Recruitment week aka rush week is an exciting time for both sororities and potential new members. As an underclassman, you want to join a sorority whose mission and ideals match your own. Your sorority sisters will be there with you throughout your college career, and in many instances, those friendships continue into adult life. If you are new to Greek life, the recruitment voting process can feel complicated.

Rush week is your opportunity to become familiar with your different sorority options on  campus. It is a chance to ask questions and get to know your prospective sisters. Sororities put alot of work into planning and budgeting for their different recruitment parties. These parties areessentially meet and greets. This provides both the existing sisters and potential new members to  get to know each other. It is important to go to each party with an open mind. You may feel you  know which sorority you want to be in, only to find you connected better with a different
sorority.

So, let’s say you are going through your first round of recruitment parties. You are taking the  time to visit different sororities, getting a feel for what their mission is, and how the sisters carry  themselves. You’ve asked questions and got a general feel as to whether or not you’d want to bein that sisterhood. For your first round, you visited ten sororities. You would create your ranking  of the top sororities you would like an invite back to, and the ones you don’t want. For round  two, you may only be able to go back to six sororities, depending on how the campus handles its  specific recruitment process. You would continue to present your rankings, and matching would  begin. The Panhellenic, the council on campus responsible for regulating recruitment events, will  match you with the invites you received for the next round.

The matching process is called mutual selection. The Panhellenic will use your vote and the scores provided by the sororities to create a rush-week itinerary for you. This schedule is meant to provide you with the best chances of getting invited into a sorority that is right for you. Since it is a mutual selection, it is important to try and leave the best impression possible when participating in recruitment parties. You want to be yourself, and you want to stand out to your potential sisters. A good impression can make the difference between you matching or not.

Four main situations can take place during the voting process. These situations impact whether or not you get invited back for further rounds, or ultimately receive the invite to join the sorority. These situations include:

• 1. You could vote to keep a sorority and you could be on the top of their list. This means that you’ll get invited back to the next round of recruitment.
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• 2. You could vote to keep a sorority, but not be on the top of their list. In this situation, your name is dropped.
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• 3. You could vote to drop a sorority, as in putting them on the second section of your scorecard. If your schedule is full, you won’t go back to that one. A full schedule means that you have invites for the maximum number of sororities available in that specific round. It is important to know that it is completely normal not to have a full schedule.
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• 4. You could vote to drop a sorority, but if you don’t have a filled schedule and you’re on the top of that sororities list, you’ll get an invite back. Essentially, even sororities in your second section of rankings could still extend you an invite. This is why ranking your second half from most liked to least liked is so important.

When breaking down this process, it can seem like your vote ultimately doesn’t carry a lot of weight. This is both true and false. At the end of the day, the sorority will have the most power in the decision to include potential new members. They get to choose who they invite back, regardless of the position they held on your list. However, it is your choice of the order of the sororities you want to ask you back.

The voting process for the sororities can vary depending on the campus and the sorority. Two main methods usually take place:

• Chapter Vote- A chapter vote is when everyone in the sorority has a say in prospective new members. Your name will come up, and everyone will vote on whether or not to invite you back. The biggest challenge with this process is standing out from all the other candidates. This is why it is so important to make connections when attending recruitment parties. You want to be open to letting the girls get to know you. You want to show interest in the sorority and show that you care about being a part of their sisterhood.
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• Delegate Voting- This option can be less of a challenge because only the members who talked to you during the party vote. This better helps your odds of standing out, but you still need to make connections to ensure a lasting impression when the sorority voting takes place.

Rush week is a whirlwind of events. You’ll have the opportunity to meet amazing people, and learn more about your sorority options on campus. At the end of the day, the voting process is a numbers game. You can better your odds by making lasting impressions and connections with your potential future sisters. A sorority is much more than just a club. Most girls will stay with their sororities throughout their college careers. Many keep ties with their sorority, helping with events even into adulthood. Take the time to learn about the different sororities on campus. It is important to find where you belong.

As the rush week comes to an end, and your round selections are narrowing, you’ll have a good sense of what sororities are interested in presenting you with an official invitation. It is helpful to keep an open mind, even if you’re not getting invites from your initial top choices. The right sorority will find you. Once you’ve found your place, you can show your chapter love with unique, customizableswag, such as t-shirts, long-sleeves, and hoodies. You’ll love the experience of developing long-lasting relationships with your sisters. The unity of a sorority can’t be beaten.