I am intimately familiar with SEC recruitment. I much prefer August recruitment after serving as an advisor for both years we tried mid semester style like our friends at Ole Mss. However, IF a school was pushing for something to help retain students who transfer after disappointing recruitment results, then I much prefer dec/jan over mid September. Thankfully, Arkansas seems to be content with their current system.

Unfortunately, until the majority of Ole Miss PNMs come to the realization that there are seven other sororities, any one of which can offer just as much as the two heavily desired chapters, I think they'll continue with the delayed recruitment. There are more than a dozen girls from my daughter's high school class going through recruitment at Ole Miss, and all but a couple of them want only one of these two chapters. It's going to get ugly, I'm afraid.

I think that is a copout on the part of Ole Miss Greek life if that is one of the reasons they are delaying recruitment. Arkansas has the exact situation but RFM (despite its flaws) has really improved the 'status' of the younger sororities on campus. I do not think that delayed recruitment is the answer to that problem.

Then you're doing deferred rush completely wrong, and many rules need to be changed and reinforced to make it what it is meant to be.

BUT since this is a school less likely to change from old-school SEC style rush than the Steelers are to change their colors to pink and coral...screw it. Forget this "delayed" silliness and go back to August.

If this really is a school where the majority of many many many girls only want two out of nine groups, that's a broken system that is going to take a lot more than rush in September to fix.

I'm going to put a different spin on this from my personal observations on this campus over the past 2 years.

Having deferred recruitment lets the PNMs see all of the beautiful, polished women in all of the sororities at Ole Miss for at least a month prior to formal recruitment. Honestly, there is no way to tell any of these girls apart other than the different Greek letters they have on their t-shirts or backpacks. All of the houses are georgeous and huge.

I think it helps many PNMs see that there are multiple desired options for sorority membership on this campus!

Catch me up on how it all comes out in the wash. There are 2 chapter that are the most desired. Do all of the chapters end up with quota? Do they end up with real life quota or do they have a lot of girls bail on bid day? I don't need to know which chapters, blah blah blah. I'm just interested to know the real life results as compared to the concerns.

It's allegedly 2-3 out of 9 groups, and next years colony will make 10. PNM classes are expected to be 150.

That information is never released publicly anymore. Rumor and speculation are rife.

Oh, that's right. Sorry, I'll fix my post. But I gather you think that concept (that the majority only wants 2) is hyperbole?

That's what I'm wondering. Is this hyperbole or in this big of a rush are there chapters at risk of closure or not meeting quota by a wide margin? I'm guessing it's much ado about nothing, but god knows I could be wrong.

Jumping in as the mom of a PNM at Ole Miss...

With water parties being tomorrow, we talked today about any preconceptions she may have already about each chapter. Coming from an area far from Mississippi, she was able to go to Ole Miss with all the chapters being on even footing in her mind. HOWEVER, already she had started to develop an opinion on a couple of the chapters based on what some Mississippi folks have told her.

No matter how much I try to downplay what she has been told during her week there and no matter how much she tries to ignore it, the fact is that it's already in her mind. No matter how much I say, "Keep an open mind about ALL the chapters and form your own opinions," what she has heard will be in the back of her mind. For that reason, I would have loved for recruitment to have been at the beginning of school.

I know that some girls from the area or with deep ties to Ole Miss may already have formed ideas about what chapters they want, but at least for those that do not have those ties, it would make it easier for each chapter to have the opportunity to stand on their own merits and each PNM to form opinions based on what the chapters presented to them.

I still feel that she is going into recruitment excited to learn about all 9 sororities, rather than just 2 or 3, and open to them all, but I feel badly for the girls who have already narrowed their options, even before the beginning of recruitment.

Having lived through recruitment at a school with January rush I can say it is NUTS. It does not lead anyone to having a more open mind. It did lead to more dirty rushing and the poor retention rates.

I have advised at schools with Before class recruitment, september weekend only recruitment and October recruitment. Women walk around in a daze for a couple weeks if they are trting to juggle both once classes start. The only reason for later fall recruitment is if you have trouble encouraging women to try being Greek. On these campuses with 100 women in a pledge class ?

And again, I say...that means you're doing it wrong. If non-Greek women are "sheltered" from talking to, socializing, rooming with, etc Greek women for that fall semester, it doesn't help at all with what the point of deferred rush is. The ideal deferred rush is one where a woman walks into the chapters and knows, at least in passing, at least one woman in every one of them. If Greeks are intent on separating themselves from non-Greeks of all class levels, deferred rush will never work.

Some of the girls who have already narrowed their options will be all right, just about 200 - 350 of them. Those PNMs already know a bunch of people in those houses and have been to camp and cotillion with those girls. They will make their debuts at the same debutante societies, and are likely legacies multiple times over. Those favored few chapters will not be likely to ever participate in COB or Spring Informal recruitment as they push their fourth and fifth year members out the door to make room for the next class. Those same favored chapters are very reluctant to take sophomores, so dropping out and re-rushing next year is unlikely to make a difference for a choosy PNM.

The rest of the PNMs need to keep an open mind if they want the Greek experience. Everyday, when the PNM gets her invitations back, the chapters that invited her are the ONLY ones on that campus for that PNM. A chapter has indicated an interest in getting to know that PNM better, and she should be very grateful. Sadly not everyone can be an Ole Miss Greek, but keeping an open mind makes it a possibility. Every PNM class is nearly big enough at Ole Miss to change the entire personality of a chapter. So, if you don't like what you see now, stick around and "Be The Change You Want To See."

Best Wishes and Good Luck To All the Ole Miss PNMs!

It is a logistical nightmare, but I know a family who did precisely this. The young lady is from Louisville and she chose an out of state SEC as her "first" school. I know they had two sets of recs, I was one of her Sigma Kappa recs. If she had not gotten into one of her "favorite" chapters, the back up plan was a midwestern university with a lesser competitive Greek system and a later start date and recruitment. She would be able to find out the results of her SEC recruitment before having to report to the midwestern school.