Let me guess, you spent hours on TikTok, stressing about what to say at each house, what to put in your rush bag, or even just how to act to fit in at your top choice. Well let me tell you, Panhellenic sorority recruitment at Stevens is nothing like what you see on TikTok, so no fear. I’m Sarah Pasqualetto and I am the Chapter President and the VP of Membership Recruitment for Alpha Phi and I created this survival guide that will help you survive formal recruitment.
So you decided you wanted to go through recruitment, now what? The breakdown of recruitment at Stevens consists of Day 1: Round Robin (you will talk to every single sorority this day), Day 2: Philanthropy (your list will get shorter and this day you’ll hear about every organizations impact and what they stand for), Day 3: Preference (you have max 2 houses and this night is more intimate than most), and then the next day leads to Bid Day where you find out if/where you landed! Each day you should dress in your own personal best (nothing too fancy, just something nice and what makes you feel your best! - the last round though is a little bit dressier). Day 1 is a pretty long day so make sure to bring water and snacks to eat in between rounds, also feel free to bring anything like deodorant, perfume, gum, etc. You will go house to house with your recruitment group, and I suggest talking to everyone in your group - some may even become your sisters! But remember, everyone goes through different feelings and emotions during these days, so don’t depict your decision on anything the girls around you or your friends think. You may think that you know immediately where you want to end up, especially if you are a legacy (someone who has a family member in a sorority), but really be yourself and have an open mind during every round, you might end up shocking yourself! If you do have pre notations of houses, maybe do some stalking to be able to ask questions, that will really impress sisters! You will be given a recruitment counselor and they end up helping you find the place closest to your heart - think of them as your sorority therapist. Within these few days you may be disappointed if you get cut from a sorority that you really liked. But trust me, everything happens the way it is supposed to. In the end, everything will work out for you! It’s normal to feel emotional during these next few days. I myself am super emotional so tears are okay! Take care of yourself and enjoy the ride. When it actually comes to talking to girls, make sure to show off your true colors, but stray away from boys, booze, substances, politics, religion, etc. But, things to definitely be aware you’ll talk about a lot is your major, hometown, all those beautiful ice breaker questions. As nervous as you may be, TRUST ME - we are even more nervous. Not only do you have to make a good impression, but so do we! The most important part of recruitment is for you to just be yourself. No sister wants to have fake or meaningless conversations, we want to get to know the real and true you, because you may be a sister in a few days!
If you are ever nervous or feel like you need to talk about recruitment before it happens, feel free to DM any sister of any org on Instagram, they would have no problem helping you out to the best of their abilities (I am always open to talk @sarahpasqualetto on IG, and as the director of APhi’s recruitment I am a great resource). You will be shocked at how toned down Stevens handles recruitment compared to big state schools. I promise here, the only thing you have to do is show up and, as cliche as it sounds, be yourself!
Love,
Sarah Pasqualetto
President of Alpha Phi & Outgoing VP of Membership Recruitment
