Tag: greek life

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Bid Day! An Overview and Some Tips

bid day overview and tips

So you’ve gone through Rush Week, took in all of the information for each organization that you could possibly handle, and now it’s BID DAY! Here’s a quick overview of what to expect on bid day: 

At this point, you’ve submitted your preference of house that you would like to join and the houses have done the same for their recruits. If you match up, a bid is offered to you. This means you’re in! You’re invited and welcome to join! You accept the bid and join the house. The rest of the day is full of excitement and activities as everyone rallies around the new members. Some houses assign their big and littles on this day as well, while others may wait. There’s cheering and chanting and one big party! 

A few tips for bid day: 

Drop the stress! You’re in and they’ve offered you a spot. 

Look into how long you have to decline the bid if you can on bid day. Some will show up at the house and participate in the excitement of bid day, only to regret their house choice later. It’s worth it to look into if needed! 

Don’t worry about getting to know everyone all at once. There are probably people there that you didn’t even see or get to know during Rush Week because they were working behind the scenes the entire time. You’ll get to know everyone eventually, given time. 

Enjoy it. You only get one bid day! It’s a big day, so take it all in and enjoy it while it’s happening. Take pictures and videos and remember the moments that mattered the most. 

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#GoGreek Interview: Emma Movick

alpha chi omega interview

Welcome to our #GoGreek series! This blog series focuses on interviewing past and present members of sororities and fraternities. We are able to learn more about their experiences and ask them questions to help others learn more about the Greek world, bust stigmas, and find out if Greek life is right for you. 

Today we are interviewing Emma Movick from Alpha Chi Omega at the University of Colorado. 

Emma chose Greek life because she wanted to meet new friends and feel connected at a new school. She also had the chance to meet a lot of great girls during recruitment and wanted to stay connected with them. She transferred to the University of Colorado her sophomore year and felt like she had missed a vital year there as a freshman to interact with the school and get to know peers, so joining a sorority was the perfect answer for her. 

Alpha Chi Omega’s philanthropy is centered around domestic violence awareness. Emma felt like this was a great philanthropy to support because she knows personally sisters and classmates affected by this. 

How has your experience helped or shaped your life beyond college?

“I was on the executive board, so I had to deal with conflicts while being in a role of power. I learned a lot about how to manage work conflicts and pick my battles on things I am not pleased with.

Going through recruitment (both when I was rushing and when I was recruiting new members) helped me to communicate with many different people, which has helped me with school and job interviews as I feel comfortable speaking with others.”

In what ways do you feel like being in a sorority or fraternity boosted your resume?

“It helped to make my resume well rounded and separate me from others. Also, connections are great. I had a job at lululemon, and during the hiring process, I spoke with employers who were also alumni of the same sorority which helped to make me memorable. I can also demonstrate my multitasking as I was on the executive board, working, and taking classes – showing that I can succeed while working on multiple tasks.”

When asked what advice Emma would give someone who wants to or is about to enter a sorority or fraternity, her recommendation is to be yourself, because you want to attract people with similar hobbies and interests. Be open-minded as well and don’t take it too seriously. Emma also added that being in a sorority was a great decision for her and she met some lifelong friends through it, as well as came away with great, life-changing experiences. 

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Spotlight On Alpha Chi Omega

spotlight on alpha chi omega sorority

Alpha Chi Omega was founded in 1885 in Indiana when female students were in the beginnings of being allowed in college classrooms. Seven women came together to create an organization within their school of music, thus creating the 10th women’s fraternity in the country. 

The founders were Anna Allen Smith, Olive Burnett Clark, Bertha Deniston Cunningham, Amy DuBois Rieth, Nellie Gamble Childe, Bessie Grooms Keenan, and Estelle Leonard. Although they originally created the organization in their music school, it is not exclusive to music students today, and now serves more than 230,000 members nationwide, with chapters in foreign countries as well! 

Photo from http://www.alphachisu.org/history_foundingmembers.asp

Alpha Chi Omega’s individual philanthropies focus on the effects of domestic violence and the effects of it. They accomplish this through many hands-on activities and service projects. 

One of our past scholarship winners, Liz Hansen, is a part of Alpha Chi Omega. This is what she says about the organization: 

“What drove me to join my sorority was really and truly how amazing and supportive the women are in it. Regarding our philanthropy, it’s something I’m truly passionate about; I feel that my calling is to help others. Domestic violence and abuse are a lot more prevalent than people realize because it doesn’t need to be just physical. There’s a huge gap in education on the subject and teaching others, especially college students, about what a healthy relationship looks like is so important. The women we help at the shelter are in need of support and resources, and our donations of time and money are so impactful on them.”

Alpha Chi Omega’s motto is “Together, let us seek the heights.” They also live by the saying “Real. Strong. Women.” You can see more about this here: 

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Rush Week Overview and Tips

rush week tips

If you’re planning on #GoingGreek this fall when school starts, it’s time to start researching Rush Week! This week will most likely look a little different at each school, but the overview is the same- a week where new recruits for Greek sororities and fraternities check out the different houses, meet the members of the organizations, learn about their philanthropies, and try to match up with which one they would like to be a part of for their college career. Here’s what a sample rush week could look like: 

Monday: Meet the members of the houses and get to know one another

Tuesday: Tours of the houses

Wednesday: Philanthropy night to learn more about each house’s philanthropy. 

Thursday: Preference day*

Saturday: Bid day

*Preference day is a day where each house looks at each potential pick of who they want in their house, and the guys and girls rushing also pick which houses they want to be a part of. If you end up matching, you’re invited to a preference night for the houses you match with. This doesn’t mean you’re in the sorority or fraternity yet! This is your “interview” of sorts. 

After preference day is bid day, the day the sororities and fraternities invite those they ended up choosing to join them. Each University and house will have a different number of people they take in, some schools have around a 95% rate of getting in if you rush, other schools can be lower and more competitive to get in. 

Tips for Rush Week

  • Ask a lot of questions. Usually you’re assigned a leader to help guide you through the week, ask the questions and become familiar with the houses and process! 
  • Try not to stress. There’s a lot of commotion and things to think or worry about. But it’s also great to live in the moment and take it all in. 
  • Research the houses before. It can be easier going into Rush Week with a knowledge of what your options are and what these houses mean and stand for. For example, research Alpha Chi Omega, what they stand for, what their philanthropy is, how they started, what their motto is, etc. This will help you decide if this house is right for you, even before rush week begins. 
  • Dress to impress! How you dress says a lot about who you are, this is why we dress up for job interviews. Look at rush week as one week-long job interview, so dress in a way you are comfortable and feel like you, but is also your nicer, more professional clothing. 
  • Keep your purse or bag stocked with essentials. Chapstick, mints, extra clothes, snacks, and maybe comfy shoes to change into. At some Universities, the houses won’t be all right next to each other, so consider the walking time and distance. High heels don’t make the best shoes to walk a few blocks in! 
  • When choosing your final houses on preference day, be honest with yourself. It can be so easy to fall into the trap that you need to be included in every house or that you would be completely fine getting into whichever house offers you their preference or bid. However, it’s best to be honest with yourself and really consider if choosing a specific house would be the right decision for you. 

Good luck with rush week this fall! We are rooting for you! 

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Should I Join A Sorority?

What is a sorority? 

Here is a rough definition from a Google search. But a sorority is also so much more than just “a society for female students.” A sorority is a place to live, friends, a community, and more. Full of service opportunities, school events, and active involvement. 

So the question is- should you join a sorority? 

Here’s an overview of what it entails.

A sorority is a home typically on or very close to campus. Many members will claim it’s one of their favorite parts of living in a sorority, because of the close commute to classes and always feeling so involved with events happening on campus. But because housing is never free, it does cost money to live there, and often it can be more expensive than housing that is out of the Greek scene. 

Sororities can also be a product of rules to follow. By committing yourself to the Greek life, it can mean there is a whole new list of rules to follow. This can turn some away, but may be appealing to others with the consistency and high expectations. 

It can also mean instant friends. Finding your friend group in college can be daunting, but walking into a sorority house can ease the burden of finding new friends. A sorority will provide multiple, great leadership opportunities, which turn around to be amazing resume builders. 

A sorority can be a great thing! There are so many great products of joining and being part of the Greek world. And if you don’t believe me, take it from a sorority sister herself! Here’s the advice she wants to leave with you:

“For someone considering joining, I think it’s important to just be yourself (cliche, I know) because these are people you will be spending a lot of time with and you should feel comfortable… to be honest, it was just nice to feel like a part of something right off the bat when moving to college.”

A.J. Cutler- Alpha Chi Omega 

Have you been considering a sorority for your college experience?