Dear pnms: social media

Another question: why do you choose to only follow a few houses and not all 17?

As a pnm, if I’m not following your house, it’s because I’m not interested in it. So no, your follower count doesn’t matter. Your filters don’t matter. You can post all the pretty girls you want, but we know which are the top houses and which are bottom.

It does matter. I hate those Cheeto looking filters and photos of girls with bleach blonde hair with jet black roots. I think alpha gam, alpha chi omega, chi omega, phi mu, Tri delta, AOPi, and delta gamma have cute feeds. I don’t like some of the instagrams that are too trendy looking. I think those sororities seems sweet and fun based off of their instas. I’m from Texas, and I don’t know anyone at Alabama, so this is just my raw impression off of insta. I’ve never met anyone in those houses so idk if that is true or not. Only one sorority DMed me, but a bunch of others commented on my insta. It seemed really weird at first, but if it means I’ll have a better rush, I’m great with it.

(I’m a poc that’s going to be a pnm this fall so this is just my opinion) I personally like seeing girls of all looks, it just makes me feel better on knowing that a house doesn’t just focus on your looks or your race. I also like seeing the diversity of the house. I don’t really mind about the filters and themes. A sororities follower doesn’t really matter. I personally think that their social media accounts does influence my judgement on a house. I got followed by a bunch of actives and presidents from only a few specific houses so I can only speak on a few but yeah it kinda of did make me feel wanted by them. When I would post a picture of myself or of me and my friends, many would comment and give me/my friends compliments and it made me feel welcomed by the girls.

Social media is EVERYTHING. Just by looking at a houses Instagram u can tell whether you are going to want them or not. It’s basically a first impression. And if I see a insta with orange girls with bleached hair that’s such a turn off or like posts that’s just not with the times if that makes sense? I like seeing diversity but also I feel like fashion presented on Instagram posts rlly matters. We only follow the ones we are interested in having a second look at or pursuing, even though obviously all houses are awesome! Insta in my opinion should be every houses number one priority

I think insta matters for impressions. I like seeing a nice feed and aesthetic that I feel matches my own vibe and goals. I really love ZTA and Aphi’s pages, Pi phi DZ AOII are cute too. I think KD’s is the weakest. Bad insta pages are more of a turnoff because it makes me think the sorority isn’t really modern or focused on their presentation. But obviously the connections I’ll actually make in rush are more important!! First impressions don’t count for everything but they are important

I follow them all! I definitely prefer the instas that actually post member features and things related to philanthropy/accomplishments/whatever over the ones that mostly just post pics with a cutesy caption. For example KD, Aopi, and Alpha Gam have a lot of posts on specific members so I feel like I have a better read on the chapter (more are like this, these are just the ones I thought of). On the other hand gphi for example hasn’t featured anyone since November which is kind of a turn off for me. Like the pics are super cute but I want to know about the members and why they chose your house!

Kappa’s is in a weird spot, theirs is definitely the least attractive aesthetically but I feel like I know the most about their members and exec which makes up for it.

I’ve noticed gphi puts a lot of more in depth stuff on their story but you obviously have to catch it while it’s up and they don’t save a lot of it as highlights. Like they just did a shoutout for every senior and it was super sweet but if you went and looked now you’d have no idea.

as a pnm, i do pay attention to the insta. (not follower count, idc ab that) but accounts with cuter posts/feeds obvi are more desirable bc they just naturally look super fun and cute. i have friends in a few sororities there (pi phi, zeta, dg, agd) so i already know a good few ab some of those houses. but tbh, yes the insta feeds are something i look at. when i scroll through insta and see a super cute pic, the girls look like their having a good time, it grabs my attention. bid day pics are always the best ones in my opinion, i love looking through pics in the jerseys bc it’s exciting. i’ve been followed by a bunch of active in plenty houses, and when they comment on my posts, it does feel very good! i know it doesn’t guarantee they want me, but it just makes me feel more welcomed by them. and receiving dms from girls made me feel great bc they all made it clear they wanted to answer my questions/help me out which is always so relieving!

forgot to say: i do follow every sorority on instagram. are there a few that i’m not super interested in and will most likely be dropping after the first round? yes absolutely. (based off personal reasons, stuff i already know ab them, etc) but i still follow each house because i just feel like it’s respectful before rush