did i make a mistake?

The way you are feeling right now is not uncommon, but fortunately most girls in this situation turn it around and end up very happy and feeling great about their house. You are correct; you are not eligible for another bid until this time next year. Honestly, if you had only one house left for pref, you would not be getting a COB from any of those houses that released you; it doesn't work like that. So this is your best chance, and it can be a lot better than you are imagining! You have been in a sorority for one entire day and that is nothing to go by. There are many, many members that you haven't met, especially in your new class. Open your heart and get in there and meet people and give it a real chance! Your whole new member class will be trying to meet everyone else and some friend groups will form. Go eat meals with them, find out who's in your dorm and walk to chapter events with them, ask some girls to grab coffee, sit with girls in your classes or make a study date, volunteer to help on a committee, get in a group to tailgate and attend games with. If you still feel disconnected right before initiation, then you can drop. But don't give up just yet!

I promise you that you are not the only girl who feels this way. Rush is a roller coaster ride, & it can be overwhelming. New members want to feel like their sorority is a perfect fit, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way in the beginning. You will make friends in your chapter if you give the girls a chance. You should be getting a big sister soon -- that's exciting! Please take time to meet her & reach out to the members of your pledge class. It will get better if you give it time.

As other have said, it's normal to feel this way at the beginning so don't get discouraged. Trust me when I say that others out there are feeling the same way as you, they just may not say it. Everyone in your PC is a virtual stranger right now - of course it's going to be a little awkward and lonely at first. You have probably still only met a fraction of the girls in your house, so while you may not have clicked with anyone yet, just give it a little more time and keep putting yourself out there I know it might be hard, but try to continue giving your house a chance and keep an open mind. Try not to dwell on the houses that dropped you. I know it hurts but you can't take it personally.

I do want to point out that if you still aren't feeling comfortable in your chapter, you can always drop before initiation. While you're correct that you can't COB anywhere for the rest of the year, you ARE eligible to rush again next year. I'm only bringing this up because I have a close friend who was in a very similar situation. She had one house on pref, she joined that house, tried it out until initiation, but then dropped because she still felt like she didn't fit in. The next year, she rushed again and actually had a much better experience. Being a sophomore and knowing girls in other chapters helped.

I'm telling this story because I do want to acknowledge that sometimes girls slip through the cracks during rush and you might have a totally different experience if you do end up giving it another go. But first make an effort to get to know girls in your chapter and stick it out for a while. They obviously saw something special in you and wanted you as their sister, so give them the same courtesy and make an honest effort. In a couple months you might feel totally different and not want to be anyplace else!

I decided to rush as a sophomore because I wanted to get acclimated to college life and was not sure which sororities would be a fit for me . There were 3 I really liked and felt I had great conversations and seemed a good fit . One of those dropped me after riound 1 , I was disappointed but still ok because there were 2 I still liked . Round 2 I had great conversations with each one . When I showed up for pref day they had both dropped me . I had 2 listed that I had dropped but I guess moved up . I was upset & ended up signing papers and not going to pref because I felt it wasn’t fair to those 2 sororities to go through pref & possibly get a bid from them and not show up . I have since heard through the grapevine that those sororities I listed were not taking sophomores. Why would they let it go this far & drop me ? Do a lot of sororities not take sophomores? That’s so disappointing:(