how do sororities pick?

Good question. Excellent question even. It's rough to meet over 1,000 people and keep it all together. This is a super hard question to answer other than the recruitment process isn't too different from meeting people in other situations. As a new person any place (school, work, class, club, dorm etc.) you are constantly meeting people. Who do you vibe with and why do you vibe with that person? At a basic level, it's about connection and yes its possible to connect even with the most basic seemingly boring questions. Also, the question might 'seem' boring but know that it takes a special person to take a boring question and RUN with it (there is a big hint in this answer btw). If you are bored by the boring question and can't turn it around to see other possibilities for connections then you have failed to make a connection with the person you are conversing with. Give it a try today. Try to take the boring and make it interesting and even better take the time to learn something about the person you are meeting or better yet to find something you and the person you are meeting share in common. This is actually more difficult than you think. But developing this skill will help you in recruitment and also in other areas of meeting people on campus. Give it a try and report how it goes. Guarantee that no matter what happens you will have a better time because you are engaged and present and NOT passive. Good Luck.

@yup is totally right! Keep in mind there is a method to the madness of the process. Need to figure out how to stand out in a positive way. Tricky thing to do. Focus on the person you are talking to.

Agree with what's already been said. I also need to point out that the sororities have a better idea what they are looking for and who will fit into their house than you do. It can be pretty obvious within a short interaction whether or not you can see someone in your house because you know your house so well. PNMs, on the other hand, don't know the different houses well and are in the process of trying to figure out what a house is like and deciding whether or not they would want to be a part of it.

These posts are solid and obviously you should try to be engaging, BUT you need to know there are other factors that simply are not in your control. If you don't get into a house you think you want, don't feel like you did something wrong. There were two times I thought I had great conversations at a house and the next day I didn't get invited back.

What I know now, though, is that some PNMs already know girls in houses. Maybe they were from the same high school or area, maybe they played sports together, or were Regents Scholars, maybe they were in the same dorm together. Those PNMs are going to have an advantage. Legacies and PNMs with recs may also have an advantage -- not a big one, but they might get invited back to an extra day. I've heard some houses drop PNMs in hard majors because they want to keep their GPAs high. There could be a million other reasons you'll never know. Maybe the sister you talked to doesn't have much pull in the house.

What you've already figured out is that these decisions, based on a super fast conversation in a loud room, are pretty superficial. You can do your best, but almost every PNM is going to get cut along the way, probably many times. When it happens, just say "whatever, their loss," look at the houses you've got left and put on a smile. This site likes to make it seem like all the houses are super different, but they're all pretty similar. Don't get your feelings hurt -- it's really not personal -- and keep going!

To PNMs, my first year on the 'other side' of the door and I have to tell you it is rough rough rough (the cut percentage was much larger than what I ever expected it to be). We truly met so many wonderful people and to have to cut was super hard and there were some tears at our end (sappy but true). I know this is hard to hear but I wish someone had said this to me last year: The number of people going through is huge relative to the spots available, everyone is almost equally qualified, we have to deal with legacy issues and it is so hard to make choices when so many people are equal and we know they could/would make great sisters. The message is that if you get cut know that it absolutely wasn't personal (this is hard to understand when it happens now but believe me when you see the other side next year you will understand what I am trying to say). Keep the bigger picture of joining our system in the front of you mind and focus on finding likeminded people at the houses you visit. We were up super late getting it all done so I'm going to treat myself to a little nap before studying. Be kind to yourself and just keep going. If you maximize your options you will get a bid! Sorry for sounding sappy but I wanted to say something even though I'm exhausted and not thinking 100%.