Summer Rush Begins!!! - Page 7

Betarulz! · #91 07-10-2003, 12:49 AM

Signee #16

We have pledge #2 from Aberdeen SD, who told the rush chairs he's going to sign. He's friends with one of our sophomores who was from Aberdeen as well. Surprisingly we haven't gotten any people from Sioux Falls which was such a strong hold for us in the past 5-7 years. I do know that a lot of kids were worried about tuition increases adn so more stayed in SD than usual. But this may signify the well is getting low.

We also lost rushee #4 to another house, but the first from that Lincoln HS where we have all the other guys from. This kid was probabaly one of the top guys in rush based on his app (34 ACT, 4.0 GPA, varsity football and basketball, bunch of other activities...) so we were really surprised with his choice of house, but that's one of the things I think all people have to sift through, what is the truth about the house and what's smoke and mirrors.

I can see that interest in this thread is winding down as the end of rush comes. I think you guys aren't into these rush threads for the full duration if it means more than 3 weeks

! That's okay, 2 months+ is a long time...and there hasn't been any house decorations or anythign like that for me to discuss (no frills rush indeed!)

GeekyPenguin · #92 07-10-2003, 12:54 AM

I love this thread! It reminds me a lot of what our SigEp chapter does with recruitment, because they do it year-round. I think it's amazing how much effort gets put in to rush like this - for some reason I have the stereotype of guy's rush as them just having parties all the time.

Buttonz · #93 07-10-2003, 01:55 AM

Wow! What an amazing thread! Being from a commuter school, even a regaular formal rush and the amount of rounds etce, is intresting and diffrent for me to hear, esp. the veiw fro mthe guys. I really like the whole idea of a summer rush and how you guys dont bad mouth other houses!

mmcat · #94 07-10-2003, 07:46 AM

it is great to see how the other side plays...
one question though...what do you serve at these barbecues that keeps them coming back?
cheers

justamom · #95 07-10-2003, 07:46 AM

Betarulz, have to agree with everyone. I have SOOOOO enjoyed reading this. It's so wonderful to hear from a male perspective.
It refreshing and informative. It sounds like you and your brothers have done an OUTSTANDING job and all your efforts are reaping rewards. I couldn't be happier for you!

kristi_ann81 · #96 07-10-2003, 11:45 AM

I just read the entire thread and I can't wait to follow what happens during the rest of rush!

I was a KA little sister at a small liberal arts D3 school, so greek life wasn't that big. However, KA has gotten better about contacting incoming freshman guys and hanging out during the summer months so that they can pick them up during fall rush. It worked out great last year! I went to a bigger school D-1AA my freshman year where I went through sorority recruitment and I remember hearing about summer rush for the guys down there. Sounds like maybe its similar to yours. Anyhow, can't wait to hear more!!

Betarulz! · #97 07-11-2003, 12:02 AM

Okay, I was talkign to a rush chair about the whole talkign to the little sister adn mom at the Parent's day rush event, and he said this which 1) makes me really excited about the pledges we've signed, and 2) I think you guys'll really like to hear.

I said something about how talking to the 4th grade sister really showed the true us, better than most anything, and something that had to set us a part from other chapters. The rush chairman replied that he did think it showed the type of guys we are, and that the guys who were most excited about our house you could tell they bought into that sincerity (sp?), and that is was a major (although perhaps for some, latent) reason that we were their top choice.

Anyways, I thought it was cool, because so oftenwe here on GC tell rushees to be themselves, that I never thought of a chapter being themselves as a recruiting tool...

Anyways, I leave tommorrow afternoon for Lincoln, Saturday being the last official rush event scheduled. Tuesday the 15th, is the last day that incoming freshmen who are joining a fraternity can break their housing contract with out any penalty, other than losing their $100 deposit. After that it costs $400, usually some plan is worked out by the chapter and the newly signed pledge. This dealine is the unofficial end of the first part of Summer rush and the intensity tails off from there. NSE is over so all the guys who are going to go through rush are in, and it comes down to final decision time. Guys can still sign though, so the rush chairs jobs aren't completely done, but it now becomes Part-time rather than full time. So this next update (probably on Sunday) will be the last that discusses the details of the rush process, after that, expect only news of signees.

psuAGR · #98 07-13-2003, 03:52 PM

Betarulz I have been following this thread from the beginning, and I think that it is awesome because there is finally some interest in what goes on with fraternities. Thanks man.

Betarulz! · #99 07-13-2003, 07:36 PM

Okay, another great weekend for me, and I'm sad to be home b/c I know I won't be going up to lincoln for a while now.

Went up on friday, and just hung out with one of my bros...very quiet night in Lincoln, as a bunch of guys were going to be leaving the next day to see the Dave concert in KC.

Saturday's rush event was great, it was held at a farm one of our Alums owns between Crete adn Lincoln, guy had a really great place, big pool, really nice pool house, volleyball court, and a couple of go-karts with enough space for us to have some fun. A TON of the guys that we had already signed showed up, and it was awesome to meet the guys I hadn't met yet, as well as for the new pledges to meet the guys in their pledge class. 11 of the 16 guys we had signed up to yesterday were there, and they had a blast together.

We also got pledge #17 yesterday, he signed his card immediately upon getting it. He is another sophomore (#3, way more than we usually have, but it's not a big deal) and he is from Sioux Falls, and had a couple friends in the house already.

There were also about 5 other rushees there, one from MN, one from KS and three Nebraska guys (2 from Omaha). The guy from Kansas lives very close to me, and he got a bid yesterday, so I'm pretty excited about that. He is a super super nice kid and I'm glad I got to meet him. I think it is pretty likely he will sign. He will be one of three known live outs if he does, because he is part of a Learning Community, which requires him to live in the dorms.

The two guys from Omaha seemed very cool in the little bit of time I got to talk to them. They are rushing together which always can be a cause for concern b/c there is the possibility that you'll really like one and not the other, but I liked both. I was really impressed when one of them explained why they were rushing together: one of them has diabetes, and his friend knows how to deal with any emergencies that come up due to his affliction. I thought that was pretty awesome and really sums up a lot of what Beta is about right there...goes back to signing guys who have always been Betas, just never known it. These two are down to us and two other houses, and our rush chairs think we have a pretty good shot, so I think they got bid cards as well, although I'll have to wait and see officially from the rush chairs.

I think that these two guys will be the last ones to get bid cards. Which leaves a couple of rushees who might have been interested SOL. I do know that the other NE kid had become a rush crush, which of course is always unfortunate, but what can you do, especially since he told me that it was this week he decided it was pretty much only Beta he was interested in. So when he makes a decision like that this late in the game there's not a whole lot that can be done. The guy from MN, was pretty cool, but I don't think that great of fit. I don't think he was super interested in us, and I know he was checking out other houses...

I'll be honest and say that before this weekend I was a little worried about what our numbers were going to be as far as pledges, but the jump from 16 to 17 while only one in number is psychologically substantial, at least for me. I now really don't feel like it's going to be a problem gettting 22-23 guys. With 17 signed there are for sure 8 bid cards out still, possibly 10 if the guys from Omaha got ones, so we could have has many as 27 pledges! That would be a really great rush.

Even still, this rush has been wildly successful in terms of quality. With all the pledges at the event it was great to see them rush up and introduce themselves to rushees when they came in, and actually got them a chance to pick who is goign to be in their pledge class. I thought that was awesome.

It's also been great for these guys to have so many of them turn up for rush events and meet the other guys we've signed and get to know them. Last night at the after party we had like 8 of the pledges over and you could see the bonds forming for this pledge class already. This is a really unprecedented opportunity since I know last year, adn when I went through there weren't that many times when the new pledge class got a chance to meet before school started.

Well that's the news from here. As more guys sign I'll post, and if I hear anything else I'll post as well. But with this being the last of the rush events, I doubt there will be that much more news.

GeekyPenguin · #**100** 07-13-2003, 08:14 PM

Betarulz!, I am glad to hear all this good news!!!

How many of your pledges live in the house? I know you have a couple live-out guys, but I'm curious about this. Do you normally take a pledge class over the number that fit in the house? Do they live in dormers (cold air, sleeping porch, whatever) or get rooms?

Betarulz! · #**101** 07-13-2003, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
Betarulz!, I am glad to hear all this good news!!!

How many of your pledges live in the house? I know you have a couple live-out guys, but I'm curious about this. Do you normally take a pledge class over the number that fit in the house? Do they live in dormers (cold air, sleeping porch, whatever) or get rooms?

We have room for 21 pledges to live in the house. There are three 4-man rooms, two 3 man rooms and one room that is usually 2, but could be three if we needed it. In the past 2 years there have been 20 guys living in for each pledge class (pledge classes of 24 and 25 respectively). Since our reorganization in 1996 those classes had been the biggest ever. We did have an open air dorm (what you would call a dormer), however this summer it was renovated and made in to a 4 man room for upperclassmen.

I guess it is becoming normal for classes bigger than capacity. But at the same time we're not just signing people to sign people as you can tell by this whole thread.

sugar and spice · #**102** 07-13-2003, 08:58 PM

I've been following this thread from the beginning and I'm so happy that things are taking shape for you guys . . . it sounds like you're getting some great pledges. You tell such an interesting story and know exactly what details to include.

GeekyPenguin · #**103** 07-13-2003, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Betarulz!
We have room for 21 pledges to live in the house. There are three 4-man rooms, two 3 man rooms and one room that is usually 2, but could be three if we needed it. In the past 2 years there have been 20 guys living in for each pledge class (pledge classes of 24 and 25 respectively). Since our reorganization in 1996 those classes had been the biggest ever. We did have an open air dorm (what you would call a dormer), however this summer it was renovated and made in to a 4 man room for upperclassmen.

I guess it is becoming normal for classes bigger than capacity. But at the same time we're not just signing people to sign people as you can tell by this whole thread.

That's awesome that they get rooms - I know at some houses when pledges live in they just get a dormer and a tiny closet. How are all the other houses on your campus doing with summer rush?

AZ-AlphaXi · #**104** 07-14-2003, 10:39 AM

I want to thank you so very much for this insight into how the guys do things. So very different yet right for you'all. I have a son who will be a junior in high school this year and this gives me some idea of what it may be like for him in 2 years. Thank you, thank you!!

Be sure to keep us rush addicts updated on how things finally turn out .. and good luck for the new year!

Betarulz! · #**105** 07-14-2003, 10:46 AM

Okay, well like I predicted there were going to be a lot of decisions made shortly and a lot of guys made decisions.

We lost another three guys to other houses. One went to another chapter because we guess we weren't good looking enough for him. Another joined Delt because he already had a lot of friends in their house, and a third joined Sigma Nu after telling us for a month that we were his top choice.

Our rush chairs say that we have 4 more guys who said they are going to sign, but I'm not sure taht they are all guarenteed. That would bring us up to 21 pledges if they all do, with 4 bid cards outstanding. I'm going to hold off on declaring any of those guys as signed. Of the 4 remaining, two are leaning this way, and the other two are unknown b/c no one's been able to get a hold of them.

Penguin: I'd say that most of the houses are doing well, I think rush numbers were up from last year. I know that Sigma Nu has done a really good job and surprised a lot of people. The Ag houses (AGN, AGS, AGR) always sign a bunch of guys early and usually can close out their pledge classes before the end of June, b/c of the small town connections they have. Everyone else I think has met their expectations but without being in Lincoln and seeing the official stats from Greek Affairs it is hard for me to say.