A very merry recruitment

[MandyPepperidge]

I am a longtime lurker, found this site after I rushed, always wanted to post my rush story, and so here it is.

Background: I had always planned on joining a sorority (both my parents are Greek) and so I was very excited for recruitment to start. I rushed as a sophomore at a Southern school. It was a competitive, but not cut throat rush. I was a transfer student and out-of-state, so I had NO idea what the nine chapters at my school were like. I also didn't realize that rushing as a sophomore would be difficult or that I should have gotten recommendations to compensate for my non-first year status.

I will code my chapters after my favorite handbag labels:
Fendi
Mulberry
Kooba
Coach
Longchamps
Louis Vuitton
kate spade
Marc Jacobs
Gucci

[txcutie]

yay let's hear it!

[LucyKKG]

Why am I obsessed with recruitment stories now? Is it because recruitment is coming up (for us)? Ahhh!

[MandyPepperidge]

The first round of recruitment was split over two days.
On the first day I visited Fendi first. I had met two Fendis prior to rush because they lived across the hall from me. We watched Laguna together, talked, and so forth. I thought they were nice, but not girls I would be best friends with. Nevertheless, I went in with an open mind. The girls were very energetic here, almost like professional recruiters. They rotated very quickly, so I met about 7 sisters by the end of the round, but didn't get a feel for the house. I remember thinking that the girls were drop-dead gorgeous here. After I left, I marked in my book that I wasn't crazy about Fendi; they seemed too done-up... even for me.

Mulberry was my second house and we had to hoof it to get there. Their house was adorable, but I didn't like the feel of the house. The girls seemed as though they weren't trying to impress us or maybe they just didn't practice long enough. The first girl I spoke to admitted that she wasn't good at making small talk (awk!!), but it picked up with the last sister I met. She was also a transfer student, out-of-state, loved art, and horseback rode. Although I left not liking Mulberry, I did like this girl a lot.

Kooba was one of the houses I heard a ton about before getting to school. I had a number of friends at a neighboring school and knew this house very well. Kooba lived up to my expectations. The girls were very nice, very put-together, and seemed like they knew how to study hard, but still have fun. Kooba jumped to the top of my list.

Coach was the last house for the first evening. I loved it here! The girls I met were very nice and the type of girls I was friends with in high school. I was also smitten with their kitchen floor... weird I know, but it reminded me of the tiling in my favorite department store! I do remember feeling very uncomfortable at one point though. Hurricane Katrina had just hit and one of the sisters, whom I talked to, had obviously been crying all day. She revealed that she was from New Orleans and still hadn't heard from her parents. Kudos to her for going through recruitment I guess? (Her parents, I believe, were fine since I never heard anything after that.)

On the second day, I started out at Longchamps. The girls seemed very Southern here, they just had that Southern beauty radiating from the house. I had a good time and definitely wanted to come back, but I didn't feel overwhelmingly in love with Longchamps.

Louis Vuitton was the other house I heard about before rush because of the same circumstances. Before the girls even came out I was in love. Talk about a gorgeous house, it looked like a compound! LV did an adorable song and you could tell the girls loved their house... after all, you'd have to love your house to jump around in at least 3" stilettos for two days of rounds! I liked all the sisters I met here and felt confident that I would fit in here.

After LV, we headed to kate spade. I had a similar experience here like I did with Mulberry. I wasn't wow-ed by their song, although their door chant was very catch-y. I did meet a lot of sisters here, including their President. I thought the house was very athletic because everyone talked about the sports they played. This didn't completely turn me off, but I didn't feel like I was a good fit here. I was very disappointed by this because (sidenote alert!) at the school I transferred from, I was almost certain to go ks. The previous school had deferred rush and although there wasn't dirty rushing, you did get to know the houses and sisters very well. Almost every PNM knew prior to rush where she would get a bid from. Several kate spades at my previous school were hoping I would join this chapter so we could share the sisterhood. As a result, I was willing to put aside my initial impressions and try kate spade again if I had the opportunity.

Next up was Marc Jacobs. All I thought was a big WTF here. If you knew the house, you could probably figure out why. I must stress, I mean a 'WTF' to a physical part of this house, not the sisters in anyway. This house was just alright, but I was willing to go back.

My final house was Gucci. As I stood in front of Gucci, I thought 'Gosh, I hope this house sucks because I don't know which other house will be on my cut list.' (I was going to cut Fendi.) Of course, this was not the case. I fell hard for Gucci. I clicked with a sister who had grown up very close to me before moving to her current homestate. As I left Gucci, I called my best friend and told her I had just met my big sister. We also talked about the other houses before I arrived at the spot where we listed the houses.

At rankings we were asked to put down our top 7, and then our bottom 2, which would be cut if possible. I decided to put Fendi and Marc Jacobs on the chopping block.

I'll post my second round tomorrow!!

[violetpretty]

Nice username. Can't wait to hear the rest!

[Fleur de Lis]

I am so happy recruitment threads are back. Looking forward to the rest of the story!

[honeychile]

You had me with your username, too - can't wait to hear the rest!

[asa06091987]

yay recruitment! its soo sooooooon!!!!
sometimes these threads make me wish i could do it again! ...lol...okay, maybe not...

[Benzgirl]

I am such the Kooba girl, so I already have a favorite

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Nice username. Can't wait to hear the rest!

Originally Posted by honeychile

You had me with your username, too - can't wait to hear the rest!

We all know how this turns out. She and Barbara 'Babs' Jansen join Tri Pi!

[MandyPepperidge]

I was very anxious to get my invite list for the second round. When I opened my list, I was very surprised to see only five houses listed, instead of a full schedule of seven. The two girls in my rush group who were also sophomores had similar results. Not to overcompensate, but I now know that it was due to a few reasons. The first was probably my age; at the time (and even a bit today) many of the chapters did not take non-first years. Second, my GPA wasn’t high enough to go back to two houses; we’re talking 3.7+ for non-first years. Finally, and this is my take, I probably didn’t earn points for my nametag. I’ll explain. I had a flamboyant nametag which flaunted where I was from. Needless to say, my homestate is not the least bit Southern and it often finds itself as the bane of many Southerners.

But I digress! My invite list had me going back to my three favorites: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Kooba, as well as Mulberry and kate spade. I was disappointed to not be going back to Longchamps or Coach, but knowing what I know now, these weren’t the best fits for me.

So let’s get to the meat! The first house I visited was Mulberry. At this point, I have no recollection of their skit. The girl that I clicked with the round before made it a point to stop by and say hello, so that was nice. Nevertheless, I left feeling ambivalent towards this house.

After Mulberry, I headed to one of my top three, Louis Vuitton. I had a great time there. I enjoyed their skit, although it wasn’t one of my favorites, and I loved seeing more of the house. As I left, the sister I was talking to made it a point to get the spelling of my name correct and she told me she was looking forward to showing me more of the house. (Oops! That’s a rush no-no!) I was ecstatic about the prospect of coming back to Louis!

I then headed to kate spade. I loved their skit as well. I also thought it was funny that the girl who met me at the door was wearing the same Lilly dress I was going to wear for house tours. Just like the day before, I met some of the executive members which I took to be a good sign. Although I left thinking kate spade wanted me, I still wasn’t sure they were the house for me. Again though, I wanted to go back and give them another chance.

My fourth house was my favorite, Gucci. I though Gucci had an adorable and very funny skit. The personalities portrayed were all very different and it seemed diverse in that sense. I liked that this house didn’t seem so cookie cutter or fit a particular stereotype. The girl who I had clicked so well with gave me a wave during the skit, but we didn’t get a chance to talk. Gucci was definitely staying at the top of my list.

The final party was that of Kooba. There was a lot of hype about their skit and they did not disappoint – it was hilarious! It was much funnier than the other houses’. One of the sisters I had spoken to two days prior waved to me and I liked the girls that I met that day, too. I didn’t feel like I got to know the sisters I met during skit round, but it didn’t change my opinion of Kooba. They were in my top three.

After skit round, I ranked all my chapters as 1, but I was hoping to not visit Mulberry again.

[MandyPepperidge]

Originally Posted by TSteven

We all know how this turns out. She and Barbara 'Babs' Jansen join Tri Pi!

We'll see!!

[LucyKKG]

Aww too bad you can't be in the house with your favorite floor! Lol that was kind of weird, but the sense of familiarity made you comfortable, I'm sure.

[ASUADPi]

Yeah another rush thread! I was going through withdrawl

[MandyPepperidge]

I hurried off the morning of house tours in my aforementioned Lilly dress, eager to see my schedule. PNMs could attend five parties and I was certain that I would be going back to five. Imagine my astonishment to see only three houses listed! Kooba and Louis Vuitton, two of my top three, had cut me! Needless to say, I was upset and disappointed. I immediately called my best friend, who had gone through a deferred recruitment up North the previous semester. I told her I wanted to drop. I just couldn’t believe that I didn’t have two of my favorites and the Louis Vuitton sister had implied that I was coming back. The best friend knocked some sense into me by pointing out that I still had Gucci (true) and kate spade needed another chance. I agreed, touched up my make-up, and headed off to my first house.

I arrived at Mulberry and was greeted by the sister I had clicked with on the first day. She and I repeated our conversation from the previous day as she showed me around their house, but at least she remembered me. Their philanthropy was a cute idea, but I didn’t like the other sisters I met that day. Conversations felt forced and everyone seemed a little… tired? I chalked it up to the heat, but I left feeling like I did not want to be a Mulberry.

After Mulberry, I headed to my favorite, Gucci. I was surprised, delighted, and very nervous when the first round girl’s big sister came out to retrieve me. I had to make a good impression! She and I had a nice conversation, but we didn’t have a lot in common. I thought I blew it with her. I was very thankful and happy when her little/my rush crush (yes, PNMs get rush crushes, too!) took me on the house tour. I don’t remember thinking one way or the other about the house as a physical place. Instead I was just enjoying the conversation and trying to make another good impression. I took a chance with that impression when I inhaled some cookie dough as she and I made our way out of the house, but hey, I needed to show that I wasn’t too uptight. She thought it was funny and admitted that she was planning on doing the same thing after the day was over.

From Gucci I headed to kate spade. A sister greeted me and we started our tour of their very gorgeous house. It felt very cozy and like a real home. I also liked the deck that they used to tan on. Even though I felt like kate spade wanted me and their President made it a point to find me during the tour, I realized that I did not belong in kate spade. I decided to drop the hint during the tour. I think I asked the sister if she knew from day one that she wanted to be a kate spade, to which she answered a very enthusiastic yes. When she asked me if there were any houses I felt like I belonged at, I said ‘Yes, there was a house today that I know I want to be in.’ I was disappointed that kate spade wasn’t the house for me because I really did want to share the sisterhood with my other friends, but I knew that I wouldn't fit in there.

After my last house, I went out to lunch with some girls in my Rho Chi group. Both were non-first years and were dealing with the rejection of houses they liked. Each of us still had our top house left though. One girl, we’ll call her Babs, and I had become friends quickly during rush and we made plans to go out that night. She was also leaning towards Gucci and I was excited that we might end up together.