Recruitment can be stressful for a Potential New Member. In four days, you will find your sisters for the next few years, all in a process where you have no control whatsoever. There’s a lot you want to remember to do, and lot of things on your checklist. You want to put your best self forward every day. This doesn’t mean pretending to be someone you’re not, or erasing your personality to fit in, but it does mean appearing as the best version of yourself that you can. It’s not all about being pretty. It is about putting your best foot forward, showing off your personality, and trying to stand out as much as you can. We’ve got your final checklist so you can go to sleep before Open House Day with no worries.
Do You Have All Your Alarms Set?
The worst thing that you could possibly do this recruitment is to sleep through your alarms and wake up ten minutes before you have to be at Hughes-Trigg to meet your Rho Gammas. I’ve had that nightmare before, let’s be honest. Set all your alarms. And I mean all of them. If you don’t have a roommate who would be nice enough to wake you up, or you are a heavy sleeper, make sure you back-up your back-up alarms. Get an actual clock that makes you get out of bed to turn it off. You don’t want to risk oversleeping these days, trust me.
Do You Have a Game Plan?
Not the typical recruitment game plan, like planning out your conversations and deciding who is going to be your new big, but a different type. Do you know when you need to leave your dorm to be at Hughes-Trigg on time? Do you know who you will be getting lunch with and what time you will be meeting? Do you remember your Rho Gamma group and any friends you have in that group? Remember to stay calm, plan what you can, and let go of what you cannot control. That means no calculating the odds of your fate in each house. You can’t predict it, so you might as well focus on what you can control.
Have You Ironed Your Outfits?
When I was a Potential New Member, I forgot that my pants for Open House Day were dirty. I pulled them out of the laundry hamper, and they were a rumpled mess. That morning, as I waited for my glitter eyeliner to dry, I used my roommate’s hair straightener to try to get the wrinkles out of my pants. Trust me, you do not want this fate. You don’t need a perfect crease or magnificent pleats, but you don’t want to look like you just rolled out of bed. Steam your clothes with you while you’re in the shower, or iron them and set them out the night before. You’ll save yourself a lot of suffering.
Have You Done Your Nails?
This is totally superficial, and not necessary, but I forgot to do this my Freshman year, and I felt… weird. Let’s face it, this is SMU, and as judgmental and b!tchy as it may seem, how you present yourself during recruitment matters. Most active members are required to have their nails done, and it’s an easy conversation grabber if you hit a lull. “OMG, where did you get your nails done?” You’ll be more polished this way. Pun intended.
Have You Shaped or Tweezed Your Eyebrows?
Superficial again, but let’s not forget that sometimes you have to put your best face forward. You’ll be up CLOSE to these girls, because the houses are loud loud loud. It’s just the best idea that you make sure your face looks the best. The night before I rushed, I suddenly remembered that I needed to tweeze my eyebrows, and so while my roommate was snoozing away, I was ripping out eyebrow hair in our study room. Learn from my mistakes.
Have You Broken-In Your Shoes?
This is just logic, honey. If you haven’t broken in your shoes yet, slap those suckers on and run around in them a little bit. You spend most of those days on your feet, and you don’t want to be stumbling around with blisters and bleeding toes. Try warming them up with a hair dryer, and walking around the house in them with sock on. It’ll stretch out the tight spots and make sure that you’re used to the feeling of those shoes on your feet.
Have You Packed Your Plastic Baggie? —a.k.a. Do You Have Enough Mints for between Each Round Tomorrow?
Each Potential New Member is allowed to bring one plastic bag to carry all of their crap for the day. This is very important. You don’t have time for the trek back to your dorm between rounds or even for lunch, so you’re going to need to be all packed for the day. Treat it like a recruitment emergency kit. What do you need?
- Teeny tiny compact mirror for checking your makeup.
- Lipstick to fix in between rounds.
- Teeny deodorant, in case you get sweaty.
- All of the mints, meaning pop one in your mouth after each round so your breath is fresh by the time the next one starts.
- Cough drops, because January means it’s cold outside and cold means there’s coughing.
- Tiny hairbrush, because it gets windy out there.
- Tissues, for makeup touch-ups and the sniffles
- Cash for lunch
- NOT YOUR PHONE
Have You STAYED CALM?
There’s no point in freaking out during Recruitment. You can’t plan the whole process, so you need to calm down. You can’t predict how the conversations will go or how well you will mesh with each house. No matter how many friends you have in each house, how many rec letters you have, or how many philanthropy events you went to last semester, you can’t foresee how voting will go in each house. You may get cut from houses, and that is okay. You may have only one house by the last day, and that is okay. All you can do is go in there and show your best self. You will be left with the house that is meant for you.