Why Spring Recruitment at FSU Was the Best Decision for Me

Most people who know anything about FSU have probably heard about Greek life. With 17 sororities, Greek life is a major part of the FSU culture that many students choose to join.

In addition to Greek life, most people are probably aware of fall recruitment. Fall recruitment is a process for prospective sorority sisters to spend a week visiting all the sororities’ chapter facilities. They talk to chapter members and ultimately decide which chapter they would like to join. 

Although fall recruitment is a great way to be a part of Greek life at FSU, many people don’t know about another way to join sororities: spring recruitment. Spring recruitment is what I ended up doing to join my sorority, and it was a great decision for me!

WHAT IS SPRING Recruitment?

Also called Spring Continuous Open Bidding (COB), spring recruitment begins around the middle of January, and you can typically get a bid for a sorority anywhere from the end of January through the middle of February. The applications for Spring COB typically open in December. Spring COB is very unstructured compared to fall recruitment. Prospective members go to events at the different sorority chapter facilities or meet one-on-one with initiated members. 

There is also an orientation that prospective members attend around the end of January to learn more about the different chapters that are participating in spring recruitment. That being said, not every chapter participates, so this gives prospective members a slightly smaller number of options when choosing a sorority.

why spring recruitment was the best decision for me

I decided to apply in hopes that I would be able to join a great community of women, despite not going through fall recruitment. Here are some reasons why Spring COB was a great decision for me!

IT’S MORE CASUAL AND LESS STRUCTURED THAN FALL recruitment

Although fall recruitment can be a great way to join a sorority, it can be a somewhat overwhelming process for students starting their freshman year. 

Spring recruitment consists of sorority events and activities, such as creating vision boards and playing board games. Along with these activities, you can also talk to a sorority member for around an hour to an hour and a half. This allows for a much more casual environment where you really get to know the person you are talking to and the sorority you would like to join.

Furthermore, spring recruitment allows you to be in charge of your own destiny. You get to decide which events to go to and what sororities to reach out to. If you don’t want to go to a specific event, you don’t have to! This makes for a much less structured experience and leaves most of the process up to you.

YOU CAN FIGURE OUT YOUR PLACE AT FSU BEFORE JOINING A SORORITY

Going to college and figuring out how to live away from your family, finding your way around campus, and balancing an academic and social life can be challenging. For fall recruitment, you have to arrive at school more than a week early and navigate around a new campus/city, all while talking to as many sorority members as you can. Some people may enjoy joining a sorority in the fall for the support system in this transition. However, I enjoyed figuring out my place at FSU before joining a sorority. 

As a somewhat introverted girl, this seemed very overwhelming, as I wouldn’t be able to get adjusted to living on my own before jumping into recruitment. That’s when I learned about Spring COB, which ended up being so much more relaxed and fit my needs much better. 

Going into college without being in a sorority allowed me to join a few clubs that I may not have joined if I had been in a sorority in the fall semester. I was able to meet so many different kinds of people in these clubs and figure out what kinds of extracurriculars I enjoyed. 

Waiting to join a sorority until the spring also allowed me to give priority to my academics. When you first join a sorority, there are certain tasks that you’re required to do that can be somewhat time-consuming. Waiting to join a sorority until the spring gave me time to adjust to academic challenges in college and put my academics first.  

Joining a sorority or Greek life in general is a great way to get involved and meet so many people at FSU. Whether you choose to do fall recruitment or spring COB, I’m sure you will find your place in a great community of women!

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