A Fashion Recruitment Story

[etadrisophila]

Post it ALL! Hold nothing back!

[ColdInCanada11]

Co-sign on the posting all!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Ugh, philanthropy day on the first day is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.

[pinkglitter]

SISTERHOOD DAY

Our next day of recruitment is Sisterhood Day. This is the day I was most looking forward to (except Bid Night) because this was the most important to me. We came in and got our schedule and I got:

London
New York City

I was super bummed that Barcelona didn't ask me back because they were my favorite. I was also bummed to only have 2 (out of 4) parties but was grateful because some girls, not many, only got 1 back and others were completely dropped.

London - I loved the chant these girls did. Even now, it's stuck in my head. The first girl I talked to was very sweet and we had a great conversation, al though I can't remember it. We watched the sisterhood video next. I can't remember it for the life of me but remember it being cute. After that another girl picked me up. We spent the next few minutes talking about sisterhood and the rest talking about our dogs. lol I liked them but felt no strong connection like with Barcelona. I didn't think I would though. I can see myself here.

New York City - The first girl who picked me up was really sweet. We talked to me about their sisterhood, living in the house, how they had the highest GPA on campus, and some upcoming mixers and events. After that we watched the sisterhood video, which was the favorite video of the whole week. It really showed their personality. So cute! After that I talked to another girl. We talked about their study programs, my major, and a bunch of other things.

Honestly at the end of this day, I couldn't choose, which was fine because I only had 2 which is the max for Pref Day

[FSUZeta]

Hoping that you got them both back.

[pinkglitter]

About 5am Sunday morning, the morning of Pref Day, I got a call from my Pi Chi. She said I had been released from Recruitment. I held it together on the phone but as soon as I hung up I cried so much. I drove to see my mom and we spent the day watching movies and went to eat. I felt a little better but every once in a while, I'd think about it and cry again.

We rented more movies and I ended up falling asleep on the couch. Then my phone rang. The number was a Kentucky number and I started not to answer it, but I have a new phone and thought it may be an unsaved number. When I answered it, the girl on the line told me that someone had dropped before Bid Night started and I was next on the list.

"Do you want to accept the bid?" she asked.
"Oh my God! Yes!" I said trying not to shout.
"You have to be at the school by 6:00" she said.

I looked at my watch and noticed it was 5:45. I hurried and got dressed and sped all the way to the school. I smiled the whole time, already knowing whose house I belonged to and when it was announced for us to look at our cards, I ripped mine open, read what I always knew and ran all the way..




















New York City!!!



Also known as....

















ZETA TAU ALPHA!!!!!


I must admit, I wasn't completely thrilled at first. They weren't my absolute first choice. But I was a senior, and they wanted me when no one else did. Even if I wasn't top pick, who cared?! As soon as I ran to them, it all changed. My Crown Sister was soooo sweet and as I talked to her someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was a girl I'd met the first day who I'd absolutely clicked with. We screamed and hugged and I was so happy. Later, as I mingled at Bid Night, I realized that this was where I was meant to be. I got along so well with all the girls I talked to and we had soooo much in common. I love being a Zeta already. And you know what they say... Only the best get crowned!!!

[WCsweet<3]

Congratulations!

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Back on the day at Illinois, they were called exchanges. We had 4 exchanges per year. These were one-on-one parties with a fraternity, and the way they "asked" was by serenading the semester prior. The chapter would vote on all the invitations and pick the 2 per semester they wanted to accept. Some were themed, most were not. No one except members of that fraternity and sorority could attend.

Exchanges were totally different from other social events. They were more official. Of course, back then Bid Day was an official event hosted by a fraternity (my how things have changed) as well.

Fall semester
Bid Day (sorority formally matched up with a fraternity)
Football block (formal match up with fraternity)
Barn dance (date party)
Stocking/winter formal (date party)
2 exchanges (matched with a fraternity)

Spring semester
Pledge dance (date party put on by "pledges")
Atius (Mom's day show - official pairing with a fraternity)
Rose formal (date party)
2 exchanges (matched with a fraternity)

There were tons of other events too, but that was the backbone of the sorority social calendar. it seemed like the other chapters all had similar set ups.

Whoa so different now!! I would say most sororities have 6-8 exchanges a semester now, with maybe one of them being a big one per year. We have dinner announcements at the beginning of the semester where fraternities stop and bring gifts (flowers, a song/skit, food) to the sororities and ask us to keep them in mind for an exchange this year). Sororities do the same for fraternities, although the gift is always food! Then there is a social chair barcrawl that the social chairs go on and socialize and basically mingle to meet one another to pair up for exchanges. There is no chapter voting, but I think social chairs tend to take unofficial suggestions.

Your standard exchanges are just a mixer that is ALWAYS themed at an on or off campus bar. Sometimes you just have a Friday night happy hour that’s very casual. Then there’s usually one BIG exchange a year such as a Bulls Game/Blackhawks Game/Cubs Game/Cards Game (no love for my Sox) or something like a Riverboat exchange (I was not around when my chapter finally did one—you basically drive to wherever they have those Riverboat cruises…Don’t know much more info).

We still have football block in the fall—sounds like that’s exactly the same. Barn dance is so popular that it’s held in the fall and spring now (that trend started my senior year). Semi formals are usually in the fall, with formals in the spring. We still do Atius although it’s very much focused on the new member classes only and are not considered too big of an event, socially. Impromptus were pretty popular a few years ago—you get like a 2 day warning that you’re going to have a “date” event (usually just at an off campus bar) and it’s kind of semi formal attire.

Fraternities are pretty much the same as the above, although I think they all still do pledge dances (my husband’s did) and a lot of them have their big “trade mark” event that are pretty much for their chapter and then a certain number of invites. I know my husband’s chapter did “Samoa”, an island/tropical party that I know has been going on since at LEAST the 70s, cause I saw a picture in a yearbook lol My brother’s does Double Trouble (or Block Party—I think the name changed at some point) where it’s just a big shared party between his fraternity and the neighboring fraternity. AEPi always had a foam party when I was there. And I cannot think of any others. Fail

Back to the thread...

CONGRATS ON ZETA TAU ALPHA!!!!!!!!

[KDCat]

Congrats!

That's awesome!

[PersistentDST]

Awwww...Congrats! Your story had a few ups and downs, didn't it?! Enjoy!

[ElvisLover]

Contratulations!! What a cliff-hanger!

[MaryPoppins]

Congratulations!

[AGDee]

Congrats! I'm so glad you found a home

[pinkglitter]

Originally Posted by PersistentDST

Awwww...Congrats! Your story had a few ups and downs, didn't it?! Enjoy!

Yes, there definitely were. But in glad it happened the way it did. I feel so grateful now. I love my sisters already.

[Sciencewoman]

Congratulations! My sister and cousin are both Zetas. They're chapter sisters. My sister was a junior when our cousin went through recruitment and our cousin preffed Zeta and Gamma Phi, so we were fighting over her!