SORORITY RECRUITMENT: PREFERENCE ROUND

---please keep in mind that I only have taken part in one Preference Round as this was the day that I dropped out of my first recruitment - this is all coming from one year's experience---

Congratulations! You've made it almost to the end. Preference (or 'Pref') day/night is going to be the most emotional yet. Prepare for tears and wear your waterproof mascara.

TO WEAR: Some schools require you to wear a black dress but if you go to a school that does not, don't be afraid to go bold!

super pretty Pref Day outfits yet again from Pinterest

I planned out this super cute satin floral dress from J.Crew as my outfit but I didn't like how it looked with the sweater that I was going to wear with it (it's a strapless dress so to be appropriate, I felt like I should wear a sweater with it).

For this round I wore a black high neck/halter(?) kind of dress from H&M with my grandmother's pearls to be extra fancy and some suuuuuupeeerrrrrrr hiiiiggghhhh black stilettos. I wanted my hair to be different every day so I lightly curled it for this round with my straightener to give it a different look.

When everybody warned me that Preference Night/Day/Round would be emotional, I shrugged it off. I really didn't think it could be emotional for ME. (In retrospect, it was emotional. The sister who shared her story ended up preffing me and we have been in very similar situations and I kinda cried. Yeah. I said it.) It's a very serious round and all of the sisters of each chapter will show you truly how much the chapter and being in a sorority in general has helped them and shaped them into who they are today. Some may share very sad stories and some have triumphant ones! You will also be guided in and with a sister who has meant a lot to you throughout the recruitment process. They may share a story of theirs and you will have the opportunity to chat even further.

If you have two houses or a full schedule on this day, you are guaranteed a bid from one of those two chapters. Congratulations! Making it this far shows that the chapters really see something in you that they believe would compliment their sisterhood brilliantly. After you visit both (or all) the chapters on your schedule, you will be prompted to fill out a preference card. This is a binding contract that once signed shows that you agree to accept a bid from any chapter on that card. If you only like one of the chapters that you got on Preference Day then you do have the option to select only one on your card but you are not guaranteed a bid from that chapter. Once you have submitted your card you have officially preffed a house and are binded to a Panhellenic rule that you cannot join another sorority until next year's formal recruitment (or a full calendar year).

I personally had a very tough time deciding between the chapters that I had on this day and was in the auditorium for a long time deciding. I had to talk to my recruitment counselor and spend some time just thinking and doing a pros/cons list but I know wholeheartedly I made the right decision in the end.

Want to go to another recruitment day post? Here's all of them: Day One | Day Two/Three | Day Three/Four | Bid Day