By Olivia Krauth–
While several incoming freshman girls question whether or not Greek life is right for them, few think about postponing the recruitment process a semester. U of L offers both fall and spring sorority recruitment, and their differences may surprise you. Coming from a girl who went through spring sorority recruitment with multiple friends who went the more traditional route of fall recruitment, here are some things to consider before going deciding when to rush.
May not get to see all of the houses in the spring.
All sororities participate in formal fall recruitment, so you have a chance to learn about all of the sororities on campus. However, not everyone participates in spring rush. If a sorority has enough girls, they don’t have room to bring people in during the spring semester. Read: if there is no room for you, you cannot get into that sorority.
Can choose which places you want to visit in the spring.
In fall recruitment, you first start out by seeing all of the sororities and then whittling down your list as the week goes on. In the spring, you have to contact each sorority individually to see if they are holding recruitment. If you know you definitely don’t want to be in a certain sorority for whatever reason, you don’t have to talk to them if you do spring recruitment. However, if you don’t visit all of the sororities, you may feel like you missed out.
Different atmospheres completely.
The difference between fall and spring is simple: formal and informal. Ask any girl, and they will probably say that fall recruitment is much more formal and, well, hyper, while spring is much more chill. It’s up to you to decide which you would rather go through.
Fall nights have themes and bid day.
In fall rush, each night has a theme, and the last day is a bid day where you get to celebrate your new sisters. In most spring recruitment set-ups, this isn’t the case. Some have a traditional fall set-up, and some have recruitment only last a night with bids handed out that night. Some are a mix. Like the formality vs. informality previously mentioned, it really is up to your personal preference if you like this or not.
Timing is everything.
Like I just mentioned, some spring rush events only last one night instead of the typical one week for fall. Read: if you talk to more than one house during spring rush, you might have to take a bid before you’re done going through other rush events. Obviously, this could put a bit of stress on you as you weigh risk and reward.
Sororities accept more girls in the fall.
Speaking from a statistical perspective, you have a better chance of getting into the sorority you want when there are 50 open spots than when there are eight. Also, your pledge class will be bigger. More names to remember, but more people in the same boat you are.
