Monday, July 23, 2012

Recruitment Ready



Today I'm kicking off a series called "Recruitment Ready"! I get emails and tumblr inbox messages all the time asking about rush. Now, to clear the air, I am not in a sorority, I did, however, go through rush! I have had TONS of friends participate in rush both on the PNM (potential new member) side as well as the sister side!

The series is going to have a few different segments including:
1. The terms
2. Small Talk
3. What to wear
4. Essentials to have
5. Tips and tricks from the sisters

Today we're starting with the terms of recruitment!

1. PNM: Potential New Member: PNM's are all of the "rushees" or the girls going through rush.
2. Pi Chi (or sometimes Rho Chi or Rho Gamma): These are your recruitment counselors. They are sisters from different sororities who have disassociated with their chapters and are there to help guide you along the recruitment process. They are unbiased sources of information. Pi Chi's will keep their sororities a secret until reveal on Bid Day!
3. Rush Party: Rush parties are the (dry) highly orchestrated meetings where groups of PNM's meet with current sisters. They aren't really "parties" that you think of. If your school has a Greek Row or Greek Village, these parties are typically held inside the houses if all the girls can fit! (Some schools, don't always have enough room and relocate to other locations on campus!)
4. Bid Day: The final day of rush (and the most exciting!!!). This is where PNM's receive their bids! It's an exhilarating day and the start of your new sisterhood!
5. Scholarship Day: Today (usually the first day or first two days of recruitment) is where you learn all about their academics and schoolwork side of things. You spend time learning about each one on campus!
6. Leadership Day: Today is learning about each chapter's sisterhood, involvement, activities the sisters participate in, and some traditions close to each sorority. You spend a little MORE time with fewer sororities today!
7. Philanthropy Day: Today you'll learn about each sorority's philanthropies! Philanthropies are the charities, foundations, or groups that sororities devote their community service to. For different chapters these include Habitat for Humanity, Girl Scouts of America and St. Jude's Childrens Hospital. You spend MORE time with even fewer sororities today--the goal is to narrow them down to help you find the perfect fit!
8. Sisterhood Day (or Preference "Pref" Night): Today you'll be spending the most time with the least amount of sororities. Most schools keep this around 2 or 3 sororities. Pref night is a very special ceremony where sisters show PNMs the sisterhood bonds that they share. Sisters (especially the college seniors) as well as PNMs may find these ceremonies very moving. (In my experience, even a few girls cried!)

Tomorrow's post will be all about the small talk! You gotta be a GREAT small talker during recruitment and I'll have a few tricks to keep up your sleeve--just in case of course!

xxKatie

(Also, can y'all believe that cute graphic from Sarah of "Too Much is Never Enough"?! She is AMAZING! I am OBSESSED with her designs!)

5 comments:

Lindsay {Typically Late} said...

At our school, the recruitment counselors are called Rho Gammas (Recruitment Guides) - maybe add that to the list, too! Different schools use different terms. :)

SHF said...

I agree with Lindsay - every campus is different in terms of terminology and schedule. On my campus, we simply call them Recruitment Counselors and our schedule is a bit different. We have two days of House Tours followed by Philanthropy Day, Chapter Pride Day, Pref, and then Bid Day!

SHF
thechroniclesofs.blogspot.com

Whitney H said...

I agree with both girls, they are Rho Gammas at our school as well! It's so weird that they are so different everywhere! Also, our schedule is very different. The first day is Philanthropy Day, pretty casual dress. The second day is Sisterhood Day, "snappy casual". Third Day is Preference Day and later that afternoon is Bid Day! None of which takes place at the sorority houses. So neat to see the different schedules!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for doing this series! You're going to help me so much!

Annie said...

Thanks for doing this Katie! Just curious...why did you decide not to pledge after going through rush?