Updated: Sept. 18, 2014 at 10:04 a.m.

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Ryan Lasker.

Sororities celebrated the end of recruitment Monday on the National Mall, cheering as their new members rushed toward their chapters on Bid Day. Current sisters decked themselves out in matching colorful outfits and chanted their chapters’ songs.

Here’s what you missed at Bid Day this year:

1. Relief at the end of recruitment

After a weekend of recruitment, new sorority members picked up their bids Tuesday afternoon before meeting their new sorority in University Yard. The new members screamed as they met other students in their sorority and learned the organization’s chants and songs.

Mia Svirsky, a freshman who joined Alpha Phi, said though food should have been given out over recruitment weekend, she “could not be happier” with her bid.

“They worked really hard to impress us,” she said.

2. Loud cheering and equally loud outfits

Hundreds of Greek life members walked from University Yard to the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial, wearing coordinating shirts. Sisters wore sorority T-shirts, feather boas, Hawaiian leis and flower crowns and carried sparkly signs welcoming each new member.

Members of Chi Omega chanted “Chi! Omega! Chi! Chi! Omega!,” as they crossed their arms over their heads, a sign for the sorority.

Colleen Quinn, a freshman who joined Alpha Delta Pi, said joining Greek life at GW was an opportunity to make the school feel more comfortable.

“GW is new and scary, and Greek life was smaller and an easier way to meet people,” Quinn said.

3. Revealing the Pi Rho Chis

Pi Rho Chis, a group of sorority members who guide new members through the recruitment process, kept their sorority affiliation secret until Tuesday. On the National Mall, surrounded by hundreds of yelling and screaming members, the Pi Rho Chis peeled off their sweatshirts before running to formally introduce themselves to their new sisters.

Pi Rho Chi and senior Alex Hitchcock said part of her job on Bid Day was to teach the new members their sorority chants and hand signs – two key parts to blending in with a Greek organization.

“There will be a lot of us to help them,” she said.

4. Joining the family

Members of Greek life make up about 30 percent of the undergraduate student population, a number that has swelled over the last decade. Current members, like their new sorority sisters, said they had long looked forward to the day.

“It’s like a manifestation in like 10 minutes of how excited you are that all of them are your future sisters,” said Lucy Macintosh, a junior in Sigma Kappa.

This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Bid Day occurred on Monday. Bid Day was on Tuesday. We regret this error.