For those women who missed fall recruitment, or only recently started picturing themselves as a member of the Greek system, now is the perfect time to catch up to the 2014 pledge classes. Spring recruitment provides women with another chance to find out if Greek life is for them.

Formal recruitment takes place very early in the fall semester, making it a stressful experience for freshman, as they are oftentimes unaware of how the rush system works or what sorority life is like. After the second semester has begun and students have been able to settle in, many sorority houses open their doors to PNMs, or potential new members, one last time this year.

After a semester, women may better understand what it is like to a part of a house.

Ashley Galloway, a sophomore in LAS, is participating in spring rush now that she has a better idea of what it means to be Greek.

“My feelings have changed because I have friends that started rush and didn’t fully commit because they thought it would be nothing but partying,” Galloway said.

After transferring from Parkland College, she has had the opportunity to see women who have had successful rush experiences and have found houses that are the perfect fit, which has aided her decision to participate in Spring recruitment.

The Spring rush experience is very different from first semester recruitment. PNMs are not asked to visit all 19 houses, and they are not put through the same system of rankings.

“During the formal rush, I was a little bit intimidated, and I’m glad I didn’t do that because it didn’t seem like something I wanted to be a part of,” said Kelley Sullivan, a freshman in Education.

Spring rush will be taking place over the next few weeks for many of sorority houses who are looking to fill spots in their house total. Because it is difficult to stay at house total as some women choose to graduate early, houses are happy to bring in new members to fill their spots.

“All of the chapters who are going through informal recruitment would be so happy to talk to a PNM about their chapters,” said Jessica Ponticelli, vice president of recruitment for Panhellenic Council and a junior in Business.

In the Spring, women visit the houses of their choosing and mingle with members of the sorority, sometimes over an activity like pottery painting or dinner. During the Spring, recruitment loses its formalities, which may make it easier for women to get to know the individual house and decide if it is right for them.

“It’s on such a more relaxed scale than formal recruitment that I really feel like PNMs might better be able to be themselves,” Ponticelli said.

Ponticelli encourages women who are curious about the system to contact any and all houses that are participating this Spring in order to find the right one for them.

The events are smaller and more personal than they may be during the fall, which can be helpful for girls who are uncertain is they want to join a house.

For information about recruitment for specific houses, students can visit illiniphc.com.