University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign Recruitment
 

Hello all! My daughter will be going through NPC recruitment at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign beginning this weekend, and I had a couple of questions.

UIUC’s recruitment is 18-13-7-3, using RFM, which means heavy cuts early on. For the first invitational, if an NPM lists her top 13, then 5 back-ups, will the back-ups automatically move up to her invite list if she is released from any of her top 13? If so, does this work the same way all through Preference Round?

Second question. Do the chapters know where they are ranked on an NPM’s list? In other words, if an NPM ends up at one of her back-ups, will the chapter know they were not initially a first choice?


Thanks!

Yes, if she's isn't invited to any of her top choices then the backups will move up onto her invite list, providing that the backups have invited her, in the order in which she has listed. It works this way all the way thru preference.

No, the chapters don't know where a specific PNM has ranked them, unless she tells them.

Good luck to your daughter!

AZ-AlphaXi explained this well, but I just wanted to add (as I'm from a campus whose Greek system gets compared to the University of Illinois a lot) to make sure to tell your daughter to keep an open mind throughout the process. I think it's easy early on to have some favorites, but tell her to try to not form too strong of attachments or opinions until at least second rounds (or 7 party day, I don't know their specific terminology) and, if she can, not until preference. I think this will help her keep her feelings from getting hurt if she can withhold judgment until later into the process.

Hope this makes sense. Best of luck to your daughter and if she gets placed tell her to make a username and join in on the fun! We'd love to know if she gets placed. Best wishes. :)

WOO HOO for a University of Illinois question!!!! I have been patiently waiting all recruitment season :D

AZ-AlphaXi & psusue covered it pretty well. Just wanted to say good luck to your daughter and please feel free to PM me if you or your daughter have any other question about U of I (Greek life or non-Greek related!)

I-L-L!

ETA: There's a few other Illinois alums on the board who I'm sure would be happy to help answer questions as well :)

Yeah! Another Big 10 story! Good luck to your daughter and even more good luck to you mom! My daughter just finished up at Iowa. The advice not to fall in love with one house is the best advice, and be ready to feel some cutting after the first round(s). I'd like to say it all is roses and happy-fun time, but it's stressful! Tell your daughter to relax, rest, have fun!

I was also hoping a U of I thread might pop up, and am excited to hear details. I've written quite a few recs, as has my daughter for her house. :) I can't reinforce enough the keeping an open mind advice because cuts do get heavy and truly there are so many fantastic houses at Illinois. Even though I went through Rush many years ago, I can honestly say I think I would have been completely happy at any of probably my 8 favorite houses!

In other Big 10 news, Wisconsin's recruitment started last Sunday (9/4), and they've completed first and second rounds (9/4 and 9/5). I am told there were around 800 PNMs as recruitment began, similar to last year. Pref round is this Friday, and Bid Day is Sunday.

Another Illinois alumna, here. Cuts will be heavy in the early rounds, because there are so many PNM's going through. You can read my rush story somewhere around here, but it was back before RFM, and we went 19-10-5-3. Unfortunately, 18-13-7-3 means that the cuts get worse as the rounds go on, and you have a lot of chapters to keep straight throughout.

All that said, very few women are released from all chapters. The vast majority not completing recruitment drop out themselves. Here are some things to consider, though, if she doesn't get all of her favorite invites:

1) At Illinois, tiers change often. I look at houses considered "top" now vs. when I was there, and some of them are like night and day. Even from the time I was a freshman to the time I was a senior, I saw a struggling chapter get one awesome pledge class, COB their little hearts out all year, and come back the following year twice as strong. On the flip side, some of the chapters most desired by PNM's each year are well below where they should be, which speaks to problems retaining members.

2) Every chapter at Illinois has over 150 women. Every chapter has women who party, and women who go to church, and women who study, and women who play sports, etc, etc. Every NPC chapter has a house, and a barndance, and a formal, and exchanges, etc. Every chapter also has drama.

3) The fraternities vastly outnumber the sororities, something like 50 housed fraternities to 18 sororities. This means that no sorority ever hurts for a social calendar, and every sorority has at least two fraternities that consider that sorority their favorite :-)

4) In the first and second rounds, there are so many PNM's coming through, that most of the chapters do not assign hostesses, and the PNM is paired with whomever happens to be next in line when she walks through the door. This means that your experience with the chapter has a lot to do with the luck of the draw. Everyone tries to let PNM's meet more than one active, but again, in such large chapters, the PNM is lucky if she meets 10%.

Full disclosure: I was in a chapter (no longer on campus) that sucked at formal recruitment. I saw a lot of women show up crying on bid day. Most get over it the first time they have an awesome night out/shopping trip/study date with their big sis, i.e. the first time they make a real friend in the chapter.

from DeltaBetaBaby.....
4) In the first and second rounds, there are so many PNM's coming through, that most of the chapters do not assign hostesses, and the PNM is paired with whomever happens to be next in line when she walks through the door. This means that your experience with the chapter has a lot to do with the luck of the draw. Everyone tries to let PNM's meet more than one active, but again, in such large chapters, the PNM is lucky if she meets 10%.

^^^
Which is exactly why PNM's need resumes, pictures and recommendations/letters of support at the chapter houses!
---along with knowing a few chapter women
AND ---make their first impression last 31 times in under 48 hours....

Recs are actually not that common at Illinois, especially considering that it is a competitive recruitment.

Obviously recs won't hurt, but just a statement that they're definitely not necessary for a successful recruitment. If you can get them great, if not, you're on the same level as many PNMs.

^^^
Recs are common---and many of the 18 chapters have to have one on file before a bid is given.....

Maybe that was poor wording...let me clarify.

When I say recs aren't common, I mean that not every PNM has them. I knew plenty of women who went through without them and had a successful recruitment (well, they didn't go out to actively secure them on their own before recruitment...whether they were secured by other means is another story.)

Yes, Illinois chapters get plenty of recs, but you definitely do not have to go out and secure recs from every chapter before recruitment starts in order to have a successful recruitment like at some SEC schools.

I am also not saying don't bother with recs. Recs are certainly helpful, so if you can get them, do it!

Basically what I'm saying is that the OPs daughter is not doomed if she does not have recs at this point (which she might have them, we don't know). I don't want her to think her she needs to scramble to get recs over the next day to have a fighting chance because that's not the case.

Hope that helps!

Please don't speak to the membership selection criteria of any organization but your own.

I'm pumped there is an Illinois thread as well. Good luck to your daughter!

[QUOTE=DeltaBetaBaby;2089141]Please don't speak to the membership selection criteria of any organization but your own. No mention was made...

Don't be dumb.