How to Prepare for Sorority Recruitment

Go Greek!

So you've graduated high school and you are getting ready to go to college. You start to consider what organizations to get involved in, and you have decided that you want to go Greek. Here are some tips for how to prepare for sorority recruitment, from finding recs to figuring out which sorority to choose at the end of recruitment..

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Resume and picture
• Recommendations
• clothing and shoes for the week of recruitment

1. Terms

   First, there are some terms that you need to be aware of. If you are going through the recruitment process, you are formally referred to as a PNM, or Potential New Member. The recruitment process is informally known as Rush, and you will be a Rushee. Recommendations are referred to as Recs or formally as RIFs (Recruitment Information Forms). You are a Legacy if your sister, mother, grandmother, and in some cases, you aunt is a member of a sorority organization. I will sometimes refer to the sororities as Houses. This is a collective term referring to the members in each sorority house.

2. Get the thumbs up

   You need to start getting recommendations a few months or weeks in advance. Talk to people in your hometown or local area and find out what sororities people were in. Some good sources of Recs could be one of your neighbors, women in your church, or your friends' mothers. Find out if you are a legacy of any organizations. Make sure that these relatives write a rec for you, because being a legacy will definitely help you in recruitment. However, don't fret if you are not a legacy, there are plenty of great first generation sorority women out there! If you live in an area where there are not a lot of sorority alumnae, and you absolutely cannot find a rec, that is not a problem either. Just be yourself and shine throughout the recruitment process and some sorority may fall in love with you and find a rec for you. Many houses can get one of their Alumni Advisors to write Recs based on a PNM's resume.

3. Senior portrait

   When an alum has offered to write a rec for you, it is best to include your resume and a picture. I used my Senior portrait photos, but you can also have copies of your own photos made. On your resume, make sure to include your school, ACT or SAT score, Overall GPA, Leadership, Honors and Awards, Activities, and Community Service. Sororities love to see girls who are well-rounded and were involved in high school or their freshman year of college. These are traits that they look for in their own members, because they know that these types of girls will be involved in their house as well. This resume will also assist the alum in writing your rec.

4. Register online

   After you give this resume and picture packet to the alumnae who will be writing your Rec, they are responsible for mailing it to the sorority Recruitment Chairs. You do not have to worry about the Recs once the packets are out of your hands. The last thing you have to do before preparing your wardrobe is to make sure that you are registered for recruitment. Look on your university's sorority recruitment website and look for a registration form there. If there is not an online registration, most likely you will have received something in the mail.

5. Examples

   Now all you have to do is make sure you have all of the clothing and shoes that you will need for Rush week! The wardrobe for each day varies at different schools, so check the website to make sure. Look in my resources to see examples of what girls would wear for Rush at the University of Alabama. Usually there are casual days, like Philanthropy Day and Bid Day in which you will need a nice pair of shorts and a provided t-shirt. On other days, such as Skit Day and Preference you will probably need to wear a dress and heels.

6. Sorority sisters

   Once move-in day arrives and you are in your new dorm on campus, you will probably be very excited and nervous about the week ahead. This will be one of the best and hectic weeks of your semester, but it will be all worth it at the end of the week on Bid Day! Have confidence in yourself and do not feel like you have to change to fit in with a certain group. It may seem at the beginning that you will never be able to narrow it down to one house, but it will make sense the more you go back each day. Stick with the house that you feel the most comfortable with. Chances are, the sorority women will feel the same way about you and you will be on your way to making some lifelong friends! Good luck!

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to smile and be yourself!

• Have fun!

• Enjoy your new sisters!

• This is based on my rush experience at Alabama, so if you are attending somewhere else do not use my tips alone. ALWAYS check your university's sorority recruitment website to find out more information.

Resources

• UA Panhellenic Recruitment Page
• What to Expect and How to Dress
• Information on Recs
• Registration Link for UA
• Buy Personalized Greek Gifts from my Etsy shop!