What It’s Like Getting Dropped From Your Sister’s Sorority

Francesca shares her recruitment experience and gets real about finding her sorority home somewhere she didn't initially expect to:

"My sister was the first one in my family to go Greek. I was a freshman in high school when she joined her sorority, so for the next 4 years I attended every Georgia game, parent’s weekend, daddy-daughter day and philanthropy event I could with my sister’s sorority. She lived in the house her sophomore year and let me tell you, I knew my way around that place. I knew the House Mom and my sister’s friends, and I grew to love the reputation and environment her sorority upheld and expected of their girls. So as you could assume, by the time I entered UGA as a freshman and started recruitment, I was 100% gung-ho on pledging my sister’s sorority. I had letters of recommendation, my sister had JUST graduated out of the chapter, and I all but thought I was a shoo-in. Long story short, they cut me after philanthropy round. The morning of house tours I was CRUSHED to not see them on my schedule. After many tears and a long conversation with my sister, I decided to continue on in the recruitment process and keep an open mind to the other houses. To be completely honest, one thing that kept me going was knowing that if I didn’t like the outcome, then I could simply rush again next year. Well thank goodness I continued on in the process because little did I know that I’d find a great home and fit for me! I’m now going into my third year as a collegiate and actually hold a position on my sorority’s exec as well!

Today I can say that I feel truly at home in my sorority, just as much as I’d imagined I would in my sister’s. Everything I hoped to find in a sorority: a strong, intelligent, kind, fun-loving and intentional group of gals, I’ve found in my chapter. I won’t lie, I’ll always be a little sad about the fact that I don’t share that bond with my sister in the Greek system, but I will always have fond memories of attending my sister’s events as her little sis, and now she even comes to MY events as a Panhellenic pal!

I understand that my story is my own and not every PNM will have the same feelings towards their outcomes. Women get dropped as legacies every year, and for some it’s more heartbreaking than others. To those of you who are legacies, I recommend that you keep an open mind: I’m not saying you can’t want a certain house or wish to continue a legacy (goodness knows I sure did!), but IF you do get cut from your legacy house, remember this: sororities are what you make of them. Each house has their own colors, mascots and sayings, but in the end we are all women striving for the community, comradery and sisterhood that the Greek system promotes. A chapter is not made up of those two or three greek letters written on the house, but of the individual women who wear them.

Best wishes to all you gals going through recruitment! Go Greek and GO DAWGS!!!"