I am so exhausted (as are the rest of the PNMS and actives Im sure) but today was such a wonderful opportunity to meet people and get a glimpse of what recruitment will be like!

I am hearing it was a long, hot day; everyone indeed wore "Norts", tennis shoes and slightly oversized t-shirts. The girls were awestruck at the granduer of the houses they visited and were equally impressed by their visit to ADPi in the circle.

To me, this weeks ahead water party schedule seems like a good idea. The girls did no ranking today, got a good glimpse into the process and start again in a few weeks with all of the houses.

My DD was skeptical of the slightly deferred process for many reasons, but has come to see it as a positive. She feels like wherever she and the hometown girls, floor mates etc. end up, they will always be friends that they might not have been had they started rush a week bere school started. YMMV.

As crazy as the schedule sounds (and I would prefer it be done either before school or in January), you are so right, choabet, my DD really enjoyed having those weeks before recruitment to get settled, make some friends and see the sorority girls out and about and in the grove before a couple of games. She felt better prepared for recruitment since we are from OOS and she knew very little about them. She might feel differently this year being "on the other side" and having to stay up all hours that week!

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for this thread! As my name suggests, I'm new to Ole Miss but also to the Greek world. My DD is an OOS PNM and I am clueless!

We just visited her this weekend for Fall Family Weekend and the first home game. (Tailgating at the Grove is a story for a whole 'nother thread!) Anyway, she seems to be adjusting fairly well to college life 6 hours from home and had a great time at water parties yesterday. She has a friend in one sorority from her high school and she has helped guide her through Ole Miss in general and rush, well up until the semester starting.

I've read through all these pages and whew.....it's all so much. Like hundreds of other girls, my DD had a 4.0 in high school, numerous scholarships/honors, great extra-curriculars, good rec letters. It's daunting from my perspective, to say the least, but she says she is going into everything with an open mind and so we are just hopeful she lands somewhere and it's a good fit for both!

Quick question: My DD said that some of the girls on her floor said their moms are going up during rush week and particularly for bid weekend "to support them." Is that common? I would love to go and see my dd and be there for her, but I'm wondering between homework, sleeping, and rush activities, would there really be time??? I just LOVE Ole Miss and Oxford in general and love the idea of any excuse for a weekend get away, but would visiting then be too much? What happens after 3 pm on Sunday bid day? Thanks in advance for any info...

Some moms, although well short of most, will go up and book a room for the entire week. I think the "support" in these cases is more for the moms than the DDs. The girls will get the support that they really need from their floor mates who are going through it with them. At this point, the recs are in, the resume is what it is, and all you can really do is pace the floor, drink heavily, and wait for nightly phone updates (all while projecting confidence without transferring your anxiety to her). Moms who are physically present and actually have the DDs stay with them at the hotel do a disservice for several reasons, including: 1) They inevitably want to rehash the day's events, invitations received (and not received), etc. beyond that point which is helpful (usually zero), and 2) The DD may feel like she's going through this alone, or just with mom, when in reality she can be drawing great strength from sharing the experience with the 1200 girls who will be her PanHellenic sisters for her college life.
Be prepared to address her concerns with facts that I'm sure you've already learned from GC, especially as it relates to the fact that she most likely will be released from one or more sororities in which she expressed an interest. This is the rule rather than the exception and it is in no way a reflection of her. If she goes in with an open mind, maximizes choices and realizes that whichever chapter she joins at Ole Miss is most likely one of the best chapters of that sorority in the country, she will do fine.
Bid day is a slightly different matter, and many parents will show up to watch the bid opening and "the run". Unless you have a well-founded fear that your DD is going to have a seriously adverse result, I would let her enjoy what will be a memory for a lifetime w/o her trying to accommodate your presence.
I would encourage you to go to the Texas A&M game on Oct 12. She will be thrilled to show you around the house, visit her sorority's tent at the grove, and meet her new sisters.
Just my two cents.

Ole Miss has taken helicopter parenting to a whole new level.

The problem is that your friends who are rushing are worried about their own schedules (or worse, they got the invites you wanted!) and your friends who aren't rushing don't understand how important it is, and so I understand wanting a mother for support. That said, I think I wanted my mom's support via phone, three hours away.

Thanks for your two cents! I do want her to cherish these memories with her new sisters without her having to worry about me! Great point!

And we're from Louisiana, so we didn't plan on the Texas A&M game, but made big plans for the LSU game the following week! I'm really hoping the Rebels have a great season and upset the Tigers! We're starting off on the right foot!


:D

Yep. For all the moms of PNMs who insist on going, I will be selling magnolia camo from a push cart on campus. Cha-CHING!

We're from LA too! (Baton Rouge). If you change your mind about the A&M game, send me a PM. We might have an extra room or two in Batesville that we can release. I will be cooking LA style at the Kappa tent!

ROFL (thank heavens I'm in my office and not in public!)

Actually have heard from some out of town alumnae coming to work Recruitment that they were unable to find hotel reservations past Monday of Recruitment. Since I haven't tried (I live in Oxford) I don't know if she as just being picky or if everything is booked up.

PRICELESS!!!!! You might want to include some carabiners and climbing rope for the moms who prefer to hide in the trees for a bird's eye view! :D

Since we are from OOS, and heard that getting a bid was much harder for non-mississippi girls, we booked a room to make sure we were going to be there "just in case" she doesn't receive a bid. We are only going to be there Friday & Saturday night and we will fly home Sunday after bid day activities. If she doesn't need any extra encouragement, dinner at the City Grocery alone will make the trip worth it!

I feel like after all the work I put into the rush packets, the resume, the pictures, the frantic phone calls to my friends for recs, that I should at least get to share in some of the fun! Watching my daughter run to her new home on bid day will totally be worth the trip.

MP - We booked our room three months ago and found one of the last rooms in town at a exaggerated price. Tried last week to book one additional room, Batesville was the closest we could get. Your friend was not being picky, there are literally no rooms available for this weekend!

I guess that gives you a clue about how many parents will be there for bid day!

Moms of OOS PNMs at Ole Miss... your girls will be fine, even being out of state. Please do read and take every word on this thread as gospel! There are many Ole Miss alumnae here who want to help PNMs get through recruitment at Ole Miss and find a home.

Remember the mantra... KEEP AN OPEN MIND and a CLEAN NOSE! Watch the partying on & off campus that could potentially destroy a girl's rush. Tell her to pretend that her grandmother is right behind her, watching everything she does!

I don't have a problem with parents coming to Bid Day...although it is next level with how many attend compared to 1996 when I pledged and even when I was a chapter advisor in the early 2000s. With that being said, the best thing as a parent you can do is to be supportive. If your daughter ends up at her 2nd or even 3rd choice then please be supportive. If she ends up at her first choice and it wasn't your legacy house be supportive too. Also, let her have her time with her family of sisters. I think it is perfectly appropriate to stick around and attend the small parties that the chapters will have on Bid Day at their house. But if the chapter is going somewhere else for more fun (some do Double Decker tours, some have fun in the Grove with bounce houses, etc) then I suggest you don't attend that. It can make older members and even advisors feel uncomfortable if there are parents lurking. I know my parents did not come up and I don't think I would have wanted them there. This was my experience. I shared with them my journey as a PNM through the phone and they were just fine. Also keep in mind, that with over 300 members after bid day in each chapter things can be tight at the houses. So when you add a pledge class’ moms/dads/aunts/etc it can be very crowded! So, keep that in mind. I know last year of a mom who met her daughter at her new sorority and hugged her, gave her some flowers, and then she left. To me, that is a perfect way to show support! A little hug, a little happy, and then a “sweetie give me a call later tonight” is ideal! Just my two cents.

I would encourage any interested moms to go for bid WEEKEND (not the whole week) if possible! Even though my Greek and Non-Greek friends thought I was crazy, I had heard it on good authority to come so I convinced a non-Greek mom from my hometown to join me (we live 10 hours away) for the fun of it. We had a ball meeting other moms (some I still keep up with), shopping on the square for Bid Day gifts & trying out several restaurants I had not had the opportunity to try before. Did we see our daughters much? No. Did they stay with us at the hotel? Absolutely Not! Were they excited beyond belief to share their Bid Day with us? Yes. My DD was thrilled that I was able to follow her around and be her personal photographer so she'd have good pictures to post later. Keep in mind though, some sororities don't have anything planned at the house cuz they take the pledges somewhere else. My friend didn't even get to go in her DD's sorority house. Whereas my DD's sorority had food for all of us and gave house tours. I am so glad I was able to be there and am going back this year to be work crew at her sorority house (which is NOT my sorority btw). Lodging is TOUGH (always) but 4 of us moms are renting a house a couple miles away.

PNMS! Don't forget to register for the C.A.R.E. Walk!
C.A.R.E. Walk Registration Link

And don't forget to go ahead and register for Recruitment!
Ole Miss Fall 2013 Sorority Recruitment Link

Okay, I have a question, but I'm not sure if it violates what all of you lovely sorority women are allowed to disclose! :)

Anyways: Does it mean anything (Is it important? Not? Good? Bad?) if the Vice President or President of the sorority personally introduces herself and has small talk with one or two of the PNMs during the water party rounds?

If you can't say, that is fine! I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask! Thanks.

It means they are doing their job. That's it - nothing more, nothing less. Would you expect they stand in the corner and stare at everyone? The head of any household holding any event should introduce himself/herself to the guests and thank them for coming.

This. They walk around and get to meet PNMs as well. It doesn't necessarily mean anything, but try to make a good impression just like you would with any sister.

You are a total ROCK STAR of a mom. :)

I thought the pnms were required to spend the night in their dorms.

Concur with the other answers posted. I would also add that it may help you to keep in perspective what the Water Parties are. They are merely initial introductory opportunities for the PNMs and the chapters. It is intended to be a casual, get-acquainted event on both sides, notwithstanding the hectic pace.

The most that the sororities are trying to accomplish at this stage in terms of selection is to generally sort the PNMs that they don't know much about into three basic piles (not of equal size):

1) I can really see this girl as an XYZ. Self explanatory. You may find yourself paired with a strong recruiter later in FR.

2) I would like to know more about this girl to see if she is a fit with XYZ. This is where thetalady's advice is important. The actives know who you are now, and if they see your head buried in a trash can at Rooster's during the next three weeks, expect them to take note. Conversely, if you have a chance to make a positive impression in class or elsewhere, your stock will go up.

3) I don't see this girl as an XYZ. At this stage about the only way that happens is if they learned about a QR or you just completely botched the conversation in a way that makes them think you have no social skills whatsoever. Even that is not unrecoverable at this stage (unless perhaps if it was intentional and they find that out).

As an example, my DD told me yesterday about 1 of her 12 PNMs from Sunday. No eye contact, no responsiveness beyond one word answers and grunts, no questions, no expressions of interest of any kind resulted in a painfully long 20 minutes for my already exhausted DD, and not a very high score for the PNM. There are multiple explanations for this, none of them acceptable. Maybe PNM is a quintuple Ole Miss chapter legacy and a direct descendent of a Founder of ABC, but still. The actives know about these situations and/or that the PNMs are under a lot of pressure, but part of maturity is to hold up your end of the conversational bargain anyway. As Dr. Sheldon Cooper (TBBT) might say, "It's a non-optional social convention."

So, if the President or the VP (or any other member) engaged you in conversation, and you responded with something approaching a complete sentence containing a coherent thought, my DD would say, "Yay you!". That's all you needed to accomplish for the day. Hotty Toddy!

Everything MU2Driver said but especially this:

All PNMs need to know that the Ole Miss Chapters share this information with each other. Don't even begin to think that being rude to one or more chapters will be kept under wraps. The actives have three weeks to share all sorts if information with all of their friends in the other houses. There is absolutely no excuse for being rude as a guest in someone's home, unless of course you are in an ICU bed or under very strong sedating medication. Then, and just then, it might be excusable.

Frankly, if your are rude to me, well then you've just told me more about your family than I personally care to know.

^^^ What MaryPoppins Said^^^ a MILLION TIMES ^^^What MaryPoppins Said^^^ :D Despite the large pledge classes and seemingly "big size" of chapters- Ole Miss is NOT a big school... and, at least in my day, we all talked to each other! My Sophomore year I lived with one of my best friends from freshman year, she was in a different sorority than I was. A girl came through Coke Party (what is now I guess philanthropy)- and I had the "pleasure" of rushing her. She was beyond blatantly rude to me and my house and told me that she was a double legacy at my roommates house and was definitely planning on pledging there :eek: Well, you guessed it- not only did we release her but I shared it all with my roommate that night as we lay exhausted in our beds... who couldn't wait to tell her "real sister"- who yes was in a third different house-- well guess who was not invited back to the house she PLANNED ON pledging? (nor any other house after skit round?). The thing about Ole Miss is every third girl you meet is a double legacy at one house or another, was homecoming queen, 4.0, etc... the houses, more often than not, are looking for more of a reason to release you than to keep you. Rudeness gets around just as quick as a bad rep or "uncouth" behavior... you never know who is living with who, who is related to who, etc... etc...

^^This! My advice to any and all pnms at Ole Miss is to act like every house you visit is the house you want to pledge. You have a better chance of being invited back that way and, if you are foolish enough to buy into the perceived "top tier" tent talk, there's just not enough room in those houses for every girl coming through rush. You should consider yourself fortunate to get a bid anywhere on that campus. Your sorority membership is for a lifetime, not just four years of college.

And to add to what OldOleMiss stated, think about how much faster "word" travels via text messaging now between actives in different houses. The next house a pnm visits might already have your rudeness and disinterest at your previous house QFP'd!

Midnight last night, as many of you know, was the deadline to sign up for recruitment. Anybody know the final number signed up at Ole Miss?

Wow! Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback and advice! Clearly, I am over-analyzing everything, just giving myself something to do while the wait continues I guess! :) But, I absolutely loved water parties. All of the girls I talked with were so nice, and it was also neat because a lot of the sophomore girls were just as nervous as us PNMs! Knowing this, I did my best to not only answer the questions fully, but I asked the actives lots of questions about themselves, too! It was so so fun to get a glimpse into all of these girls lives. Now, only time will tell.....the wait continues. :)

Why don't you play it by ear? By the time that weekend rolls around, your daughter might decide that she would rather stay in the dorm with the other rushees. But if she feels she needs a break from campus, she has the hotel room as an alternative.

Nice to see a positive mention of Ole Miss PH on this issue...
http://cw.ua.edu/2013/09/11/the-fina...-still-exists/

Oh My Stars!
 

Can you say WOW!

1,394 PNMs registered with Ole Miss Panhellenic through ICS.

So what does this mean for quota, etc?

If all 1394 PNMs make it to pref and sign cards, then you divide 1394 by the number of sororities and that is quota.

Yes, but recall that colonization considerations are being made to the RFM calculations. And recall that the not insubstantial number of grade risks are in that number too. I'm trying to get it an idea of the % of grade risks, because after that is where we can begin to say quota might look like X.

Quota
 

WOW is right! I'm a little confused about quota - FSUZeta, are you saying that they divide the number of girls that are invited to at least one pref night party by 9 and that's quota? So theoretically, if all 1394 reached pref night there could be a quota of over 150? That would be a huge pledge class :eek:
I'm a "numbers person" so the math behind it is interesting. So 1394 less the grade risks less some # due to colonization/9 is quota? I had no idea that was what determined quota.

Thanks, that's about what I expected with the announced freshman and overall enrollment increase. And of course, an excellent number!!

No you are correct. However, but PNMs will drop out of recruitment and some will be cut by all the chapters (hence why Mary Poppins wants to check the number of PNMs that are grade risks). So it is highly unlikely that quota will be 154.