6 WAYS TO STAND OUT DURING PREF
At most colleges, Pref is the last round of sorority recruitment. During this round, you have to be invited back to the sororities. Your schedule could be the two sororities you voted to keep. It is much more common to get a schedule that has a mix of the sororities you wanted to go back to (keep) and sororities you tried to drop. It is possible to get back two sororities you tried to drop.
After you meet with your recruitment group, you line up outside of your first sorority. You are in charge of getting yourself to each sorority on time.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING THIS ROUND?
These parties are the longest of sorority recruitment. The longer parties allow you to learn more about the sorority and what makes it so special. Pref is structured in a different way than the other rounds. For Pref, the members are not screaming door chants and bursting with excitement. This round is more serious and a ceremony. Sometimes there is light classical music playing. Other times, a member may announce your name as you walk into the sorority.
Your conversations are structured differently. The members want to know if you want to join the sorority. This day can be very emotional for everyone. You have to be honest with the members. Tell them how you feel and if you like the sorority. It might be hard to be vulnerable. If you do not tell them how you feel you might get dropped. They need to know how you feel so they can vote correctly!
Also, typically the members do most of the talking for this round. They share why they joined, what makes their sorority so special, etc.
At the end of the party, the member walks you out, and you go to your next sorority or take a break if you do not have a party schedule.
HOW TO THINK OF THIS ROUND
For Pref, you want to think of this round as a proposal. You lay your heart on the table and share what you love about the sorority.
During Pref, the members want to give everyone a bid, but they cannot. They look to you to know how to vote. You have to show interest in the sorority. If you do not show interest, the members might assume you will join the other sorority. If they make this assumption, you will not receive a bid.
HOW MANY MEMBERS WILL YOU MEET?
Most likely, you will talk to multiple members at each sorority. However, you could meet only one. It depends on how the sorority sets up Pref.
WHEN WILL YOU VOTE?
You vote after you meet all of the sororities on your schedule.
How the members score you
A lot of times during Pref, the members do a blunt vote. It is a YES (the best score they can give) or NO (the worst score they can give) vote. They do this dramatic vote because it helps get potential new members they want on the top of the Bid Day list.
here are 6 tips to help you stand out during pref
Tip #1 Tell them how you are feeling
You HAVE to open up to the sorority members this round. It is very important. The members want to know how your sorority recruitment experience went. They want to know if you like the sorority. They want to know everything. If they know how you feel, they can give you the correct score.
If you love the sorority, walk into the house smiling. Tell the sorority members how happy you are to be invited back. You can even drop the phrase, “I really could see myself in this sorority.”
Tip #2. Confidence is key
I am a big believer that your attitude attracts the type of people in your life.
If you walk into Pref confident and know what you want out of a sorority, the members can see you as a member of their sorority. You will have a clear answer to, “What are you looking for in a sorority?” You will connect to the members you talk to during Pref.
On the other hand, if you walk into sorority recruitment worrying that you are going to be dropped or feeling like you will not find the right sorority for you, you will be hard to stand out from the other women.
The point is you have to walk into Pref Round confident and excited to find your dream sorority. Your confidence will radiate. The sorority members will know that you are the right fit. They want new members who know that their sorority is right for them.
Tip #3. Ask questions
Let’s say you have two amazing sororities you are deciding between.
How are you going to make your final choice?
You have to ask questions. I recommend you pull these questions from your make or break list.
Here are some examples of questions you might ask the sorority members for Pref:
Why did you choose to join your sorority?
Are there any leadership positions for new members?
Ask whatever is important to you!
Tip #4. Make actual connections
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTING
When you picked your roommate,
Did you care what her favorite color was?
Did you care how many boxes she was going to bring when moving in?
Probably not. Most likely, you picked someone who wanted a similar experience for college and lived a similar life to you.
The same idea applies to sorority recruitment. The members look for women who are similar to the current members. They want you to join and be able to find immediate friends. To receive a bid, you have to communicate that you are similar to them. You have to allow the members to connect with you.
Example for Pref: Many times at Pref, the members open up about their sorority experience and why their sorority is so special. If the member opens up to you, do not smile back at her and sit in silence. Share why her story is important to you or how you want to have that experience too.
Tip #5. What to wear
A lot of potential new members obsess over their outfits. They think their outfits help them get a bid and stand out. I want to let you in on a secret. Your outfits do not play a major role in your score during sorority recruitment. Wearing a Gucci belt, Golden Goose sneakers, or a Cartier LOVE bracelet will not help you get a bid.
When you pick out your outfits, you do not want to wear something different to stand out. For example, if everyone wears skirts, you do not want to be the one woman wearing jeans. When picking out your outfits, your goal is to dress similarly to the members.
Why is it important to look similar to the sorority members?
In Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger, he explains why we are drawn to similar people through the following situation. Imagine you go to a party with your best friend. Once you get inside, she says, “Everyone here is so nice. Go up and talk to someone. I am going to go to the bathroom.” You do not want to appear unsocial in the corner on your phone. You have seconds to decide which group you want to go and talk to. There are three groups:
Group one: Two individuals wearing all black. Black shirt, black pants, black hat, and black shoes.
Group two: Two individuals dressed in hiking gear.
Group three: Two individuals who are dress identical to you.
Who will you talk to?
Most likely, group three – the group that looks just like you look.
Why do you talk to them over the other groups?
In a quick second, when you have to make a decision, you look for similarities. You assume if they are dressed like me, we most likely have other things in common too.
The same idea applies to sorority recruitment. The members look for women who are similar to them. They know similar women will be able to find friends and have a good experience. When the members meet a potential new member for the first time, the first thing they look to see if you are similar to them is what you are wearing.
HOW DO YOU DRESS SIMILARLY TO THE MEMBERS?
STEP #1. Look at your college's Panhellenic website to see if there is an outfit guide.
The guide needs to be from the year you are going through sorority recruitment OR the year before.
DO NOT USE AN OUTFIT GUIDE FROM THREE YEARS AGO.
STEP #2. Find several sororities that you think would be good fits for you based on their Instagram photos.
STEP #3. What are the members wearing?
STEP #4. Plan your outfits. What are you going to wear for each round?
You can pull things from your closet or buy new things.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Can you wear one-shoulder tops and dresses? Can you wear a strapless dress?
Yes! You are more than welcome to wear a strapless dress or a one-shoulder dress/top.
Are you allowed to wear designer clothes, shoes, or jewelry?
Absolutely! If you have a Tiffany necklace you wear every day, wear it. The sorority will not penalize you for wearing anything designer.
Here are some fun options for Pref
Tip #6. Show off your personality
During this round, the member’s goal is to gauge your interest in the sorority. She will ask you some tough questions to see if you want to join.
With a question like, “Why did you decide to go through sorority recruitment?”, most will answer with, “I am looking for a group of friends.” With this answer, you look like everyone else. In every sorority, you can find one friend. This answer does not let her know you want to join. Instead of sharing only your reason, you want to share your reason + why that reason is important to you. If you are looking for friend, why are friends important do you? How are these friendship going to help you throughout college?
When you open up about your life, the member notices you have a lot in common. If she see you have things in common, it helps her see you in the sorority. When she goes to vote, she is not asking herself, “Would this potential new member be a good fit in this sorority?” You made it clear that you would be a good fit and want to join. It is an easy yes for her.
Bonus Tip: SHOULD YOU USE A SINGLE PREFERENCE VOTE [ALSO, KNOWN AS A SUICIDE VOTE]?
Will you be placed at the end of the bid day list? Short answer no.
Will you be automatically cut? Short answer no.
Will you have a disadvantage if you use this type of voting style? Short answer yes
I am going o break it all down for you.
LET’S GET INTO EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A SINGLE PREFERENCE VOTE.
How a suicide vote works during sorority recruitment
At Pref, it is the first time you have voting options. You have two options.
Option #1. Vote on both of the sororities.
For this option, the order MATTERS. The sorority you place in the #1 spot is the sorority you want to join.
When you vote on both sororities, you are guaranteed a bid to one of the sororities.
If you receive your schedule for Pref and you only have one sorority on it, you are guaranteed a bid to that sorority if you vote.
Option #2. Vote ONLY on one of the sororities.
For this option, you visit two sororities. You intentionally only vote on one sorority.
You get to pick which option is the best decision for you.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS.
How voting works after Pref
After the sorority meets all the women they invite to a Pref ceremony, they vote on each woman and create a list. The list has every woman who attended the Pref ceremony on it from best to worst score.
Example. You attend a Pref ceremony for Alpha Alpha Alpha. Tri Alpha invited 80 women to Pref ceremonies.
#1. Name of the woman with the BEST score at Tri Alpha
#2. Name of the woman with the second-best score
.
.
.
#80. Name of the woman with the worst score at Tri Alpha
Then, Tri Alpha sends this list to Panhellenic.
Panhellenic determines quota. The quota is determined by the number of women who voted and signed the MRABA divided by the number of sororities on campus. For this example, let’s say the quota is 60.
Panhellenic goes through the top 60 scores on Tri Alpha. They are looking to see if the woman has put Tri Alpha in her #1 spot on her voting card.
Situation #1. You are in the #1 spot on Tri Alpha. You receive a bid! Yay!
Situation #2. You are in spot #61.
When Panhellenic goes through Tri Alpha’s list, the women in spots #1 to #5 have Delta Nu as their #1. Delta Nu has them in the top 60. These women all receive bids from Delta Nu.
Now, Tri Alpha has 5 spots AVAILABLE. Panhellenic looks at the women in spots #61 to #66. If you voted on BOTH sororities, you move up to the Bid Day list. You receive a bid from Tri Alpha.
Situation #3. You are in spots #67 to #80 and voted on both sororities. You RECEIVE a bid to your #2 choice.
When Panhellenic goes through Tri Alpha’s list, the women in spots #1 to #5 have Delta Nu as their #1. Delta Nu has them in the top 60. These women all receive bids from Delta Nu.
Now, Tri Alpha has 5 spots available. Panhellenic looks at the women in spots #61 to #65. They all want to join Tri Alpha. Since you are too far down on the list and guaranteed a bid, you receive a bid to your #2 choice, Delta Nu.
Situation #4. You are in spot #61 AND used a SUICIDE vote — only voted on Tri Alpha.
With a suicide vote, you HAVE to be in the top 60. If you are at #61 you are AUTOMATICALLY dropped from Tri Alpha. Panhellenic is required to penalize women who suicide vote by not allowing them to move up on the list. They are stuck in the position. Even if some of the women do not want to join Tri Alpha, Panhellenic skips over the women who used a suicide vote. Now, you are dropped from Tri Alpha and do not receive a bid.
A suicide vote is a dramatic voting style. It is very risky. It should ONLY be used if you absolutely cannot see yourself in the other sorority. You would rather NOT be in a sorority than the other sorority.
WHEN CONSIDERING A SUICIDE VOTE, HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF.
How bad do you want to be in a sorority?
How upset would you be if you received a phone call that you were dropped from sorority recruitment?
Would you rather see your second choice on your bid day card OR get the phone call?
Do you think you are above quota?
If you could slightly see yourself in your second choice sorority, you want to vote on both of them. Again, a suicide vote is an extreme style of voting. IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH NOT RECEIVING A BID.
If you are dropped from your #1 choice and you used a suicide vote, you can still join a sorority! Find out about all your options HERE.
WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSIDER A SINGLE PREFERENCE VOTE?
If you say, “I like Tri Alpha. I just would rather be a Delta Nu”, you should vote on both sororities.
If you say, “I absolutely do not like Delta Nu. I would immediately drop. I would not go to bid day”, then you should consider a suicide vote. It should be a strong feeling, and you are okay with not being in a sorority.
As I said, this type of voting is risky!
This decision is hard to make. I recommend talking to your mom, sister, recruitment counselor, friend, or someone you are close with before you choose to go through with a single preference vote.
WHY DO THE PANHELLENIC MEMBERS RECOMMEND MAXIMIZING YOUR OPTIONS AFTER PREF?
The Panhellenic members want to see every potential new member join a sorority.
They want the best for you and every other potential new member.
Sometimes you think a sorority is not right for you, but maybe you have not met the right people yet. There is a reason the sorority is asking you back to Pref… they see you as a future member.
By maximizing your options, you are guaranteed a bid.
Good luck with sorority recruitment! I am rooting for you!
Sloan
You have a math test in two weeks that is worth 90% of your grade for the class. You want to get an A. You are looking for guidance on how to get your A.
First, you ask a friend, not in your math class, “How do I get an A+ on my test?” She says, “You need to study.” This answer leaves you frustrated.
Then, you ask your teacher, “How do I get an A+ on my test?” She gives you a step-by-step plan.
Who was more helpful?
Your teacher, right?
To get an A, you need to know the right information and have a step-by-step plan.
To get a bid to a sorority you love, you have to communicate you are the right fit for the sorority before and during sorority recruitment. A step-by-step plan tells you how and when to communicate.
BUT… why do so many women going through sorority recruitment ONLY use the advice they find on Youtube and TikTok? Does it help them stand out and get a bid?
Click the video below to see how The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment can help you create and implement your plan.