University of Texas Recruitment August 21-28, 2012

[FSUZeta]

Here, Here!!!!!

This should be stickied! It relates to every recruitment at every school, large or small, competitive or not.

[33girl]

Preach it!! Especially the part about upperclassmen/upperclass quota. When there are those of us on here who say "upperclassmen, go for it and rush" - we don't mean the upperclassmen who went through rush, had a full schedule and dropped out because the ONE group they wanted didn't want them. We mean the upperclassmen who took a little longer to find their footing at college or had their lives change for one reason or the other and now find a sorority a more desirable option than they previously did.

"Try, try again" is not the NPC rushing method. It is the NPHC rushing method. The two - as far as this goes - are apples and oranges.

[Texas_DG]

Originally Posted by pinapple

There is a dangerous trend amount PNMs currently at UT that it is "ok" to drop from recruitment when their party schedules are no longer to their liking. UT has 14 chapters, 13 of which participated in full blown recruitment. There is an unhealthy and unnecessary focus on 6 houses that seem to be "make or break" houses for a good number of girls. But the math says that of 1178 PNMs (this year)...if EVERYONE stuck it out...only 540 would be placed there. Based on how it really went down, less than 430 were placed there this year. Now these houses are not filled with rainbow pooping unicorns. They are idolized for an article written 30 years ago. They have tradition. They have reputation. They have money. Well here is a news flash. So do the other 7 houses. Some of those 7 contain some of the brightest and most brilliant young women at UT. Why is that? Because some of the "7" target the smartest of the smart. They don't care what dad does, they don't care if mom is in the Junior league. They care about the girl in front of them.

THANK YOU!

[Ladybugmom]

Originally Posted by pinapple

The Tales of Recruitment.....Why PNMs should stick it out....

Ok so I think we can all agree that some of the most common comments on this board come from girls who "don't fit" or "didn't find a connection" with a particular house, and should they suicide or drop all together. For the most part we all advise to "stick it out" and we just leave it at that. These are my observations (specific to the University of Texas) and why I think PNMs should stick it out.

There is a dangerous trend amount PNMs currently at UT that it is "ok" to drop from recruitment when their party schedules are no longer to their liking. UT has 14 chapters, 13 of which participated in full blown recruitment. There is an unhealthy and unnecessary focus on 6 houses that seem to be "make or break" houses for a good number of girls. But the math says that of 1178 PNMs (this year)...if EVERYONE stuck it out...only 540 would be placed there. Based on how it really went down, less than 430 were placed there this year. Now these houses are not filled with rainbow pooping unicorns. They are idolized for an article written 30 years ago. They have tradition. They have reputation. They have money. Well here is a news flash. So do the other 7 houses. Some of those 7 contain some of the brightest and most brilliant young women at UT. Why is that? Because some of the "7" target the smartest of the smart. They don't care what dad does, they don't care if mom is in the Junior league. They care about the girl in front of them.

**Ok..off of soap box...***

So, when the PNMs from the "golden high schools" have a party schedule that is "beneath them" they get all pouty. They stomp their feet, get all angry and "just don't understand". It is all in the math. It is not personal. There are 1,721 high schools in Texas. If you were a "top" girl in high school, welcome to UT...small fish...big pond. It doesn't matter if you were a cheerleader...it doesn't matter if you graduated number 1...so did 1721 other kids. And each and everyone who even bothered to apply to UT got an acceptance. That is the benefit of being number one in your class. So as they say here....it takes much more than that to be a special snowflake. It takes the perfect storm.

So these PNMs have a decision to make. Stay the course or bail from the process and hedge their bets next year...you know...upperclassman quota and all...they think their odds are better. Well here is the problem with that. IF and this is a bit IF a house even uses their upperclassman quota, now you have a shot at even less spots. You use the tactic of getting to know girls and having them fight for you. Yes, this can work. It can also backfire. And it can backfire big time. What if you becomes great friends with a group of girls from that dreaded "mid tier" house....you know the one that wanted you back for pref, but you know..."you just didn't connect with?" Do you think the upperclassman forget? They don't. Consider them elephants. They wanted you. They invited you back. They saw something in you. And you said no. So the girls in this new pledge class may fight for you, but there will be two upperclass pledge classes that will remember. And remember, this is about math...two pledges classes against one. You will lose.

The greek system at the University of Texas is strong. There are dynamic and intelligent women at every single house. And lots of them. Each and every house is filled with leaders, beautiful women, smart women, honors students, and good friends. They each value sisterhood. They have each others backs. This does not change based on the letters on their chests. They each know they have wonderful things to offer.

For the women that had parties in their hands and did not take advantage of the gift of hospitality, I hope you reflect on this as a learning experience. Upperclassman quota was not meant for you. It was meant for the women, primarily, that are part of the CAP program that will not come to campus until their sophomore years or students that transfer from other schools. They have a fresh start. You will have a tarnished start. This is not meant be a harsh post. It is meant to reflect a piece of reality on this system. It is meant to discourage PNMs from going into recruitment with a closed and narrow mind. It is meant to force young women to reflect upon what is important in a friend and a sisterhood. It is meant to make you realize this is not your momma's rush. This is not high school. This is recruitment in the new age of the University of Texas. The age of the top 10% and the age of social media. Many times this is the age of "one chance." One chance to be Greek, one chance to make a difference and one chance to wear letters. The question is, "what are you going to do with this chance?"

BRAVO!! I would also like to add that GRADES are super important when rushing as a sophomore, because most if not all of the chapters at UT value grades and their postion on the grade ranks. They are only going to take the best of the best...and here's a scenario to ponder...

SUZY Q, straight A student in high school, comes to UT with all intentions of keeping that GPA. She is a stellar student with a great work ethic. SUZY Q then discovers that mom and dad aren't watching her every move and college is a little/lot harder than she thought. She also takes a "weeder" class with a crazy professor that doesn't speak good English. SUZY Q gets her first semester grades and she has some B's and C's. What do you suppose will happen to Suzy then, when she tries to rush as a sophomore? I know, I know..Suzy is saying that will never be her..right? Hmmmmm..But, she threw away her chance when she dropped out of rush or dropped out of the chapter that wanted her.

Now Suzy has dropped the chapter that wanted her only to discover that the adorable, fun, smart girls down the hall, who stuck it out, would have been her sisters...and she is hanging with them every weekend, but she doesn't get to wear the letters that she gave up..poor Suzy..NOT!
Guess what..she will never get another chance with that chapter and possibly not any other one either. The great thing about sororities at UT is that many of the girls are friends with each other and they talk. The know who dropped and who thought they were above. This does not translate well at all.

The moral of the story is that the system works and you got a bid from that house for a reason. The girls in that chapter worked so hard during the week to impress you and saw something in you that they thought would make you a good fit..trust me when I say that you would have been released from that chapter if they thought you wouldn't be a good fit. ALL of the chapters release girls. Consider yourself very lucky if you got a bid... Remember, there were over 200 girls that went bidless this year..they were either released completely or they dropped on their own. This is SAD

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by pinapple

They are idolized for an article written 30 years ago.

The thing that amazes me the most is that the author of the article was pretty fair about presenting the downsides of her chapter and their recruitment process. It's hard for me to believe that a PNM could ACTUALLY READ the thing and think to herself "yes, I want to be in a chapter where I'm not a flower, but a pot."

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

The thing that amazes me the most is that the author of the article was pretty fair about presenting the downsides of her chapter and their recruitment process. It's hard for me to believe that a PNM could ACTUALLY READ the thing and think to herself "yes, I want to be in a chapter where I'm not a flower, but a pot."

They haven't read it...they're going by what momma has told them.

NICE post Pinapple. Should be required reading for every UT PNM for the future.

[ADPiEE]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

The thing that amazes me the most is that the author of the article was pretty fair about presenting the downsides of her chapter and their recruitment process. It's hard for me to believe that a PNM could ACTUALLY READ the thing and think to herself "yes, I want to be in a chapter where I'm not a flower, but a pot."

I actually read the article a while back and couldn't believe it lead to all this. It is very much NOT flattering of most of the groups in the article!

[DubaiSis]

Unless shallow is something you aspire to... and for some people, it is. Actually, I'd bet those chapters must be doing a pretty good job of weeding out the girls who are in it for the wrong reasons.

[Low C Sharp]

They haven't read it...they're going by what momma has told them.

That's what I was thinking. All the article did was make it possible for people with no UT connection to know the "rankings." Everybody who's attended UT in the last 80 years and gave Greek life a second thought already knew, and would still know if there were no article.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

That's what I was thinking. All the article did was make it possible for people with no UT connection to know the "rankings." Everybody who's attended UT in the last 80 years and gave Greek life a second thought already knew, and would still know if there were no article.

Exactly. Think of it as that ranking-site-which-shall-not-be-named with only one person's perspective taken as gospel and no rebuttal. At least today if someone posted an article like that, there would be internet banter about it to dispel the tier ranking.

[SECKDLady]

Bravo Pineapple! Please write a book!!

[AzTheta]

Or, write an article that addresses the weaknesses in that 30 year old article and perpetuates ridiculous stereotypes! and incorporates all the most excellent points you made in your post.

[pinapple]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Unless shallow is something you aspire to... and for some people, it is. Actually, I'd bet those chapters must be doing a pretty good job of weeding out the girls who are in it for the wrong reasons.

Here is the problem. "Those chapters" do not do a good job of weeding out the girls who are in it for the wrong reasons because a great number of them started in their chapter for those same wrong reasons. This is exactly why this 30 year battle has been on going. It is so interesting to me, as many have said, that the article is not universally flattering. If you hold an actual copy the magazine in your hand, you will find out milk was 25 cents a gallon. Yet, people who continue to use it as a guide for UT recruitment don't see the irony in that. I think the fashion guide that accompanied that article did more harm than the actually article. It stressed the way girls dressed, the cars in the parking lots, etc. It made it completely materialistic. It pitted house against house with terms like "bless her heart...she never will be"...the death kiss of southern culture.

[utkdce]

Originally Posted by pinapple

The greek system at the University of Texas is strong. There are dynamic and intelligent women at every single house. And lots of them. Each and every house is filled with leaders, beautiful women, smart women, honors students, and good friends. They each value sisterhood. They have each others backs. This does not change based on the letters on their chests. They each know they have wonderful things to offer.

AMEN!! Thank you pinapple.

[pinapple]

One more thing....people wear rose colored glasses when looking at UT recruitment. They want things to be the same for sake of their snowflakes. (Don't you know Suzy Q is DESTINED to be a Texas ABC??) Yet the article tells us all that certain house are filled with the GPA leaders, etc. And today those chapters are sweeping the basement of the GPA rankings, but that of course can be overlooked because it is convenient to do so.

It is very disheartening to listen and observe on bid day. Mom's who daughter's did not hit the historical sorority lottery, spend the day following their daughter telling them everyone that did.."Suzy..can you believe it? Sarah Snowflake pledged Texas ABC..." As if to tell her that she is a major disappointment to her mother. Her mother needs to get over it. What her mom may not understand that 1. Suzy might be happy, 2. This may not have been Suzy's number one choice, but following her around on bid telling her who else did get that house is just mean 3. And as shocking as this might be to mom...maybe this is just a better fit for her daughter.

One can only hope that for a mom like this, her daughter ends up experiencing an incredible sisterhood that becomes the envy of her mother. Because if her mom was a Texas ABC for the wrong reason she more than likely did not get the opportunity to experience a true, life changing sisterhood. And that my friends, is the biggest tragedy of them all.