My "Retro" Recruitment Story!

[scrantonicity]

Hey everyone! I've been lurking this site for a few months now and I thought it was time for me to stop being a creeper and start posting! I absolutely LOVE reading Recruitment Stories (especially Retro ones from the 70's/80's!) so I'd like to share my own with you all! Like so many before me, mine was an experience I'm not likely to ever forget.

I rushed last fall at the start of my freshman year. For the sake of secrecy, I will do my very best not to give away too many details about my location! And no, my username is not a clue - I just happen to love The Office. Anyways, in the spirit of the holiday season I've named my campus' NPC sororities after Santa's reindeer, plus one special guest because there were apparently only nine:

Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donder
Blitzen
Rudolph
Jack Frost

Some background info on me: I was completely and utterly CLUELESS about Greek Life before I went through Formal Recruitment. No one in my family has ever been Greek. My mom, in fact, is from an entirely different country (let's say Australia) where sororities are pretty much nonexistent. She was very wary of my decision to rush, but supportive because she's a great mom. My decision was mostly based on the fact that none of my close girlfriends were attending the same university, and I wanted to meet people. What I thought I knew about Greek Life came from pop culture; a very warped impression, unfortunately. I fully expected all the houses to be full of Barbie Girls, and had a feeling I would simply not fit in. Still, I wanted to make lifelong friendships and was determined to give it a shot.

I grew up in a small, very suburban town; pretty much everyone in my class had known each other since elementary school. I was a dancer for eleven years before I started high school, and then I was a cheerleader for two. I was very involved - I was a member of the National Honor Society, Class Council all four years, secretary of the French Club, and Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook. I would consider myself a "floater" in high school; I had my tight-knit group of a few close girlfriends, but I got along with pretty much everyone. I graduated with Honors and a solid unweighted GPA.

I guess I sound pretty good on paper, now that I'm writing all this. My biggest issue going into Recruitment, however, was that I was very shy and somewhat awkward when I first met people. I was very prone to spastic bouts of clumsiness (especially when nervous... and still kind of am, haha) and being young/fresh out of high school, I was quite insecure about my own appearance. Overall, I'd say I had the same insecurities and preconceived notions as a lot of PNMs, though I didn't know it at the time.

Well, I shall keep writing because I'm wide awake, and I certainly hope a few of you will be interested enough to read! I'm so excited to finally be posting, haha.

(Side Note: I think I have a good grasp on GC etiquette, but please please correct me if I make a mistake! I don't mean to offend or come across as ignorant! Thank you!)

[Senusret I]

Sounds good so far! My bets are on Blitzen!

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Sounds good so far! My bets are on Blitzen!

Vixen's always been my #1.

[icelandelf]

I'm going for Rudolph.

Slight hijack--Sen were you alright today? I was worried about you and the flooding I saw on TV in DC

/end hijack

[Senusret I]

(Thanks for asking! The flooding happened in Bethesda, MD -- right outside DC. It was severe enough that NIH had to close down. Not from the flooding itself but the lack of running water on the campus. I don't work there, but family members do. Meanwhile, where I work in DC, we wouldn't have known anything was wrong if not for emails and such. ETA: It amazes me that this made national news.)

[GammaPhi88]

I'm a fan of Jack Frost.

And icelandelf...I had no idea the flooding was on the news! I was about to drive into DC using River Road (where it flooded), this morning...luckily I decided to metro in instead. Wow.

[lovespink88]

First of all, LOVE your user name!

Secondly...

Originally Posted by scrantonicity

I guess I sound pretty good on paper, now that I'm writing all this. My biggest issue going into Recruitment, however, was that I was very shy and somewhat awkward when I first met people. I was very prone to spastic bouts of clumsiness (especially when nervous... and still kind of am, haha)

I am the exact same way! I feel your pain!

And finally, I'm gonna root for Cupid! Can't wait to read your thread!

[scrantonicity]

First of all, I'm glad to hear you and your family members are alright Senusret! I feel so out of the loop, I missed the 6 o'clock news tonight... Anyways, thank you all for your interest! I think I'm having a little too much fun writing this, but ever since I found my notebook from Recruitment I've been dying to decipher my notes and see what I remember. Turns out, I have a pretty detailed, somewhat wordy memory haha.


I spent the summer after graduation working as a receptionist, and I won't lie, I logged a good number of company hours studying the websites of each sorority at my university. All of them looked absolutely amazing! All of the girls were beautiful and extremely involved; each chapter had it's share of campus leaders and members who were part of prestigious honor societies. All of them had tons of pictures from socials with fraternities and each one looked like a blast! I learned that every chapter also had their own philanthropy and logged many community service hours... this was a major brownie point for my mom, who was still uneasy about the whole Recruitment thing.

The one chapter that really stood out for me at the time was Donder - their philanthropy benefitted research to cure a disease that my best friend's father had recently been diagnosed with. This really struck a chord with me and I decided that I would really like to be a Donder.

Seeing as the summer before I left for college was quite possibly the most boring and restless three months of my young life, receiving my room assignment was just about the most interesting thing to happen to me since graduation! I was disappointed, however, when I saw I had been assigned to a fairly old, undesirable building. I took a chance and got myself waitlisted for the newer, nicer dorms. Lo and behold, a few weeks later I received word that I had been switched! I know this seems kind of insignificant, but this was actually very important to my Recruitment experience. My original roommate had no intention of rushing, but my new roommate would be going through with me!

Fast-forward to move-in day, I met my new roommate, "Kate." It was a little awkward at first, but I was determined to get along with her - after all, we would be sharing a room for quite a while. I was further encouraged by the fact that we had unknowingly chosen matching decor for our respective sides of the room; at least we both had good taste! Our suitemates were not rushing, so we would not meet them until the rest of the freshmen moved in later that week. The next night, Kate and I went to the informational meeting together, but we ended up in different Rho Gamma groups (or perhaps my school calls them Pi Chis, gosh, I just can't remember....). My Rho Gamma was absolutely adorable, and so enthusiastic! I couldn't help liking her, but I wish I could say the same for my group... we were a motley crew, really. There were just a few of us at my meeting (there were separate meetings, organized by last name). There was me, a very quiet, very freckly redhead ("Jamie"), FIVE chirpy blonde girls who looked exactly the same to me, and a very loud, obnoxious girl who had white-blonde hair streaked with black. I will call her "Skunk-Hair" because, 1. I can't remember her name and, 2. I honestly always think of her as Skunk-Hair.

After the informational meeting, I ran into a girl who had gone to my high school, "Mary." Mary was even more involved than I was, a varsity athlete, editor of the school paper, and fourth in the class GPA-wise. She was also a legacy at Cupid - her mother had been a Cupid at our university, actually. The two of us met up with Kate, who had also run into someone she knew: a friend of her family's named "Claire." The four of us went to dinner and of course, talked about Recruitment the whole time. Apparently Kate knew someone in Cupid as well. I was starting to think I was the only one without any connections! Anyways, I would come to find later that night that Kate actually couldn't stand Claire at all, and was only being nice to her because she'd known her for so long. Go figure.

I was very anxious that night when we finally went to bed. A mixture of nerves, excitement, and anticipation kept me up for quite awhile. I had no idea what to expect. Would I even make it through the week? Stay tuned for Day 1...

[tld221]

I had my bets on Donder before you posted again! But ill keep Jack Frost as my backup.

[Benzgirl]

I think Jack Frost is the outcast group that is socially awkward.

[scrantonicity]

Finally, the first day of Recruitment had arrived! Kate and I picked up Claire and we all rode over to Greek Row together. The two of them were in the same Rho Gam group (Kate was just thrilled about that) and would start the day at Cupid. My group was starting at Dasher, all the way at the end of the Row. When I arrived, I checked in with my Rho Gamma - they all use nicknames to hide their identity/affiliation at my school, and her's was a small town she had grown up in. For the sake of the story, I will call her "Boston" instead. After checking in, I sat down next to Jamie and we chatted for a little while. She was a bit shy too, and very nervous, but I liked her a lot. The Rho Gammas called us all to attention and started going over a few rules/tips. Things like "Keep an open mind," "Don't take your ice water out of the house," "Don't listen to tent talk," and "Be on your best behavior this week - going out tonight and getting drunk at (Local Bar) will not help you tomorrow!" All of this made perfect sense to me, but apparently Skunk-Hair had reservations. She raised her hand and asked, "Are we seriously not allowed to party at all this week? I was going to go out tonight!" The RGs were visibly suprised by her forwardness, but Boston simply told her, "You are free to do as you please, but being hungover at a party is not a good reflection on you." I found the whole thing pretty funny, but it definitely made me dislike Skunk-Hair even more. I silently hoped I would not end up in the same house as her. At last, it was time to line up!

Dasher - My first house on my first day! I was so nervous, I had no idea what to expect. What if I couldn't find a girl to talk to? Would there be snacks? Should I accept any, or is that some kind of a test? I was so absorbed in my thoughts at this point, I barely attempted the Dasher door chant. And then the doors swung open and.... ohh myy goshh THE NOISE! I was NOT expecting that. The other PNMs were a little hesitant about going in, but finally we made our way into the house. I was picked up by one of the girls, given a cup of ice water, and led into a room just off the foyer. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! After a quick introduction, the chapter president welcomed us, and immediately my rusher jumped into asking me questions. My first party is honestly a blur to me. I couldn't tell you what we talked about, but we chatted the entire time. I even spotted an old friend from middle school, "Sasha", who I didn't even know was a Dasher! I left this party feeling very good, and a bit more comfortable with the whole Recruitment thing.

Dancer - I was expecting more singing, and I was not disappointed here! There were about half as many girls in this chapter but boy were they still loud! I was double-rushed with Jamie at this party, but it went well. The Dancer ("Emma") was very nice and friendly, and neither Jamie nor I dominated the conversation. Another pleasant experience!

Prancer - I couldn't even believe it was already time for my third house. To be honest, I didn't make very many notes after visiting Prancer other than "Cute song" and a :-/ face. I suppose they didn't impress me, but I didn't have anything bad to say either.

Vixen - My next house I remember a bit better. The girl who picked me up was cute as a button with curly blonde hair and a huge smile. Let's call her "Ava." I had a nice time at this party too, and I found that I wasn't as bad a conversationalist as I'd expected. Or maybe she was just a very strong rusher? I don't know, but regardless, I adored Ava and the other girls I was introduced to. Everyone seemed so nice and enthusiastic at this house!

Next up was Comet - I knew a girl who was a Comet at another school, but obviously I hadn't thought to ask her for a rec. The house was not much to look at on the outside, but the inside was beautiful! I couldn't help wanting to look around at all of the decorations - their sorority symbols seemed to be everywhere! The girl who had picked me up started rattling off the same typical questions I had received at the other houses, which disappointed me at first. It didn't take long, however, to get to a more interesting topic. We spent the rest of the party talking about all the places we'd like to visit, and the cities we'd already been to. She thought it was incredibly cool that my mom was from Australia and that I'd been to Sydney. Of course she asked me if she had a cute accent, and yes, she does! It was a great conversation, and definitely the first one that day that had truly felt natural. I did not want to leave this house, and took that as a very good sign.

Part Two coming soon!

[scrantonicity]

After leaving what had so far been my best party of the day, I had high hopes for Cupid next. I thought I was used to all the singing/clapping by now, but these girls were louder, peppier, and more in sync than anyone else. To be honest, they were a little intense! And I couldn't help but notice as I was picked up and led into another room, that all the girls in Cupid were tall, tan, slender, blonde, and very pretty. I was a little intimidated. I was being double-rushed, this time with a fellow PNM who looked like she could blend right in here. The three of us chatted fairly nicely for a while; then the Cupid asked us if we liked the show, The Hills. I admitted that I liked watching it occasionally, but my over-eager rushmate instantly jumped on this commonality and went with it. She sounded something like this: "OHMYGOD I LOVE THE HILLS! LC IS LIKE, MY IDOL! I'M TOTALLY OBSESSED!!" And, well, yeah, I was pretty much out of the conversation from there on out. Funny thing is, I didn't really mind. Cupid had, unfortunately, rubbed me the wrong way from the get-go. I just couldn't see myself fitting in here.

I was a little disappointed after leaving Cupid, because I had had such a great day before then. I tried to stay positive, though, because my top choice, Donder, was up next! I was very excited, and I could tell a lot of the other PNMs were too. The very first "tent talk" I overheard was that Donder was considered one of (if not the) top houses at our school. This should have made me nervous, but it didn't. I truly felt that my time spent perusing the chapter's website and reading about their national organization had prepared me and given the right idea about who these girls were. I had a good feeling about this party.

Unlike the previous house, the Donder girls did not all look like carbon copies of each other. I felt a bit more comfortable here, but in the back of my mind it definitely occurred to me that I might not fit in with their elite reputation. Still, I was determined to find common ground with my rusher, "Jenna", and make a great impression. I was a little annoyed about being double-rushed yet again, but what could I do? Jenna did a great job of engaging both of us, and took us on a house tour. This was the first actual tour I had been on all day. I was not very impressed by the bedrooms, though - there were three to a room and each girl had only a small space to use. Not exactly ideal, but I still loved looking at all of their adorable sorority things around the rooms. Letters, symbols, colors, bigs, littles; Donder was everywhere I looked! At the end of the tour, Jenna led us back downstairs to the living room and she pointed out an award the chapter had received for an Outstanding Philanthopy Event. The other PNM was not particularly interested in this, but I saw my chance to really carry the conversation, and mentioned to Jenna how much I would love to work with their philanthropy. I also told her about my best friend's dad, and that it would mean a lot to me to help contribute to finding a cure. I was not expecting her response at all. Rather than go off of my interest in their philanthropy, she just sort of smiled, nodded, and started talking about all the fun SOCIALS they had last semester. Of all things to segue into, she chooses SOCIALS. I was stunned. I mean, I guess I hadn't known what sort of reaction to expect from her, but this? I was very offended. I had just shared something pretty personal with this girl and she had completely disregarded it. This did not sit well with me at all, and I felt quite miserable for the remainder of the party (which, thankfully, was not too long).

I feel that I should point out here that, in hindsight, I realize it was not a good idea for me to bring up something so personal on Day One. Having gone through Recruitment on the other side now, I know that conversation on the first day should be kept LIGHT and friendly. I definitely should have waited another day or two before mentioning the reason behind my interest in Donder's philanthropy. I know now that I probably caught poor Jenna off-guard. She probably, like me, was instructed to "keep it light" on Day One and didn't know how to handle the situation. If only I'd had GC back then I might have known not to bring it up, but oh well. Moving on!

I was not in the best of spirits when I crossed the street to my next house, Blitzen. Yet as soon as those doors were flung open and the girls started to sing and clap, I couldn't help but smile. They had so much energy and excitement, it was absolutely infectious! I ended up having a wonderful time at this house, despite my sour mood going into it. These girls were very involved on campus and very competitive when it came to intramurals and philanthropy events. I admitted that I was not the sportiest of girls, but my rusher assured me that plenty of sisters came out just to cheer each other on. I felt pretty good about this chapter, but I wasn't wholly convinced it was the right fit.

Next up was Rudolph. This was another chapter I didn't write too many notes on. My conversations here were very awkward and forced - I was definitely bumped from girl to girl a little too frequently, and wasn't really given enough time to have a decent chat with anyone.

FINALLY, my LAST house of the day was Jack Frost. I was very tired at this point, and getting hungry - we had started the day at about 1:00 and it was now dinner time. This chapter had a very cute, infectious door chant (one that, to this day, often gets stuck in my head!), and again, I was double-rushed. This time I was with a girl who I'd seen in my group but not really spoken to - "Rachel." Rachel really irritated me. She made it a point to monopolize the conversation from the start, bragging about all of her accomplishments and her summer internship at a magazine in NYC. The girl rushing us was very sweet and did not interrupt Rachel, but as soon as she paused to take a breath, she turned to me and brought me back into the conversation. I was very grateful, and impressed by her graciousness. After a few minutes talking in the living room, the Jack Frost led us upstairs on a quick house tour. Her room especially was just beautiful! The rooms at Jack Frost were laid out just like my dorm - two to a room, spacious, and with a bathroom shared by four girls. Walking around upstairs, I could totally picture myself living here next year. For only the second time that day, I did NOT want to leave when the party was over.

I was absolutely exhausted when I made it back to the tent, but I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to rank the chapters. We could be invited back to a maximum of 7 on Day Two. Picking my top and bottom two was the easiest part, but ranking the six other chapters (all of which I was very so-so about) was a little more difficult than I'd expected. I ended up with this list:

1. Jack Frost
2. Comet
3. Vixen
4. Blitzen
5. Rudolph
6. Dasher
7. Prancer
8. Dancer
9. Cupid
10. Donder

I was very sad about ranking Donder dead last, but I was still kind of upset about how that party had gone. I was convinced I had no chance getting an invite back anyways, which was how I also felt about Cupid. I chose to rank Dancer low, despite having a nice time at their house, simply because, unfortunately, it was evident to me by that time that they were considered the "worst" house. Rudolph, on the other hand, was considered one of the "top" and so I ranked them high despite not making any connections there that day. Yes, yes, I know, I was shallow and stupid, but that's how I ranked them.

Day Two and a little bit of drama coming soon!

[GammaPhi88]

I love how you're not keeping us hanging! And go Jack Frost and Comet!

[Senusret I]

^^^ Me too! And the Christmas themed names are keeping me entertained.

[twinkle555]

Youve got me hooked!!!