Hey, y'all! My name is Isabella, and I’m a college student learning how to navigate adulthood right alongside you!! Today I am going to be giving you some of the best advice and tips I received and have learned throughout sorority recruitment.
- Review your resume!
In the early rounds, they will generally ask you questions such as "Why do you want to join a sorority?", "What's your major'', "What activities were you involved in in high school?", "What did you do for spring break?" Also, a good bit of the questions they ask you will be prompted by your resume, so just make sure to review the specifics of what you put on it and be prepared to talk about it.
- Ask questions!
Go beyond surface-level conversations & ask them questions! This is not only them assessing you, but you are also assessing them. Try your best to figure out if you genuinely have anything in common with who you’re talking to and if your values align with the values of the sorority in general. You can do this by having questions prepared to ask them and even some that are slightly unusual (ex: “What is 1 thing you love and 1 thing you don't love or would change about your chapter?") Go into each chapter with an open mind and ask questions that you’re genuinely interested in knowing the answer to. This is especially applicable to the later rounds. The further you get into the rush, the more personal questions you can ask as you start to eliminate sororities.
- Avoid talking about the 5 B's--Boys, Booze, Bush, Belief, or Bucks
Boys: Do NOT talk about boys. PLEASE just do not do it. Regardless if it's about your boyfriend or all the boys you’re excited to meet in college. Just please do not bring up boys. This is because the sororities want to get to know you!! They are not interested in knowing about how you and your boyfriend go hiking or how you can’t wait to go to frats and meet lots of boys.
Booze: This simply means don't talk about how excited you are to party, go out, drink, be free from your parents, etc. There will be plenty of time to talk about anything like this after rush, but right now, they want to know who you are as an individual!
Bush: This just means not to talk about politics because even if your political views are extremely important to you, they will vary by individual so one girl’s political views aren’t representative of the sorority. Therefore, it’s best to steer clear, at least in the early rounds. If it’s very important to you, bring it up during the preference rounds.
Belief: This means not to talk about your religion because here again, it varies a lot by individual. However, this is a rule that I did not completely listen to. I took the advice with a grain of salt and waited to talk about it in the later rounds. It was important to me that I find a sorority that pushed me to grow in my faith and walk right alongside me in my journey, so I thoroughly discussed it in the later rounds.
Bucks: Just don’t brag about material things, and don’t try to work your family’s wealth into conversations. It is totally fine to brag about your academic achievements, sports, or other accomplishments, though. In fact...you should!
- TAKE NOTES!!!!
Especially after the ice water tea round and philanthropy round because this is when you'll have the most choices and will need to start differentiating them. Immediately after I left a house, I jotted down one thing I liked, one thing I didn't like, and how I felt leaving. I carried a notebook around with me in my rush bag for this purpose!
- First impressions!
Make sure to carry yourself well! First impressions are everything! No matter how nervous you may be, walk in knowing that any chapter would be lucky to have you and whatever sorority house you enter is not your identity. Take a deep breath before walking in, stand up tall, shoulders back, chin high and confident, and slap a big smile on your face and keep it there!! When you leave, say how much you loved meeting and talking to them!! Simply use your manners! While you are talking to someone at a party, make sure to hold eye contact while talking to them and to be engaged in the conversation, what you put in is what you get out. The girls can tell if you don't seem genuinely interested in a chapter and won't want to waste their time getting to know you if you aren't being open-minded.
- Outfits!
What to wear...and what not to wear! Think modest - almost church attire. Remember, this is not the time to show off your body but simply a time to present yourself well. In terms of accessories, though, please do not wear an Apple watch or electronic watch of any kind, you aren't allowed to take your phone in the chapter rooms, and because it is still seen as an electronic, it is frowned upon. In terms of shoes, I would recommend making sure they’re not just cute but also comfortable. At some parties, you will be standing the whole time, so make sure they are shoes you can stand in for at least 30 minutes. Lastly, you can totally re-wear the same outfit every day of a round!!! You only go to each chapter once during each round, so if you’re trying to save money, this is a great solution. Keep in mind if you're going to be somewhere you'll sweat (like anywhere in the South!), then you probably shouldn’t re-wear your t-shirt from Philanthropy Day all 3 rounds unless you plan on washing it each day.
- My Advice!
-When you're ranking the chapters at the end of a round, think back to each party, remove the decoration and glamor, and think about how, at the end of the day, that chapter made you feel. Did you enjoy the people you talked to as well as the overall sorority, or just one or the other?
-Once you are getting towards the end of rush week, like in the sisterhood and preference rounds, make sure you are looking around and talking to people in the lines before the houses. Ask yourself if you think you can get along with the people you're surrounded by because they might be your future sisters.
-Don’t base your decisions on what your friends are doing. It’s honestly better to keep who you talk about rush with to a very minimal close-circle group. I only talked about it in depth with my mom, and this is especially helpful if your mom has rushed before. It definitely does not have to be family, but you should find someone you can trust and will listen to.
-When you are in line outside the houses, don't confide in strangers about how you like the house you are going into and what your top is, etc. You never know who knows who, and it’s just better to keep it to yourself for now!
-Lastly, just some words of encouragement TRUST! THE! PROCESS! You will hear this over and over throughout the week, and y'all, I know it sounds like such silly advice because it is so stressful and so hard to simply relax and trust the process. I'm not telling you this in hopes that it will make you calm, but I'm telling you this because when you have doubt and anger at yourself for maybe saying something you think sounded juvenile or for tripping when walking into a party, remember you are human, and God will place you in the perfect chapter for you, or maybe he'll take you in another direction of life that doesn't involve recruitment. However, I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason because it is the plan for your life. When you're waiting in line to go to these houses, please, please do not compare yourself to others because you are a unique individual, and therefore you will bring something new to whatever chapter is lucky to have you. Girls! Please don't take getting dropped personally, and as much as I hate to say it, be ready to accept some disappointment. Above all else, just remember that recruitment does not define you, so try your best to have fun! You’re meeting so many wonderful people along the way, so make the best of it!!
With Love,
Isabella XO
