What Exactly Happens During Sorority Recruitment At West Chester University

When people think “sorority recruitment”, I already know a million negative things rush to their mind. It’s no secret that for the most part, Greek life has a horrible reputation. Most people associate recruitment with hazing, fake personalities, and dressing your best to impress the sisters. While all of this is false for almost all schools, it is especially false for sorority recruitment at West Chester University.

As a college freshman, I was absolutely terrified to go through recruitment.

I thought they would tear me apart, picking at every imperfection I had. I thought I would have to be someone I’m not, which truly scared me. The days leading up to recruitment, my room mate and I ripped through our closets searching for the perfect outfit that said “Pick me!”. I knew I wanted to wear something cute, but not something that wasn’t authentic to who I was. Hearing so many disgusting rumors about sorority recruitment, I was expecting the worst. To my surprise and pleasure, I was completely wrong about the whole process. Recruitment wasn’t nearly as “fake” or scary as I thought.

During recruitment at West Chester, you are placed in a group of twenty women and you are led by a recruitment leader, that serves as a mentor through out your whole process.

Being in a group of twenty strangers seriously intimidated me, but I tried my best to make small talk and make a few friends. My recruitment leader was an absolutely gem, and she was a great resource to go to for any questions regarding the whole process, and boy, did I go to her freaking out about the dumbest of things.

I’ll never forget walking into Sykes ballroom C, my first ever recruitment room.

The recruitment leaders lined us up in alphabetical order and led us into our first room. The first thing I noticed was the loud, intimidating chanting and clapping that actually became funny to me by the end of the day. It seemed like a million peppy, pretty, loud girls were all crammed in one room, beaming charming smiles at you. A sister grabbed me by the arm and circled me around the room while I gawked at the pictures and Greek apparel everywhere. This process was so much to take in at once.

Once you start having conversations with the women in the room, the rest just feels comfortable.

For the most part, we made small talk about where were from, our major, and just quirky things like “what you would take on a desert island if you only had one option”. The more rooms I went into, the more comfortable the process was for me. I found that I loved meeting all the sisters in every sorority, because each were all so different.

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By the end of the recruitment process, I was practically dead. I was tired, worn out, I had no voice from long conversations, and I was so mentally exhausted trying to remember every sorority I met. I remember the day I had to rank my #1 sorority…it was exciting but also felt like pure torture. I loved everyone so much, but I knew it was down to where I felt the most comfortable. I am so grateful my recruitment counselor was there to help me every step of the way because with out her, I would have gone crazy.

All in all, sorority recruitment at West Chester University is nothing like the movies make it seem.

It’s fun, comfortable, and such an amazing experience to go through, especially as a college freshman. I am so lucky I am in a Greek community that loves and supports each other like West Chester University does. For any one considering it: go for it. You’ll make friends, gain confidence, and you have absolutely nothing to lose.