Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! An Arkansas Recruitment Story
 

A week from now I will be starting recruitment at the U of A! I am so excited, but so nervous! I just moved into my apartment and one of my roommates is also participating. I'm so glad I'll have someone to go through all this with! :D

The sororities fully participating in formal recruitment are: Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi and Zeta Tau Alpha. This year we have 2 sororities colonizing (Alpha Chi Omega and Phi Mu), but they will drop out of formal recruitment after the first round.

I decided to use animals for my code! In no particular order:
Alligators
Monkeys
Tigers
Giraffes
Penguins
Bears
Lions
Zebras

Day 1 is Orientation and Open Parties
Day 2 is Open Parties
Day 3 & 4 are Philanthropy
Day 5 & 6 are House Tours
Day 7 is Preference Day/Night
Day 8 is Bid Day

Can't wait to read your recruitment experience! I'll be rushing at Mizzou this year and am wishing you luck!

I'll be rooting for the Monkeys because um, if you can't tell by my username, I kind of love monkeys! Haha

Good luck!! I can't wait to read an Arkansas recruitment story to see what you think of the colonies. And the gorgeous houses.

Also, can I just say I love all the PNMs supporting each other so much? It seems like we have a bunch of super sweet girls posting recruitment stories right now. Way to keep it classy and polite ladies.

Can't wait!!!!

I hope we're the Giraffes! I love Giraffes!

Rooting for Lions- duh!
And a big Wooooo Pig Sooooeee!
I used to live in Arkansas :) .

Good luck. I would love to hear about the colony presentations. I'm unfamiliar with that process. I hope you can share a little about both presentations and your thoughts.

Good luck to you! We have several girls from our area going thru this year at Arkansas. I am sure you will make lots of great friends

As an AEPhi, I'm pretty much obligated to cheer for the Giraffes. ;)

Good luck - I hope you find your perfect fit.

I LOVE how many PNMs are getting ready to post their stories right now! Looks like I'll have lots of good reading to do in the coming weeks :) Best of luck to you! Remember always always ALWAYS keep an open mind and be yourself!!!

Day One: Orientation and Open Parties
 

Today, my roommate and I went to the basketball arena at 7:00 am and checked in. After that, we waited for about an hour for all the girls to file in. After introductions from the recruitment panel, Panhellenic council, the Greek Life office and chapter presidents, we watched skits from the Gamma Chi’s. They covered everything from what to wear to how to react to “frat-lappers”. They were really funny! Then we met our Gamma Chi groups, went over how recruitment would play out and then got our t-shirts. Luckily, my group didn’t have any parties that day. We got to go back home and sleep!

Day Two: Open Parties
 

I was so nervous when I woke up! I was hoping that I would look good and that the conversations wouldn’t be forced. Our Gamma Chi group met at 6:50 and waited for our first party at 8:30.
We went to the colonization presentations first. I liked the presentations, but my only dislike is that we couldn’t ask the presenters questions. Party one was good. I kind of felt like I still didn't know much about the sorority afterward though. Party two was really cool. They invited alumnae from the area and a few were from the first pledge class at Arkansas. Party two was my favorite of the two. If I ended up colonizing, I think I would have gone with them.

My first of the “real” parties was at TIGER. I knew a lot of great girls in this sorority, but was still nervous to go in. When I was picked up by my first member, I thought I recognized her from a class. It was good to see a familiar face! Our conversation flowed really well and we talked about a lot. I talked to two more girls that I honestly don’t remember as well, but the first girl came back at the end too. I really liked that she brought me in and guided me out. Overall, I felt very comfortable with the TIGERS.

My second party was at ALLIGATOR. I didn’t see any of the girls I know, but the girls I met were all very nice. The first girl complimented the skirt I was wearing and the conversation was pretty good. I left not knowing how I felt about this house. I liked the girls, but I wasn’t sure if I could see myself being best friends with them.

My third party was at ZEBRA. I saw a few girls I knew, but did not know the girl who picked me up. She was the only one I talked to the whole time. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. We had a lot in common though and the conversation was nice. It wasn’t as comfortable as TIGERS, but since I only spoke to one girl I knew I really wanted to come back.

After lunch my fourth party was with GIRAFFE. This was the first house I fell in love with. I told myself not to, but it was so hard. I was picked up by a girl I knew from high school, but we didn’t know that much about each other. This made me feel so comfortable right from the start. The last girl I talked to also rushed as a sophomore. I wanted to talk with her more, but time ran out. I was really, really hoping to be invited back and especially wanted to talk to my last girl more. I already felt at home and it was only day one!

My fifth party was at MONKEY. I had some really good friends here and really expected to love it. I was picked up by a good friend at the door. It was good to be able to talk to her! My next girl was okay. I don’t know if I was just tired or what, but the conversation seemed to be lacking something. I’m not sure what it was. I was hoping to be invited back, but was okay with it not working out.

My sixth party was at LIONS. I also absolutely loved this house. She complimented me on my skirt and the conversation was so relaxed. Girls kept coming up to introduce themselves and then we would go back to talking. One of the girls who came up said she had heard great things about me and was glad I was there. Another girl I met previously through a mutual friend also stopped by and it was good to see her! I felt so comfortable and in my notes wrote “just overall wonderful”.

My seventh was at PENGUINS. I also had friends here. I really liked the first girl who picked me up. We had a lot in common. Two of my good friends came and said hi. The girl asked how I knew them and that also sparked good conversation. I talked to two great girls in PENGUIN and felt comfortable.

My last party was at BEARS. They were in a different location from their house, but it was so cute! As I was walking in, I saw lots of familiar faces. I didn’t know the first two girls who talked to me, but the last one I sort of knew. We went to church together before she went to college. Everyone was so sweet and I felt comfortable with the girls.

Overall, I had a really good day! I felt like the conversations I had were all so good! I was very tired at the end of the day, but all the chapters kept the energy going through the day. It was so hard to pick a bottom two! After day one, this was my rankings:
0. Giraffes
0. Lions
0. Tigers
0. Penguins
0. Bears
0. Zebras
1. Monkeys
2. Alligators

Woo hoo! Keep going!

Day Three: Philanthropy Day
 

I had some hard cuts today. If I am correct, they made lots of cuts based on grade risks. I’ll admit I was a grade risk. I’m not sure what my GPA was after summer school, but I know I was most likely still a risk. I only had three houses. However, I heard that many girls did not have any. I had GIRAFFE, ALLIGATOR and MONKEY. I was SO happy to have GIRAFFE!

Giraffe was my first party. The first girl to talk to me was a roommate last year with the girl I knew from high school. She said the girl told her that I was so sweet and she wanted to meet me! I told her that I was excited and thankful to be invited back. I also had a girl in between who I had great conversation with. The last girl was a senior and she was the philanthropy chair last year. It was so cool for her to talk about her philanthropy since she was so involved. I also spotted a girl I know through a good friend and she said hi and waved. The video was so great! I got a little choked up during it. After the video, some of the girls got up and sang a very cute song. I was sad I had to go! I know it’s a little early, but I started to feel so at home there. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t be cut before house tours.

My second was at ALLIGATOR. After a just okay first day here, I was hoping that they would change my mind. All the girls were very nice, but I didn’t have the friend/roommate pass-off like I did at GIRAFFE. I tried very hard not to compare the two, but it was hard after such a fantastic party. One girl also said something sort of negative about the other sororities and it put me off a little. I’m sure she meant well, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Their video was also great! In this party, I also talked to girls afterwards. Overall, it was a good party, but I didn’t feel like I was really at home.

Where's Monkey?