“RushTok” has taken the internet by storm again this year, with many people on TikTok entertained by videos of young women participating in sorority recruitment at college and documenting their experiences. The idea that people are so intrigued by what goes on behind the scenes of sorority recruitment is far from inconceivable.  

Sorority recruitment at Villanova began on Jan. 11th with the recruitment kick-off. As stated in an email sent out to potential new members (PNMs), the women met with their Rho Gamma, or Recruitment Counselor, in addition to their other Rho Gamma group members. This program was the official check-in for the week’s programs. 

In recent years, some of the rounds have been virtual, due to the pandemic. Round One is the Sisterhood Round, which took place virtually on Jan. 12th and 13th. Jennifer Toomey, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life at Villanova, expanded on this in the email sent to the potential new members

“While our program on these days will be held virtually, it is still our expectation that you move back to campus on Wednesday, January 11th,” she wrote. “There will be evening activities, as well as meetings with your Rho Gamma group, which will be held in-person, so we are excited to welcome you back to campus early regardless of modality.”

Round Two (Philanthropy Round) and Round Three (Preference Round) were held in person at The Villanova Inn on Jan. 14th  and 15th. Everyone’s schedule was very different on these two days, depending on which group(s) each woman was visiting. These were long days, with the program starting at 10am each day and concluding around 6-7pm. During these two days, Villanova Panhellenic provided buses for transportation to and from The Inn. 

Freshman Anna Kosierowski, a new member of Kappa Delta, commented on her experience.

“I was definitely a little nervous going in and didn’t want to leave [winter] break early,” she said. “My favorite part was being able to meet so many girls and get to hear from upperclassmen and their time at Villanova. The process was definitely very tiring because we had to wake up very early to hear back from our Rho Gammas and meet with so many different sororities.”

Villanova has eight National Panhellenic Conference Sorority Members: Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Gamma Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta and Kappa Kappa Gamma. 

Director of Recruitment, Olivia Mulchaey broke down the amount of planning involved in preparation for rush week at Villanova.

“We’re super excited with how everything went this weekend. It was definitely a high stress week, but I think we’re all glad that everything went well,” Mulchaey said. “We started planning for this a year ago and it was great to see all our hard work pay off. We had more girls rush than ever and the majority of them were able to join a chapter they love which was the most important goal I had in mind. I’m honored to have had the privilege of working with all of the amazing recruitment chairs from each chapter and I’m so proud of the work they all put in. It was so rewarding to see all the PNMs open their bid cards and run home to their chapter.”

On the last day of rush when all PNMs met at the Oreo and were given envelopes that contained the name of the sorority they were accepted into and would become join. Upon opening the envelopes, the women literally ran “home” to the sorority written on the paper inside the envelope.

Another freshman, Brooke Manganiello, a member of Alpha Chi Omega, discussed how the process affected her.

“I really had the best experience during rush,” she said. “I loved hearing about the philanthropies and meeting the new girls. I really feel like I’ve made some genuine connections. I think overall I’m also just proud of myself for doing it. I was really quiet in high school and this whole process would have been too intimidating to high school freshman me. I proved to myself that I could do it and still have fun.”

Participating in fraternity and sorority life may not be for everyone. However, it is a great way to meet new people and participate in philanthropy. Making the decision to rush is a difficult one but hopefully knowing a bit more about what goes on behind the scenes can help you make that choice.