“The need to impress is definitely a pressure of the whole process,” she said. “Girls become afraid that they aren’t interesting enough for some chapters and that they won’t impress them. That’s the goal. If you impress them, they’ll call ?you back.”
Sanchez, a dance major at IU, reflected on her own experiences during recruitment freshman year and the pressures it brought ?upon her.
“Since I’m a dance major, I always had rehearsals, even during recruitment,” she said. “I had to miss a couple of rounds because of my rehearsals, which brought more pressure on me to make a good impression on the chapters.”
Although many women go through recruitment their freshman year, it’s not uncommon for some to also go through it as a sophomore. Factors such as grades, finances and even recruitment not working out the first time can be reasons for going through the process as a sophomore.
“I went through recruitment as a freshman, but I’ve wondered what would have been similar or different about it if I went through it as a sophomore,” Sanchez said. “Would being older have made a significant difference in the outcome?”
The pressures girls may feel during recruitment are noticed not just within the groups going through it, but also by the men in fraternities and around campus ?as well.
“You see them going from house to house and it looks like they’re enjoying it, but they’re probably so stressed,” said Jordan Kahn, member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. “I’ve seen girls want to nearly to drop out just because of how stressed they get.”
According to the IU Panhellenic Association, an average of more than 1,000 women register and go through recruitment every spring. Of those 1,000, an average of more than 50 percent finish recruitment with a bid to a sorority.
Although not for everyone, recruitment acts as a way to branch out and can bring upon a positive experience, Sanchez said.
“Overall, going through recruitment had plenty of ups and downs, such as getting cut by some chapters and getting called back from some unexpected ones,” she said. “In the end, it turned out to be a good experience, as I met some great friends through it, and even with the pressures, I would ?recommend it.”
