As the spring semester rapidly approaches, so does Panhellenic formal recruitment. If you’re watching videos of girls talking about their rushing experience and feeling a little stressed, don’t worry — I felt that way too, and I can tell you that a lot of other girls rushing felt the same way.
As someone who suffers from the worst anxiety, I was a nervous wreck when I started receiving emails for recruitment events last spring. As the orientation date approached, I ended up dropping out. It seemed like too much for someone like myself, who was a bottle of nerves.
I won’t lie — I was disappointed after I dropped. I knew that I could always rush next year, but I felt like my chances of getting in as a sophomore were much less (which isn’t true). It wasn’t until I saw the Panhellenic Instagram page post about continuous open bidding (COB) in the fall that I realized I still had a chance to join a sorority. Naturally, I turned to YouTube for more information but found hardly any videos on it. I felt a bit lost. I wasn’t sure if I should try COB without knowing much about it, or if I should take the chance with spring recruitment again. So if you feel lost about which recruitment to go through too, keep reading.
You may already know a lot about formal recruitment, since there’s much more information about it on the internet than there is on COB. But if you don’t, in short, it’s a much more structured form of recruitment. You get to learn about each sorority, and typically there’s some sort of dress code for each day. You’ll get to meet a lot of people, including other potential new members. It can be very overwhelming, but also a great chance to meet potential sisters.
On the other hand, COB is informal recruitment. This just means going on coffee dates with sisters from the sororities you’re interested in joining. It’s very casual and stress-free — you basically meet with a sister at Starbucks to talk about your interests and why you want to join a sorority, as well as ask any questions you might have. You also get to meet the sisters one-on-one and attend fun events that the chapter plans. This was what I recently went through in the fall, and I can honestly say it was a lot of fun.
If you’re wondering which form of recruitment you should go through, I would say that if you’re more outgoing and enjoy socializing with many people at once, formal recruitment might be for you. Formal recruitment hours are incredibly long, and you’ll be talking with a lot of different girls. If you’re less social like I am, you’ll probably enjoy COB more. This gives you a chance to meet the sisters before attending any of their informal recruiting events, so you’ll at least know a couple of familiar faces and won’t feel as lost and anxious when you do go.
Whichever form of recruitment you choose, remember to be yourself and have fun! Sorority recruitment is a unique experience, so make the most of it!
