Y’all – we can’t believe 2025 is days away!! We are WEEKS out from spring recruitment!!
Fun fact: Formal sorority recruitment happens ONCE a year. Depending on your school, it takes place in either fall OR spring semester.
- Fall formal recruitment typically takes place in August the week before school begins. Some schools with competitive fall recruitments are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, UGA, TCU, TAMU, UT Austin, and SMU. Overall, fall sorority recruitment (as a group) is bigger and a lot more common.
- Spring formal recruitment usually happens in early January, requiring PNMs to have completed a semester as a full-time student first. Schools known for having spring, aka deferred sorority recruitment, include Tulane, Vanderbilt, USC, Indiana University, Baylor, Villanova, University of Miami, Miami University (Ohio), Syracuse, Wake Forest, and UVA.
Shopping for spring rush this January? This one’s for you!
Our sorority rush consultants made a roundup of their favorite dresses for Preference Round, below.
But first…what is Preference Round?
Preference Round is the last round of formal recruitment, and it’s the very dressiest! Girls typically wear cocktail dresses and heels. Some schools have IYKYK traditions where you wear specific colors this round (like UT, UGA, and Auburn). For others, you can wear any color you’d like.
The general look you’re going for here is something stylish you would wear to a wedding. However, if you can wear it to New Year’s Eve (think sequins, aggressive sparkles, too tight, etc.) you’ve gone too far!
We love some good outfit inspo so our sorority rush consultants picked their favorites from Revolve, Bloomingdales, and curated them below:
Maryann Drop Waist Mini Dress | Alice + Olivia | Revolve: Link to Buy
Bina Mini Dress | Alice + Olivia | Revolve: Link to Buy
Metallic Floral Jacquard Cocktail Minidress | Dessy Collection | Nordstrom: Link to Buy
Pandora Dress | NBD | Revolve: Link to Buy
Sandrine Dress | Amanda Uprichard | Revolve: Link to Buy
Zara Flower Appliqué Fit & Flare Minidress | Elliatt | Nordstrom: Link to buy
Floral Jacquard Mini Dress – Exclusive | Bloomingdales: Link to Buy
***We seriously cannot believe this is on sale for $66!!! A STEAL.
Women’s Ruffled Metallic Jacquard Dress | Macy’s: Link to Buy
Women’s Sleeveless Halter-Neck Dress | Macy’s: Link to Buy
We hope this helps give you some ideas of what girls are wearing for Preference Round and some cute options to choose from!! Happy shopping.
XOXO
The Hiking in Heels Sorority Rush Coaches
Want school-specific advice and coaching for YOUR sorority recruitment? We’ve helped thousands of girls get bids, and we can help you too!
Outfits, while SUPER fun to plan out, are just a TINY part of what goes into rush prep. A lot of the big decisions with rushees involve paperwork and are made months before recruitment.
Working with a sorority recruitment coach maximizes a PNM’s odds and gives your daughter an advantage long before she steps foot on campus for recruitment so she can go in more relaxed and confident.
We know exactly what the Director of Recruitment Records is looking for on your resume, how the sororities will rank your rec letters on a scale (and how you can get a higher ranking), how best to prepare your rush packets, how the bid list ordering and cut process works, and what you should actually be discussing during each round. (Hint – it’s not what the Panhellenic guides will tell you!)
It’s a lot like SAT prep. And just like the SAT – it’s better to go in prepared and ready.
To join the Hiking in Heels program, which has been nationally recognized in WSJ, CNBS, FOX, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Fortune, Elite Daily, and NBC, call us at (512) 827-7586 or complete the form below to schedule a chat with a rush consultant!