[Storytime!]

Day 4 – Pref (60 min parties)

I was freaking out after only getting back two the day before. I knew I had at least one chapter because I hadn’t gotten the dreaded call. I told myself that Rachel was a great opportunity, but I had knots in my stomach at the thought of not seeing Monica on my card. I was wearing grey wool pants and a black turtleneck sweater style thing (it was dressier than it sounds) with black heels. PNMs, I typically recommend wearing a dress to pref, but swimmers stop shaving their legs from October to about March when championships roll around, so a dress was not an option for me (some pledging events that required a dress also required several pairs of nude tights). I opened my card and it read


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Rachel
Monica

I had both chapters back!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was still a chance that I could be a Monica! I don’t think I’ve ever felt relief like this before in my life. I was also excited to get to know the Rachel’s from my campus better since I hadn’t spent much time with them during the Philanthropy round.

My friends cards were:

J had Chandler and Joey
A had Joey and Phoebe
E had Phoebe and Monica
L had Rachel and Monica
N had Monica and Chandler

Rachel- I was again paired with a sister from a nearby chapter while the sisters from my school walked around talking to all of the PNMs. I had the best conversation with the active from the other chapter. I really loved her. If I had been at her school I 1000% would have wanted to be a Rachel and have her as my big. But the conversations I had with the actives from my school when they came by were not as great. They were sweet girls, and most of them were really involved on campus, but there were too many unknowns about how the chapter would turn out for me to really be excited about Rachel. Their pref ceremony left me teary, and I left feeling like if ended up here it would be a good place to be, but just wasn’t excited.

Monica- I was picked up by a junior that I hadn’t met before who was one of the most beautiful women ever. We had such a sweet conversation about their sisterhood and how she made her decision to be a Monica. She had gotten sick and had to spend a couple days in the hospital just after her bid day, and talked about how sisters she had barely met would stop by the and sent notes and flowers making sure she didn't feel like she was missing out on the new member activities. Their pref ceremony was so moving, and though I won’t describe the specifics, I cried. This wasn't a hard choice for me- I wanted to be a Monica.

I filled out my card:

Monica
Rachel

And signed to be a sister. I was still upset that I didn’t get a chance to be a Phoebe, but I was happy with these two as my possible next home.

The campus did not have QA yet, so you weren’t guaranteed a bid even if you maximized your options, but as quota was set based on pref numbers, most women got a bid (I think one gal who had Joey and Monica in my dorm did not get a bid, but she was COB’d by Rachel into their new member class).