Whether you’ve planned your outfits before you’ve even arrived at school or you signed up the day before the deadline, sorority recruitment at Ohio State University is quite the experience. Some of you will be super nervous and others are just doing it because your roommate is going through recruitment. Regardless, here are some things to know before you dive in.
During sisterhood and preference, the dress code is snappy causal and formal, which means you’ll be wearing dresses, skirts, and heel at some point that second weekend. Wear sweatpants and Uggs between rounds. You will be freezing walking from the Union all the way to Tri Delta back to high street for Alpha Xi Delta and back to Delta Zeta. Recruitment is practically in the heart of winter and you will be dressed like this for ten hours starting at 8AM. In the past, temperatures have been around 10 degrees with rain or snow. Don’t stress if you look like a drenched cat walking through the door…. we’ve all been through it and know it’s hard to look your best against the wrath of Ohio weather.
Depending on your schedule, you could end up having 7 straight rounds with your “break” for the last round. EAT THE FOOD. There isn’t time to go grab food in between rounds, so definitely grab some of the food at all the houses. The food is there for you! (It gets better each round.) It can be slightly awkward trying to eat and talk at the same time, but there will be moments during the round, especially after Meet The Chapters, when someone is presenting or there’s a video, so you’ll have a chance to down the snack. Also, every round there will be some drink provided, so odds are you’ll have to use the restroom. Going to the bathroom is totally fine, just ask!
Although your rho gam (recruitment guide) will tell you not to talk about houses or listen to what other girls think, it is inevitable that you will hear something about each of the houses. Some of the girls will say things based on what their friends in (insert chapter) told them or what they read on the “all knowing” Greek Rank, but here’s a hint: most of the things people are saying probably aren’t true. The worst thing to do is to read all the comments on Greek Rank, because half the posts are from people not even in Greek Life. If you’re going to take someone else’s opinions into consideration, make sure you trust them and they actually know what they’re talking about. However, the best way to go is to make your own opinions about houses from personal experiences!
If you thought it was annoying when adults asked you about your major and school, you haven’t seen anything yet. Meet the Chapter rounds are some of the longest and daunting rounds during this whole process. You will say your major, where you’re from, the dorm you live in, what you’re involved in, and where you love to eat on campus about 10,000 times. You’ll be an expert at small talk and answering random questions by the time this is over. Sometimes Meet the Chapter round overwhelms girls, but stick with it, because the rest of the rounds are much better and the conversations will just flow.
“Trust the process” or “the process just works” are two phrases you will hear repeatedly if you’re worried at any point during recruitment. Even now being on the other side, I have no idea how this strange mutual selection process magically works or the magician who came up with this crazy system, but it does work. If you’re going in with the mindset that you want a certain chapter, I would highly suggest getting rid of those preconceived notions and go in with an open mind. Most often, you won’t know everything about all the chapters, so it’s important that you give each of them a fair chance. There are times where girls go through aiming for a specific chapter and they get dropped from them after the first round.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t great chapters for you on your list. The chapters inviting you back to their houses are the ones that want you. They see something in you that reflect their chapter and want to get to know you more. Don’t be discouraged that your friends get certain houses or you’re not getting the same ones as your best friend. The great part about Ohio State Greek Life is that even if you have friends who join other chapters, you can 100% still be great friends with them. It’s annoying to hear, but trust the process and everything will work out how it’s suppose to because you’ll be surrounded 200 women who really wanted you on Bid Day!
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