Washington and Lee Recruitment...what is it like?

[WestCoast3D]

I was surprised to read that Washington and Lee University has 5 chapters, and that 75% of undergraduate women are sorority members.
I'm just curious about what recruitment is like...I know it's in January, but that's about it.

[KSUViolet06]

breathesgelatin is our resident W&L girl, and can probably tell you all about it.

[alum]

According to Post 1 of http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=95900, W&L Panhel is expanding to 6 groups.

[xoredhotxo]

I'm currently a freshman in a sorority at w&l, so maybe I can help answer some of your questions. Formal rush is the first week you get back from winter break, which is early January. It's a week of visiting houses and doing different activities (philanthropy night, skit night, etc). Thursday night you'll be down to 2 houses, which you then pref. Friday is bid night!! Informal rush happens all fall term. You'll go on rush dates, meet lots of upperclassmen girls, and basically just figure out what you want to do. You'll have 6 sororities to choose from instead of just 5, since ADPi is coming next year. Feel free to ask any questions. Plus, you'll get a Rho Gamma to explain everything once you get to campus. Hope this helps!

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by xoredhotxo

I'm currently a freshman in a sorority at w&l, so maybe I can help answer some of your questions. Formal rush is the first week you get back from winter break, which is early January. It's a week of visiting houses and doing different activities (philanthropy night, skit night, etc). Thursday night you'll be down to 2 houses, which you then pref. Friday is bid night!! Informal rush happens all fall term. You'll go on rush dates, meet lots of upperclassmen girls, and basically just figure out what you want to do. You'll have 6 sororities to choose from instead of just 5, since ADPi is coming next year. Feel free to ask any questions. Plus, you'll get a Rho Gamma to explain everything once you get to campus. Hope this helps!

This is totally accurate but I wanted to add a few things. Recruitment at W&L (at least through 2006) has the following nights:

Philanthropy Night - make a craft
Skit Night - duh, you can figure this out
Sisterhood Night - watch a sisterhood video
Preference Night - have a pref ceremony

It goes 5-4-3-2. However, ADPi will be colonizing this year, so I have no idea how they will change those numbers. Due to the unusual nature of W&L, ADPi will be colonizing DURING formal recruitment. So obviously the first night will have 6 houses. I don't have any idea how they'll work from then on, though.

Besides the informal recruitment dates (which basically consist of sorority members calling you up and saying "let's hang out," often in large groups), there are also formal "Meet the Greeks" informational events that occur in the fall. I would guess ADPi will be doing some to promote themselves and their colonization as well in the fall.

Also, each freshman hall gets its own assigned Rho Gamma, which I think helps encourage people to register for recruitment...

xoredhotxo, feel free to correct any of that if it was outdated.

[PhiSigLisa]

Yay! Lexington is my hometown (and I heart the Lex Vegas)! A bunch of my high school classmates go/went there, but I can't tell you much about the Greek system there besides the houses are amazing to look at, almost everyone does rush/recruitment, and the frats throw some amazing parties. Don't wear your good shoes.

[WestCoast3D]

Thanks for your quick answers! I'm not asking for me (I'm an alum and my sorority is not on the W&L campus).
It sounds like there is a lot that happens informally in the fall...does this help to make formal rush less intimidating?
My college had maybe 15-20% of undergraduate women participating in sororities...I wondered if the high rates of participation at W&L make a rushee feel like the stakes are really high, or does it mean there really is a place for everyone?
P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by WestCoast3D

Thanks for your quick answers! I'm not asking for me (I'm an alum and my sorority is not on the W&L campus).
It sounds like there is a lot that happens informally in the fall...does this help to make formal rush less intimidating?
My college had maybe 15-20% of undergraduate women participating in sororities...I wondered if the high rates of participation at W&L make a rushee feel like the stakes are really high, or does it mean there really is a place for everyone?
P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

I'm a W&L alum who was president of my chapter. I graduated in '05.

In terms of the informal recruitment period in the fall, there is good and bad for the PNMs. Good, it lets you get to know upperclass women, and lets you get a "feel" for all of the groups before you join. Bad, there is a lot of what is called "tent talk" at other schools that gets spread around. Freshmen tend to have very stereotypical, inaccurate pictures of the houses. I say this as a former W&L freshman who had at least one stereotype of a house (that I did not join) that was completely wrong and really turned me off to that house.

I think that for some women at W&L the stakes are VERY high. When I was there, there was a definite "top three" that many women wanted to join. Although, I think that was increasingly becoming a "top two" with the third house down becoming more comparable to the "bottom two" houses (by the time I graduated, anyway). Obviously, things might have changed since I was there. My impression is that some women, particularly those who come in from particular southern high schools, know exactly which groups they will consider from day 1. In parallel fashion, the "top" groups also know from day 1 who some of their prime PNMs will be. The advantage of the informal recruitment period is that the houses also get a chance to know other women that they might not have considered based on day 1. So I've seen women that didn't have an "elite southern background" join the "top" group, because their friend group was those women and the "top" group genuinely liked them and brought them along for the ride. The DISADVANTAGE is that some freshmen women learn the stereotypes really quickly and get their hearts set on only joining two or three groups, and meet girls from those houses and convince themselves that because of informal recruitment they will definitely get in. So getting a rejection in that case is even more devastating than getting one to a house you feel like you've only "known" for a week.

Conversely, though, because of the high percentages of Greek life at W&L, there are many women who go Greek at W&L who might not have at other institutions. A lot of these women are just interested in the sorority experience, the leadership opportunities, and the housing and food opportunities (which are a MAJOR part of sophomore life at W&L), and are content to join nearly any group they feel a "fit" with. I would definitely say that I fell into the latter category during recruitment (for the most part - with the exception of my one really bad house stereotype!).

That was a long answer! Whew!

In terms of "good shoes," often it is snowy during recruitment week. I think like 3/4 times of recruitment for me at W&L it was snowy. Usually if it's snowy, Panhellenic dictates that women should wear practical shoes on the first night and that the sororities shouldn't judge them for doing so. LOL. But I don't remember anyone ever wearing sneakers/snow boots on preference night!!!

Welcome xoredhotxo to the boards. Not many W&L people here - there used to be a Theta who posted a few years back who was a year or two above me, but she's since disappeared...

[PhiSigLisa]

Originally Posted by WestCoast3D

P.S. Why should a rushee not wear her good shoes? Is it snowy?

Heh, sorry I was referring to the frat parties and the sludge on their basement floors. Lexington used to get some really good snows when I growing up, but we don't really get them anymore.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by PhiSigLisa

Heh, sorry I was referring to the frat parties and the sludge on their basement floors. Lexington used to get some really good snows when I growing up, but we don't really get them anymore.

After my freshman year I started buying a specific cheap pair of heels for frat parties every season. Frat sludge = the nasty.

[honeychile]

Breathesgelatin, as one of the people who has volunteered to help out with the ADPi colonization, do you think that not having the first term inside scoop on the freshmen will help or hurt? Please be brutally honest!

[xoredhotxo]

breathesgelatin did a really great job of giving all the information of sororities at w&l! as far as the "Stakes are high" thing, each house does have its stereotype. some people buy into those, some don't. the best thing to do is to really see where you personally feel the most comfortable. pledging a "top" house just because of its reputation could spell disaster if you don't really fit in with the girls. plus, with so many women in sororities, each house is going to have a variety of girls, despite its stereotype. things are going to change a little next year because of the addition of ADPi. as far as the nights go, it's going to be 6-5-3-2. the nice thing about gettin g a 6th srat is that our pledge classes will be smaller. (they're about 37 now). girls tend to get stressed out about rush (I know i did!) but in the end it is such a worthwhile experience

[WestCoast3D]

Thank you all for your insights! This board is such a tremendous resource!

[alum]

According to a Kappa alum with a UVa ADPi D, at least some of the girls from that chapter will be helping with the W&L colonization. UVa is always on break when W&L's recruitment occurs and then UVa's recruitment is almost immediately following so not all actives will be in the area.

[ADqtPiMel]

A lot of members from our George Washington University chapter will be helping out - they were pushing hard for help at District III's DLC so probably a lot of the D3 chapters like Va. Tech, UVA, etc. will be there. I will likely be there for a lot of the W&L colonization.