Before Recruitment Starts!
- nikkiboyd09
- May 24, 2015
- 5 min read
First of all -> SIGN UP! the sooner, the better because the price increases throughout the summer
If you're curious, Google Texas Tech [insert sorority here] Instagram/ Tumblr/ Twitter/ Facebook and look to see what the sororities do throughout the year. Also, check out #techrec14 to see how PNMs dressed last year or even #techrec15 to see what's already going on for this year. And definitely check out this amaaazing recruitment video!
What you need to know about Rec Letters
Recommendation letters help sororities get to know you a little bit before you even come through recruitment. They can contain anything from your high school activities and GPA, to topics that your recommender thinks you may enjoy talking about when you visit their house. If you don't, have any or very many it won't worsen your chances of getting into a house, but of course it will help a sorority get to know you better than if you didn't have one. I would recommend reaching out to girls that you know are Greek or are alumnae because some sororities will allow actives to write a rec letter, while others prefer that only alumnae write them. The girls will know what to do after you ask them to write you one.
How to get to Greek Circle during Recruitment
You DON'T DRIVE! Do not have anyone drop you off or pick you up at any time unless you have permission from a Rho Gamma. Greek Circle is blocked off during this week and no cars are allowed here during recruitment time. Busses run continuously to bring you and drop you off on campus. Last year, there actually were some girls who were hungry so they had a pizza delivered outside of a house and the head of recruitment was not happy, and you don't want to piss off the person in charge of your recruitment.
Legacy Information
What I was most surpised to find out when I became a Rho Gam was that every sorority defines a legacy differently. Aunts and cousins do not count. All of them at least consider you a legacy if your Sister, Mother, or Grand Mother was in that sorority. Most will consider you a legacy if one of these is a step-relative. This does not guarantee that you will become part of this sorority, because every chapter reserves the right to cut a legacy if they do not feel that she would be a good match for their sorority. But, sororities do given extra thought when considering a legacy.
Sophomores and Juniors during Recruitment
Sophomores and Juniors have the same rights as freshmen when recruiting. Some may have gone through recruitment their freshmen year and for whatever reason dropped out and are trying round 2, some may have wanted to wait until they get adjusted to college before adding Greek life to their schedules, some may have not wanted to go Greek originally but have changed their minds, and some are transferring so they're a little late in the game. There's always the rumor that sophomores and juniors count as 2 girls for quotas so sororities don't want them, but that's not true. Rarely is a girl cut from a house simply because she is an upperclassmen, but it's easy for girls who were cut from their dream sorority to use this as reasoning because it seems better than admitting that maybe they didn't have the GPA or maybe a sorority simply just didn't click with them. Sororities look for quality women, and if an upperclassman is overall a great girl, they would love to have her just as much as a great freshmen.
What to Pack in Your Backpack
You don't take these inside the houses, so think useful more than stylish because you might be stuck on Greek Circle for almost 12 hours
sunscreen, umbrella, deodorant, backup shoes, blanket/ towel to sit on, battery-operated fan, water bottle, makeup, mirror, brush, hairspray, dry shampoo, Band-Aids, tampons, mints, sunglasses, blotting sheets, snacks that will keep you full
Confused about some vocab?
Active- girl who has been initiated in her sorority and has practiced for a week on how to walk backwards in heels while clapping on beat and the art of flirting with girls. More tired than you and more sleep deprived than a Rho Gam
Continuous Open Bidding (COB)- continuous open bidding. In the fall, this means that a sorority didn't meat their quota and will have about 3 days where they will continue an informal recruitment that is by invite only by the individual sororities
Completely released- having no sororities ask you back to recruitment ~happens like once a year so relax~
Date party- your sorority alone or a few sororities together throw a party. Alcohol may be available. You bring a date Sadie-Hawkins style and dress up to a theme
Decline your bid- deciding that you don’t want to join the sorority that offered you a bid. Even if you do this, you CAN’T join another sorority until the next fall
Formal- like date party and the prom together
New member class (NMC)- modern word for pledge class (PC)/ all of the girls who join your sorority at the same time (not necessarily all freshmen)
New member meetings- once a week you’ll learn about your sorority and have the chance to meet the girls in your PC
Mixer- event with a particular fraternity so that you can meet their new guys
Mutual selection- how you somewhat choose what houses you want to go back to/ the hardest thing to understand/ a little bit of harshness *see example below*
Recruitment- modern word for rush/ the greatest and hardest week of your life
Rho Gamma- your best friend during this. She’s gone through exactly what you are and can help you with literally anything and everything. (self-proclaimed badasses). We have to be chosen to be a RG, train for a week of how to handle all sorts of situations, and are isolated from our sororities and letters in a hotel without a phone for a whole week. We are also more sleep deprived than you.
Panhellenic- the sororities as a whole/ a group of 1 girl from every sorority who run Greek Life
Spring Rush- this is an optional form of COB that only some sororities do in January. Once again, this is invite only
Suicide- now known as intentional single preference/ choosing to put only 1 sorority on you final cut list (saying “I want to be in XYZ or I don’t want to be in a sorority at all”) can ONLY happen on preference night
How Mutual Selection Actually Works
Annie ranks her sororities on day 1 as (order of top 8 doesn’t matter)
Alpha
Beta
Gamma
Delta
Epsilon
Zeta
Eta
Theta
1. Iota (out of the following three I would rather come back to here)
2. Kappa
3. Lambda (out of the bottom 3, this is my least favorite)
Sorority does the same for the girls.
If 5 of her top 8 sororities rank her in their top, she will automatically go back to those 5 sororities because they both mutually selected each other. She will not go back to the other 3 because they “cut” her just as she did with her bottom choices. If Iota and Lambda ranked her at the top of their list, she will now go to these 7 sororities to better her chances because obvi 7 houses > 5. However, if Kappa also ranked her low on their list, she will not go back because they mutually selected not to visit each other again. Annie will go to 7 sororities on day 2. Basically- the sororities that requested you that you also requested will be the ones on your schedule, even if you did “cut” them.
Make sure you check out my next post, So You Want to Join a Texas Tech Sorority?, and ask me any questions you have about recruitment!
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