GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > Recruitment > Sorority Recruitment

Sorority Recruitment Recruitment event and bid day ideas, membership retention, publicity, recruitment policies, etc.


Register Now for FREE!
Join GreekChat.com, The Fraternity & Sorority Greek Chat Network. To sign up for your FREE account INSTANTLY fill out the form below!

Username: Password: Confirm Password: E-Mail: Confirm E-Mail:
 
Image Verification
Please enter the six letters or digits that appear in the image opposite.

  I agree to forum rules 

» GC Stats
Members: 325,123
Threads: 115,503
Posts: 2,196,042
Welcome to our newest member, zsamulpitt5293
» Online Users: 1,524
1 members and 1,523 guests
*winter*
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-07-2010, 07:12 PM
Mevara Mevara is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 839
What makes a school recruitment competitive?

I went to a school on the west coast which has a very different recruitment process from the south (or so I have read). I always wonder what makes a recruitment competitive? Is it possible/common for PNMs to get completely dropped after the first day? Do these schools not have "lower" tier chapters? Thanks in advance.
__________________
The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-07-2010, 07:38 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hotel Oceanview
Posts: 34,489
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mevara View Post
I went to a school on the west coast which has a very different recruitment process from the south (or so I have read). I always wonder what makes a recruitment competitive? Is it possible/common for PNMs to get completely dropped after the first day? Do these schools not have "lower" tier chapters? Thanks in advance.
It is possible at ANY school for a PNM to get completely dropped after the first day - even if there are "lower tier" chapters , even if there are groups not at total, even if the rush is very NON competitive. Some people just aren't meant to be Greek.

And guess what, there are women who get cut by "lower tier" chapters who are devastated, even if they get bids from the "top tier." There are also "lower tier" chapters who cut women who the "top tier" is dying to pledge. It's not as cut and dried as you seem to think it is (i.e. the struggling chapter takes all the leftovers without even thinking about it).

__________________
It is all 33girl's fault. ~DrPhil
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-07-2010, 07:44 PM
KSUViolet06 KSUViolet06 is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 18,142
It's not so much that PNMs are getting cut the first day, but there are high numbers of very well-prepared PNMs with very similar stats (good grades, etc.)

That's what makes things competitive for the PNM. Alot of times, PNMs are coming from being the Big Fish in their high school. Then they get to recruitment at Huge Southern University, and realize that everyone in their group was a Big Fish in high school.

Similarly, alot of these Big Fish want to be in certain chapters. Due to the new-ish Release Figures Methodology that's being used, these chapters can only take so many girls.

So there are heavy cuts early on. I wouldn't say that alot of girls get dropped completely that first day, but many PNMs who thought they were Big Fish quickly find out that they are not when their schedules are either not full or missing the chapters she is most interested in.

__________________
"Remember that apathy has no place in our Sorority." - Kelly Jo Karnes, Pi

Lakers Nation.

Last edited by KSUViolet06; 04-07-2010 at 08:28 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-07-2010, 08:02 PM
Mevara Mevara is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 839
Quote:
Originally Posted by 33girl View Post
It is possible at ANY school for a PNM to get completely dropped after the first day - even if there are "lower tier" chapters , even if there are groups not at total, even if the rush is very NON competitive. Some people just aren't meant to be Greek.

And guess what, there are women who get cut by "lower tier" chapters who are devastated, even if they get bids from the "top tier." There are also "lower tier" chapters who cut women who the "top tier" is dying to pledge. It's not as cut and dried as you seem to think it is (i.e. the struggling chapter takes all the leftovers without even thinking about it).
Please don't misinterpret what I say. I did not say struggling chapters take everyone and PNMs only want "top tier" chapters. I wanted to know how people decide that school xyz has a competitive recruitment versus school abc. How was it decided?
__________________
The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-07-2010, 08:27 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hotel Oceanview
Posts: 34,489
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mevara View Post
Please don't misinterpret what I say. I did not say struggling chapters take everyone and PNMs only want "top tier" chapters. I wanted to know how people decide that school xyz has a competitive recruitment versus school abc. How was it decided?
Thank you for clarifying. It really came off badly in your original post.

Competitive usually means (among other things) you MUST have recs and will get heavily cut without them (no matter what the school or website says). Other hallmarks of a competitive recruitment are:

-They could charge an insane cost for it and tons of girls would still sign up.
-The school and Panhel has to do very little PR for rush - girls are chomping at the bit to join.
__________________
It is all 33girl's fault. ~DrPhil
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-07-2010, 09:00 PM
gee_ess gee_ess is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,552
I would explain "competitive" with the same definition one would use for a competitive university:

Several applicants, highly qualified, vying for a limited number of slots.

Said applicants spent time working hard to build their resumes in anticipation of this process, then worked hard on preparing application materials and resumes to send to prospective schools.

They networked, prepped for interviews, researched ways to "stand out" from the sea of applicants - all in order to present themselves in the best light possible, and therefore, be chosen by the (in their opinion) best schools.


Some get in, some do not...
Some choose a different school than they otherwise planned on attending

Last edited by gee_ess; 04-07-2010 at 10:20 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-07-2010, 09:17 PM
APhiAnna APhiAnna is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 318
I would say that the biggest indicator of how competitive a school's rush is is how ingrained being Greek at that school has been in the past, and also how legacy (at the university, not sororities) is viewed at the school.

For example, let's pretend there are two fictional universities that are equal in most aspects. However, since 1900 25% of School 1 has gone Greek, and 15% of their freshman class has had a family member attend the school before. At School 2, only 10% of the school has gone Greek over the years, and 5% of the freshman class has had a family member attend the school before.

At School 1, not only is Greek life HUGE and affects the campus as a whole, but a significant portion of the freshmen already have a built-in social network of connections with alumni. This means more legacies to sororities, more PNMs with connections to the alumni, more PNMs with connections in the current sororities and more PNMs who have been "born to go ABC" since birth. At School 2, there are far fewer legacies and most freshmen are coming in with NO connections to alumni. Not to mention that Greek life is not as important there, so there is not as much pressure to go Greek.

At School 2, an "un-prepared" PNM is going to waltz right in without any hurdles. Maybe her personality will not click with chapters, but rest assured she is not being cut because there were too many legacies or hometown friends. At School 1, even a girl who is well prepared with recs may not stand out enough to get past the throngs of legacies and well-connected PNMs who are vying for a spot in certain sororities. Due to the history of these schools, these "chosen" PNMs may have been on the radar before they even sent their own recs in! If enough sororities have enough legacies and connected PNMs, then the PNM without those connections will have very limited options, hence making recruitment competitive as a whole.

Last edited by APhiAnna; 04-07-2010 at 09:21 PM. Reason: Making it more clear
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-07-2010, 10:34 PM
carnation carnation is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 13,798
At the really competitive schools, there's also huge competition between the 'big name' sororities. I was at a skit party of a strong group and a couple of the members obviously blew their lines and were ad-libbing with unfunny ones. I looked around and saw that many PNMs were fake-laughing and at that moment, realized that at this house the girls could have simply recited the ABCs for their skit and rushees still would have been rolling on the floor laughing--and dying to belong.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 04-07-2010, 10:41 PM
Barbie's_Rush Barbie's_Rush is offline
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Madam Alexander House
Posts: 898
-An extremely strong and established Greek system
-A high percentage of super qualified and exceptional PNMs (grades, personalities, activities, appearance, connections etc.)
-Recommendations are required to even be considered for the second round
-Legacy status has very little significance since there are many more legacies than spots available in new member classes
-A high degree of “tent talk” and recognition of tiers (whether they be true or fair or not)
-Many chapters with extremely high return rates and even higher release figure requirements from the first day on
-Even the most qualified of PNMs can experience brutal cuts in each round
-A high percentage of PNMs who have expectations of which chapters are “acceptable” to belong to and would rather drop out of recruitment than accept a bid from one of the “unacceptable” ones
-And sometimes ……. overly involved parents and/or alumnae who make things a whole lot more difficult than they need to be.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 04-07-2010, 11:33 PM
Mevara Mevara is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 839
APhiAnna thanks for your example, that clearly explains the difference between a competitive and non-competitive school.
__________________
The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
My recruitment was so competitive/fun/stressful that ................. ellebud Sorority Recruitment 28 04-13-2010 06:47 PM
Barbie’s Honest to God Authentic Retro Recruitment at a Very Competitive SEC School Barbie's_Rush Recruitment Stories 129 07-19-2009 07:10 PM
My Competitive Recruitment eaglesbaby Recruitment Stories 186 05-07-2009 06:00 AM
Competitive Recruitment Story!! Blondie90 Recruitment Stories 31 10-25-2008 12:51 AM
Is FSU a competitive school? pixie123 Recruitment 11 11-11-2004 12:09 PM



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:04 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.