I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a sophomore in college and I had regretted not going out for recruitment earlier. Plenty of thoughts kept me away… stereotypes, dues, fear of rejection, but I realized I’d regret it even more if I graduated college without doing this. Unsure of what I was really getting myself into I registered online and the adventure began. I was dying for recruitment to finally happen, I was basically counting the days anxious from excitement and nerves. I went to all of the Greek events leading up to it so that I could get a head start meeting the different organizations. I decided to go through formal recruitment for the four national sororities on campus. I read tons of articles about what to wear and what to say and none of it really calmed my nerves. Even still, wide eyed and brimming with excitement the day finally came.
First day of recruitment at Montclair State University is called “Meet the Sisters.” I’m pretty sure I wore a nice put together outfit but nothing too fancy. When you get there you sign in at the registration table and are given your group. These are the girls you will be with all night. The year I went out there were five groups and five “periods.” Each period was about 40 minutes, there was one period for each room and one off period. As they announced our rotation schedule my heart thumped with excitement. A million thoughts raced through my head, which one will I like most? Will they like me back? I don’t know what to talk about! As I walked in the first room all of my thoughts cleared out of my head. The room was beautifully decorated and all the sisters had gorgeous matching outfits. Conversations began and it was surprisingly easy. Each room was different, in decorations, energy, and personality. Coming in without any judgement or preconceived notions I agreed that I would be open minded and ignore any rumors I may have heard. At the end of the night, we were all brought to a room and had to choose our top three, eliminating one.
The second day of recruitment is called Philanthropy day. Each organization focuses on their national and local philanthropies, which are organizations or charities that they devote most of their fundraising towards. It was so cool to hear about all the great things they did for the community and which causes they held close to their hearts. It was an opportunity to get to know the sisters of each organization a little better and each period was about the same length as the day before. I wore something similar to the first day and tried to put my best foot forward. I felt pretty sure about which organization I wanted but remained open minded. I was scared to get my heart set on one sorority and then not get extended a bid from them. Once again, we were brought together at the end of the evening to fill out our cards and eliminate another sorority.
Preference Day is different than the others. It requires more dressy attire, I wore a classy dress and heels. It’s also longer than the others and involves ceremonies in each room. It went by really fast but once I finished both preference ceremonies I knew where I really wanted to be. I knew from the second I walked in the room on the first day that I wanted to call that organization home. As I filled out my last card to list the final sororities in order everyone kept muttering the words “single selecting.” Single selecting means if you were preferred by two organizations but would only be willing to accept a bid from one of them, you only write that sorority's name down. As I walked back to my dorm I couldn’t stop thinking about if I would get a bid from the sorority of my choice.
Against the recommendation of the Panhellenic counselors, I stayed up all night. I couldn’t sleep! I swear I tried, but I got bored of staring at the ceiling, so I cleaned my room, organized my desk, did laundry, and finally 6 a.m. rolled around so I went to the gym because they were now open. I had too much nervous energy I had to release it somehow. By 9 a.m. I had received an email saying I was extended a bid and was invited to attend bid day that afternoon. But wait! They didn’t say which one was giving me a bid! I ran down the hallway to my best friend's room and banged on her door to wake her up. I told her to check her email and see what it said, she also had an email saying the same thing.
When we arrived at bid day we were brought to a room where we were called up by name alphabetically. When they called my name, I thought my heart was going to fall right through my stomach. I collected my envelope and like the rest of the girls returned to my seat and sat on it until instructed otherwise. Once everyone received one, they counted to three and we opened them. Chaos quickly followed. Screaming and cheering, jumping up and down. It was like a dream, I had gotten my top choice! I turned to my best friend who had also gotten her top choice, which was different than mine. We squealed and jumped up and down, congratulated one another, and went our separate ways to meet our new soon to be sisters. They opened the doors where the sisters of each sorority stood in the corners with music blaring they clapped and cheered for us as we ran to them and hugged them- they had wanted us, just like we had wanted them!
