversation is what will close the deal. Finding the exact wording to "ask for the sale" without crossing the line of rush infractions is, in my opinion, the secret to improving your outcome. Letting the girl know you want her is critical. And the thing is, if she's on your pref list she is on your bid list; the question is just where. So you can with absolute honesty say that you, as a group and you personally want her in the chapter. You don't want to insist that she IS in the chapter, but really anything short of a promise should be considered fair game. I think struggling chapters tend to worry about not overstepping their bounds and the strong chapters say what feels right, even if they might step a toe over the line. And frankly, if you are a struggling chapter, you know that there is virtually no scenario where you would lose a girl because of not being high enough on your list. So quit worrying about it, show the love and really know what each girl is looking for. And then speak to that.

I think even girls who seem a bit tougher, colder, more aloof want the tears and hugs on preference night. So don't worry about going over the top.

We were a strong recruiting chapter, but even so, always lost a few to other strong recruiting chapters.

Do you all do your homework on the young women who are coming to your pref? I was really wavering after pref night but one thing that swung me over to Chi O was that so many of the sisters knew me by name. Without looking at my name tag. And greeted me warmly by name, often saying something that let me know that they knew who I was as an individual. Some greeted me that way whom I hadn't really talked with before. The other group had used primarily one sister to rush me all the way through, and I didn't feel like I knew many of the other sisters as well. Both were great groups, but I felt more of a group connection to the group I pledged.

At the Chi Omega pref and also parties before pref, I was also introduced to other PNMs. It just seemed like a more normal gathering.

IMO, sincerity is very important as well as many sisters connecting to that PNM as an individual.