Worth Going Through Informal as a Soph after getting dropped?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by sunrain

Thanks for the advice everyone! And AOII, I actually talked to the woman in charge of Greek life on campus, so those numbers are accurate. At my school, about 50% of the girls who rushed ended up in a sorority. It certainly wasn't pre-set because a lot of the houses gave more bids than they were supposed to, but this year an extremely large number of girls rushed. Granted, maybe 5-10% of girls dropped.

Then the woman isn't very knowledgeable or just isn't good at explaining things. Trust us, every single sorority did not cut 300 out of 600 women. The key words are "every single sorority." There may be a large percentage of women who only had invites to one sorority, but that is not the same as being completely dropped. Those women chose not to be a part of the Greek system if they didn't explore the option they had further.

At any rate, try informal rush. It's a lot more laid back and less of a cattle call atmosphere.

[sunrain]

That's good input on what I should change. I am honestly not too sure. Some of the houses I was cut from weren't a good fit and even from night 1, I could tell I just wouldn't fit in. I think that I really realized one of the houses wasn't right for me when it became apparent that the girls I were talking to had been drinking.

As far as the other houses I saw and liked and was invited back to up until pref night, I think that I need to work on making myself more memorable and being less awkard. And connecting with each girl rather than trying to learn about the chapter as a whole, which is what I did in formal recruitment--I asked questions about what they loved about their house and tried to build it up from then. If I had known it was more about connecting with every girl, I would've gone about the process differently.

My school won't be having any more colonies coming When I talked to my greek adviser, this is something I mentioned because so many girls got cut/left the process. However, it would be a very slow process that all the houses would have to vote on. And with informal recruitment, she said it was highly unlikely that another chapter would colonize.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by sunrain

If I had known it was more about connecting with every girl, I would've gone about the process differently.

What did you think it was about? You're joining a student organization to make friends. Also, it sounds like asking someone what she loves about her sorority and asking questions about her membership is attempting to connect. Perhaps they thought you weren't a good fit, just as you decided you weren't a good fit in the others. No one can say for sure. But you can continue to practice your interviewing skills, and perhaps putting yourself out there and joining some other student orgs will be helpful. It will also help you get involved on campus and show you have even more value to a sorority. Not to mention it will be fun and keep you busy.

I'm also curious as to how you ascertained there were members who had been drinking during a recruitment event... Did you smell the alcohol on their breath? Observe them drinking?

[crescent&pearls]

Originally Posted by sunrain

As far as the other houses I saw and liked and was invited back to up until pref night, I think that I need to work on making myself more memorable and being less awkard. And connecting with each girl rather than trying to learn about the chapter as a whole, which is what I did in formal recruitment--I asked questions about what they loved about their house and tried to build it up from then. If I had known it was more about connecting with every girl, I would've gone about the process differently.

It would be impossible to make a "connection" with every person you meet. It's more subtle than that- you want to leave a positive impression on each person you meet, or as many as possible, so that they feel you are a person they would like to get to know better.

As you already know, every chapter isn't going to be a good fit. And this may not be the right thing for you- obviously it's not for everyone. Many women sign up for recruitment, attend all the first or second round, have a full schedule of invites and drop out of the process for a whole host of reasons that are not necessarily "I didn't get my fave, so now I'm done with this recruitment thing." That doesn't mean there's something wrong with sororities, and if you weren't or aren't extended a bid, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. This is an exploratory process. Don't make it more serious than it is, and you'll probably be more relaxed and better able to present yourself in a more effective manner.

[sunrain]

Yes, I could smell the alcohol. Maybe I was too vague, but it seems like a lot of people I talked to who rushed successfully didn't ask about their house or philanthropy at all, it was purely about other things. That's what I mean about connecting more with each girl.

Otherwise, I did make every attempt to talk about what interested me--from academics to extracurriculars to things that just came up naturally like movies, camping, smores, boyfriends, etc.

I think I will definitely take it less seriously, which would help. At the end of the day, it's just another social organization.

[crescent&pearls]

Originally Posted by sunrain

At the end of the day, it's just another social organization.

Until after you are initiated...and that's when it becomes something so much more.