This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately as I work through Rho Gamma applications is the assumptions about going through recruitment formally vs. informally and what the difference between the two of them are. Formal and informal recruitment might be known as different things like at Baldwin Wallace we call it Primary and Secondary recruitment and some schools simply refer to it as Fall and Spring Recruitment.
To put it short, informal recruitment and formal recruitment are two different things. During formal recruitment, things are organized, structured and led by the College Panhellenic Council. There are set parties and set events that are set up and run by Recruitment Counselors and it ends in a larger Bid Day. During formal recruitment, sororities bring in larger bid classes and yes, sometimes the girls are more connected because they went through recruitment together – however, those who are an informal bid class can also be incredibly close. Regarding informal recruitment, things are less structured and, well, more informal. The events are put on by the sororities individually and usually, girls are personally invited to go through informal recruitment by specific chapters. Many girls have a more personal experience going through informal recruitment and overall it is less overwhelming than a weekend straight of recruitment events.
No matter how you go through recruitment, you are still a sister of your sorority and an important member of your chapter. There are so many reasons as to why women go through informal recruitment. One of the main reasons that girls go through recruitment informally is because they are unsure of being in a sorority all together and need to get to know the members of the chapters before they think about joining, rather than the other way around or because they want to get a better feel for their college schedule first. Additionally, they might go through recruitment informally because they transferred and simply missed their formal recruitment! Another reason might be that they believed they would not get into a sorority because they are an upperclassman.
I like to be honest on this blog, so I am going to keep that up. Some girls go through informal recruitment because something didn’t work for them during formal recruitment. Maybe they didn’t get a bid or weren’t invited back to the house that they thought they would love. And honestly, I am proud of those girls. While I never experienced it, I am sure that primary recruitment not going as planned and putting yourself back out there is amazing. So don’t let past experiences or other people discourage you – go for it!
To finish up this post I want to answer one last question – does going through informal recruitment make you less of a member? The easiest way to tell you the answer is to tell you about a friend of mine who went through informal recruitment. Last year she was a Rho Gamma and this year she is the president of her sorority. Does that answer your question?
I hope that this helped you if you are unsure about going through informal recruitment! Good luck with recruitment and be sure to look out for my next post about my experience at AFLV this weekend!
Preppy In Ohio 