As school becomes back in session, so does the stressful and long weekends of sorority rush for many universities. This year I had the privilege of skipping that hectic and exhausting week by studying abroad. The following article is for those girls anxiously waiting to talk to those older girls dressed identically and experiencing recruitment for the first time.

1. Bring water

It is no joke when people tell you that you will lose your voice. You'll be doing a lot of talking and yelling since everyone is crammed into a room with hundreds of other girls. I began to lose my voice after the first round of recruitment my freshman year. Water will help prevent this and also quench that dying thirst you'll feel after talking to so many people.

2. Bring a change of shoes

You'll want a change of shoes, especially the days you wear heels to rounds. In between each round wear a comfy pair of shoes to walk in, then before going in to talk to a sorority change into the nicer pair. This helps when you have ten minutes to run from one round to another and also with the weather conditions. Let me tell you, running through the snow in heels is not ideal.

3. Bring some mints

No one enjoys having a conversation with a person that has stinky breath. Just grab a small pack of breath mints to have right before walking into a round. Having bad breath is not only a bad first impression but it can be distracting from your conversation. Remember mints, not gum! Chewing gum while talking to someone can be loud and unprofessional.

4. You don't need to be an expert on the sorority

Of course, do a little bit a research to see who you are talking to, but that doesn't mean memorize everything about the group of girls. This is the time to ask them questions as well. We don't always have to be the ones quizzing you, we like people genuinely interested in who we are and what we do. If you have questions about our events or philanthropy don't be embarrassed to ask. Asking questions also helps with conversation so it doesn't go dull, leaving them with a good first impression.

5. Wear a unique winter coat

This is for those girls who go to a university with colder weather. When I went through recruitment every girl had a black north face winter coat. Cute as it is, every time we went into a round, coats were left in the hallway causing several mix-ups and lost jackets when trying to leave. I, fortunately, had a bright red coat which was easy to find when I was done and saved me a lot of time when I had to quickly gather my belongings before the next round.

6. Bring snacks

Sometimes you don't get the best schedule when it comes to recruitment, making it difficult to find times to go grab lunch or dinner. Make sure to bring some snacks to eat in between rounds so you don't go hungry and help keep up that energy.

7. Keep an open mind

This is crucial! Not every sorority is the same and may be very different from other schools. You may hear about different reputations regarding certain ones, but try and keep an open mind. By having a preconceived idea of what each sorority is like, you close yourself off to a lot of great people and the opportunity to be a part of a group you may have really liked. Also, do not, I repeat do not, ask a sorority member the reputation of other sororities/ fraternities or what other greek organizations are like during rounds. First of all that makes you look really bad and also they won't answer you.

8. Don't join an organization just because your friends did.

This is such a bad idea. Every person I know that joined or picked a sorority because her friend chose it, ended up dropping her sorority and not enjoying it. This kind of goes along with keeping an open mind, you might fit in really well with one group your friend doesn't and that's okay. At the end of the day being in different organizations doesn't mean you still can't hang out or be friends.

9. Don't be offended if you get dropped from a group you really liked

10. Be yourself

Yes, I know, super cheesy. But it is true! You're not trying to lie your way into a group of girls, you are trying to find a group of potential lifelong friends. So why would you want to show them anything but who you are?

Hopefully, this was helpful for some girls going through the stress of recruitment. All I have to say is good luck to you all because these next few days or weeks are about to be exhausting, but worth it.