What Exactly Happens During Sorority Recruitment At Kent State

Recruitment can be the best and worst time of your life. Many questions run through your mind, so here's a break down of sorority recruitment at Kent State.

Sorority recruitment can be the best and the worst time of your life. It’s a week filled with talking to random girls you’ve never met before and trying your best to present yourself. A thousand of questions run through your mind – “Will they like me?”, “Is my outfit ok?”, “Is this really for me?”. All these questions are completely normal because you and 700 (yes over 700 girls start out) other girls are thinking the same thing. Recruitment at Kent State was one of the best and easiest processes compared to other schools I’ve heard about. This is a break down of sorority recruitment at Kent State.

Carnival

This is your chance to get to know more about the sororities. All eight of them are there and ready to answer any questions you may have. This is also your chance to sign up for the recruitment process! There is a fee of $45 that comes along with signing up, but it is worth it in the end. This carnival is set up in the lawn behind the student center (weather permitting) with each chapter and a table they have presented for you. You walk around to each and try to understand what each sorority is about. This is not apart of the recruitment process, but this is just a chance for you to get to know more about Greek life here on campus. If you are considering joining Greek like, I highly recommend going to this event. Plus there are always little freebees like chapsticks or water bottles!

SRC Groups

Once you are signed up and ready for recruitment you are assigned a group! These are the groups you will report too every night before each round. Each group have multiple SRC’s which stands for Sorority Recruitment Consoler. These are the girls that have dropped their letters for a short amount of time to help you find your home. These girls will not tell you what sorority they are in until Bid Day and they show you where they belong! These groups are where you will find some of your closest friends and even potential sisters! Before recruitment your SRC’s will inform you of everything you need to know like what to wear, where to meet, and how each round goes. Try not miss any of these meetings with your group because they can be extremely important. Also the app “GroupMe” is used to communicate with each girl and your SRC’s so make sure you have enough room on your phone to download this app!

Round 1: Sisterhood Round

This is the most casual round of them all. This is where you meet every sorority again and just get a feel for each of them. You talk to each of the 8 sorority for about 30 minutes. This round is split up into 3 nights because of the amount of girls and the number of sorority here on campus. This night you are allowed to dress more casual like jeans and a cute top. This round is held in the student center and you will have 2 or 3 sororities to visit for the first three nights. This round is important because this is where you can determine which one couple you feel most comfortable talking too. If you find a girl you have a connection too in the first round then you feel comfortable and happy. After the three nights are over you rank all eight from your favorite to your least favorite. This will then determine which houses you will go to for the next round.

Round 2: Open House

You walk into the ballroom the next day extremely anxious about who called you back. You can get called back up to 5 sororities, which will make your night very packed. If you look at your card and one of your favorites didn’t call you back, don’t panic. Take the time and think about the conversations you had which the one who did call you back. They wanted you back for a reason, so you have to show them the respect and go meet with them again. This round the dress is more formal. You may wear heels or wedges if you would like, but I would not recommend. This night can be a long night, and your feet will hurt! Try matching your dress or skirt with a pair of cute sandals. This will keep you more comfortable and happy you decided to not wear those 4 inch heels like some other girls. This round will take you to see inside of each sororities house (excluding Phi Mu and Sigma Delta Tau because they do not have houses yet). Each girl will take you into a seperate room in the house and you guys talk, just like the night before but make sure to ask more in detailed questions. This round is about 40-45 minutes long. After each house tour you will then rank again. Depending on how many you got called back too, depends on how many you will rank.

Round 3: Preference Round

Again you walk into the ballroom extremely nervous to see who called you back. This time only two (at most) sororities will call you back. This is the round where a lot of girls will cry when they receive their cards back. You may be only called back to one, but don’t worry. This round is extremely important because they saw something in you that the others didn’t and they want to get to know you better. The dress for this round is formal. A black dress and heels is recommended. This is formal round, so you want to look your best. This round introduces you to the sororities initiation process. Preference is very important to each sorority because they only call back girls who they see a potential for and who could make their chapter better. Also you are provided with a small food item and drink. Depending on which sorority you get called back to, depends on what food item you will receive. Preference round is held in each chapters house or another house depending on who called you back.

After you finish it is time to rank. This can be extremely stressful because this really determines where you will go. This is a great time to sit down and talk to your SRC. They are extremely helpful and will talk you though your thoughts on each chapter. Once you had mad your final decision you will then head to a computer to put in your choices. If you were called back to two sororities, 100% put both down. If you don’t put both down that is known as a suicide bid and could hurt you in the end and make it more difficult for each sorority to choose. No matter who gives you that bid, you should still feel confident and proud of yourself.

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Bid Day!

The final days are over. You will be apart of a sorority, but which one. You walk into the ballroom again with even more nerves you had then any other round. Once every group is present they call each group one by one to an assigned room on the third floor of the student center. This is where your group will sit and wait for one of your SRC’s to call you out in the hall and hand you your bid card. The anticipation for your named to be called is unlike any other feeling. You wanna cry, but also scream, but also you are super excited. Once your name gets called you head into the hall and you are handed your bid card. You can either accept or reject the bid if you so choose. If you receive the bid you wanted then you can scream and cry and let everyone know you are happy, but if you receive the bid you weren’t looking for, its ok. This is also a time to talk it out with your SRC. Think about the conversations you had with that chapter. Did you feel comfortable? Did you have a good conversation? Did the girls make you feel like you were at home? If you answer yes to any of these questions then I strongly believe you should accept the bid. Even though it may have not been your first choice, they want you in their chapter. They believe you can make a difference in their chapter.

After you (hopefully) accept your bid you are headed outside (or inside depending on the weather). Each chapter is in the yard area in front of the K ready for their new members to run into their arms. Starting with group1, each group will head up on the platform and will hear “In 3,2,1 Go Home!” and you run to your new home. This is also where your SRCs will reveal which chapter they are in, so you might have had a sister with you all along. Here are some pictures from the current 2016 Fall Bid Day 🙂

Overall…..

Sorority recruitment can be stressful, but in the end you can find life long friendships. Going Greek can lead you to so many opportunities in your future that are unknown yet, but one day will work their way to you. Being involved on campus is something every college graduate student misses out on. And joining a great organization on campus that gives back to their community and surrounding areas is just the way to do it. You will be happy no matter where you end up. Don’t listen to the rumor about Greek life, instead try it out for yourself and tell people the real truth about Greek life.