Sorority Recruitment Tips

I am so excited to be sharing today's post with y'all as I'm sharing another college related blog post with y'all and talking all about sorority recruitment! I know this time last year I was starting to prepare for recruitment in the fall as I finished up my responsibilities for high school. It's pretty easy to get overwhelmed when thinking about recruitment so I decided to share my advice for sorority recruitment with y'all today! Go Greek!

Be yourself

As cheesy as it sounds, your sorority isn't for four years but for life and you want to find a sisterhood where you can be your true self and be accepted in. Pretending to be someone you're not just to get into a certain chapter will only hurt you as once recruitment is over, you'll find that the sisterhood you joined isn't necessarily the best fit for you! Staying true to yourself ensures that you wind up in the sorority that is the perfect fit for you!

Trust the System

This may be the most cliche sorority recruitment advice but it is definitely true! I know I had a bit of a love-hate relationship in hearing this (as you'll hear it a gazillion times throughout the week from your Pi Chi) as it's a little frustrating to hear after you're dropped from your favorite sorority but reassuring at the same time. You'll end up at the house you belong in at the end of the week so don't be afraid to trust the system!

Walk over in comfy shoes and change before the party begins

At Clemson, we have our sorority recruitment in our basketball stadium, which was a 15-20 minute walk from my dorm. The first few days of recruitment you typically wear sandals but as  the rounds continue, typically your outfit gets dressier and you may be wearing wedges or heels. While you're walking over to recruitment, wear a pair of comfy shoes and then change into your heels right before the party begins- your feet will thank you!

Wear What Makes You Feel Comfortable

I remember during recruitment, my Pi Chi group was discussing what we were wearing for Round 3 in our group chat and the other girls were wearing options that were a lot more boho or trendier than the dress I was thinking of wearing. My style is very preppy and I knew that I wanted to join a sorority I would truly belong in. If a house wanted to cut me for wearing a Lilly dress, I knew that won't be a house I would feel comfortable in so wear whatever you feel comfortable

Keep your opinions to yourself

You may not have amazing conversations in every chapter or you think that ABC is totally the perfect sorority for you. It's totally ok to have these opinions but keep them to yourself. No two girls have the same recruitment so the chapter you may be bashing may be the girl standing next to you's favorite or you may wind up singing the praises of a chapter to the girl who was just cut by them. Not to say you can't share what you think to your Pi Chi, but remember that she belongs to a chapter before bashing any chapter to her as you never know if that is her chapter you're talking about. Save these opinions for your mom or your best friend at home as it is respectful to the girls around you to keep your opinions to yourself.

Don't be nervous

I remember being nervous about recruitment as I didn't know what to expect as my mom wasn't in a sorority and I don't have an older sister in a sorority. The sororities are so excited to meet you and you should feel the same! As for the actual recruitment parties, they'll welcome you in with a song (the one you see in those recruitment chants are creepy videos haha!) and then you'll get to talk to a few girls in every chapter, just a normal conversation!

Use your Pi Chi as a Resource

When you sign up for recruitment, you'll be placed into a recruitment group with a Pi Chi (or recruitment counselor- some schools it's called a Rho Chi or a Gamma Chi or Rho Gamma, just depends on the school!). Your Pi Chi is a sorority woman who has unaffiliated from her sorority to help you find your Greek home! Your Pi Chi is like your recruitment mom throughout the week and you honestly can turn to her for anything throughout the week whether you're unsure of what to wear, need a shoulder to cry on, or are unsure of what chapter is your future home. She has been training for months for this so don't disregard her help!

Be Open Minded

Some girls walk into recruitment only wanting 1 or 2 chapters or think they're open minded to every chapter except for ABC or XYZ. Every chapter has amazing things to offer their members and have great sisterhoods so truly being open minded helps you find the sorority that  is the best fit for you, even if it's not the sorority you thought you wanted at the start of recruitment.

Get your sleep & bring snacks!

Recruitment can definitely be draining so be sure to get to bed early to get enough sleep and also be sure to eat during recruitment. You're not you when you're tired and hungry and since you want to give the best first impression, be sure to take care of yourself!

You'll have friends in every chapter

A common preconception about Greek Life is that you'll only be friends with the girls in your chapter and that is definitely not true. Even though a lot of my friends are in my sorority, I have friends and know girls in almost every sorority and there's no rules saying you can't be friends just because you're in different sororities. I know some girls feel pressure during recruitment to choose the "right" chapter as their sorority will gives them their friends but just keep in mind you'll have friends in every chapter.

Don't listen to "tent talk"

When you have a thousand girls going through recruitment, you are bound to have a bunch of opinions flying around. Some girls feel the need to share their opinions on the houses whether they have an older sister in a chapter or are from a surrounding area and "know" what the chapters are like.  The truth is that no sorority can be contained to their stereotype and they're often not true. Choosing not to listen to these opinions helps you choose a chapter because you like it not because Polly PNM said it was a "good" or "cool" chapter.

Be Friendly

Be friendly to everyone you met from the other girls in your recruitment group to the sorority girls to the girls next to you in line for the parties to the Pi Chis. You're all in this together when it comes to the girls you're going through recruitment with and there is no need to be rude or mean. I'm still best friends with one of the girls in my Pi Chi group so recruitment truly brings people together. It may seem kind of obvious but also be friendly to the girls in sororities as you never know who could be your future sister!

It's ok to be dropped

After each round of recruitment, you'll be able to vote on your favorite and least favorite sororities and the sororities will do the same. Before the next party begins, you'll find out what sororities have asked you back to attend their party. However, it's ok to find out that a sorority has dropped you as very few girls get asked back to every single sorority. You can't join every sorority on campus so being dropped makes your decision easier!

Be prepared

The days of recruitment can definitely be long so being prepared makes things so much easier. I'll be sharing a post on what to keep in your bag for recruitment later on but keeping the essentials on hand ensures that the day runs more smoothly and you're presenting the best version of yourself to the sororities.

Have you gone through sorority recruitment? If so, would you add in any additional tips? Let me know in the comments!