Dubai Sis - when you say "have the grades," what are they looking for 3.0 or up or higher than that?

Ivy Leaf - your daughter sounds like a wonderful young woman as well. Good luck to her!

I would think 3.0 is about right for the minimum GPA. I checked the Iowa State Greek Life website, which pretty much sucked, and couldn't find any specifics. Their average GPAs are listed, but average isn't the same as minimum requirement. If you're interested to know, you might CALL them. Keep in mind that meeting the minimum doesn't mean she's in, just that she won't be cut automatically due only to grades.

The sororities will all have similar minimum GPAs but not all exactly the same.

I think your daughter has a wonderful head on her shoulders to have such a positive attitude! I'm sharing this specific quote from your daughter with my daughter (who'll be rushing next week!). Best of luck to both of you!

Thanks DubaiSis - Luckily she's well above that. I was just curious. Earlier in the thread, there was the comment about severe cuts at Mizzou due to grades. I was just trying to put that in context - does that mean that most sororities have higher minimums than the Office of Greek Life?

DON'T compare one campus' recruitment to another. They are not the same thing. Mizzou is underserved by chapters and that's not changing for another year, so there are a lot of girls looking at a relatively small pool of sororities. Iowa State has plenty of sororities for the number of interested rushees.

NO NO NO!!! If YOUR DAUGHTER is interested in knowing, YOUR DAUGHTER should call them.

Generally, Panhellenic may require a certain GPA to sign up for recruitment, say a 2.67. But the sororities themselves may have a higher GPA requirement, say a 3.0, in order to be eligible for membership. It varies by each chapter and that information is usually listed in the recruitment guide that a women receives during recruitment.

If a woman going through recruitment doesn't meet the minimum GPA requirement for the sorority, she is generally released from that chapter. Also, a chapter on a specific campus can vote to have a higher GPA requirement than their inter/national bylaws require.

Beautiful!! I would be proud of her too. She sounds like a wonderful, mature young woman. I hope she has a terrific rest of the week! Best of luck to you both. It is a blow when your sorority cuts your legacy loved one, so hugs an hats off to you both for your great attitudes.

philanthropy day
 

My daughter and I went out to dinner tonight and talked at length about the chapters she visited today and what tomorrow might hold. She had an easier time preferencing after the socials today, and we discussed the best and worse case scenarios for preference round and bid day.

I can't go into very much detail about philanthropy day, except to say that it seemed to consist mostly of house tours and short skits. Every chapter did something very creative and different, but I don't want to give it away for those who might recognize what chapters I'm describing. So here is what I can share about today's socials:

Candlelight - at this point she says this is her favorite chapter - she has repeatedly said that they don't do anything halfway, and everything is so impressive and well planned, plus she's had great conversations all along with the girls

Eloquence - second favorite chapter - again, very organized and creative, lots of energy and very friendly, beautiful chapter house

Strasbourg - third favorite chapter - she really hadn't expected to fall in love with this chapter but says she could really see herself here - she says she has felt like each girl she has met could become a best friend

Grande Baroque - fourth favorite (and one remaining legacy chapter) - always describes them as so fun and friendly, creative, energetic and outgoing - this is another chapter she hadn't expected to fall in love with

Acorn - fifth favorite - says the girls are really friendly and the house is beautiful, she could definitely see herself being happy here

Chrysanthemum - sixth favorite - this is the only chapter she really has reservations about, and we have discussed at length that many girls feel lukewarm about their new chapter at the beginning and end up loving it

So the chapters that are fourth, fifth, and sixth are the ones that she could potentially drop if she gets to go back to her top three tomorrow. She said that if she gets asked back to even one of her top three she will be thrilled. Of course, there is still the possibility that she could be released, or only get one or two invitations. We will find out tomorrow morning (Friday) around 9:00.

Best of luck to her! As others have said, she seems to have a great attitude :)

Sorry, I changed pronouns in my post a couple times but missed that one. I do concur. This is the time for the girls to take the bull by the horns. Or the cyclone by the tail, as it were.

Mizzou Mom - as a fellow "Mizzou Mom," I'm cheering on your daughter and hope she gets pref invites from the chapters she wants. She really has a wonderful attitude. I hope my daughter will have that same outlook next year, when it's her turn to go through recruitment.

Your daughter has an amazing attitude, I am loving hearing her story. My daughter will be going thru recruitment next year and I can only hope she will be as level headed as your daughter.

My daughter has been invited back to two (out of a possible three) chapters for preference. She will be going to Chrysanthemum and Candlelight. As she put it in her text, "both ends of the spectrum." One is her favorite, and one is her least favorite. Tomorrow is bid day, so if she does get a bid, she says it could be absolutely wonderful or it could be just mediocre. However, if there's one thing I have learned from lurking on Greek Chat for a couple of years, it's that most women who don't get their first choice eventually end up loving their chapter and can't imagine any other outcome. I've been trying to emphasize this all along but I know it will be tough for her to deal with the initial disappointment. Right now there is no talk of intentional single preference - I am going to strongly discourage this if it comes up.

I think this has been the longest week of my life. I can't even imagine how the PMs must feel.

Good, good, good.

Mizzou Mom - it seems to still be going well, especially if one of those invites is from one of her favorites. I think the pref parties today will make a difference and she'll really get to see them both more in-depth. She may even come out of it liking Chrysanthemum more than she thought.

When I pledged (yes, almost 30 years ago!), my roommate was my best friend from high school, and we went through recruitment together. We were definitely set on pledging the same sorority. Luckily, we had the same pref parties, but ended up pledging differently, because we decided at the end to go with our heart. We both loved our sororities deeply and her pledge class and my pledge class became very close. I never regret our decision to go separately at the end.

Good luck to your daughter!

My daughter just attended Chrysanthemum's pref party and texted me to say she loved it! Good sign!!! :)

I am really not being very productive at work today...

Yay! Pref parties really do make a difference.

My heart is breaking! My daughter has not been asked back to any of her top choices since round 2. She is trying to keep a great attitude but I hear her dissapointment in her voice. She was asked back to two today and really loves one group but feels she has never clicked with the other. She just called and told me that she did put two down but really is only interested in one of them and will be dissapointed if she does not receive her current first choice. She is so exhausted and told me today that this has been the most stressful situation she has ever encountered. While she knows the end justifies the mean she has found the process to be so superficial and shallow. It is difficult to get through to an 18 year old some times that life isn't fair and what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!! On paper she was the ideal candidate, 3.7 30 act, at least two recs for each soroity, 2 legacies, and many leadership positions, activities, work history and scholarship awards. And yes she is outgoing, very attractive, and extremely charming. At least 5 from her floor have dropped out of rush completely. I know this happens and it seems like the addition of a few more chapters would surely help these great girls find a home! Keep your fingers crossed for all of these girls that wish to grow within the greek system at Mizzou

Ivy, your daughter is right. It is superficial and shallow, but as I've said here, it's what we're stuck with. And there are chapters that are fantastic that suck at the superficial and shallow. Really try to convince her to follow through. If she joins and still feels the same at initiation, drop then. But if she goes in, does the work, meets the girls and otherwise fully participates, her mind will be changed. I can almost guarantee it. It really does not help that this is so stressful, she's away from home for the first time, she's sleeping in a new bed, it's hot.... all of these things add up to nothing but frustration. I'm sorry about that.

Ivy Leaf - I hope it all turns out well in the end for your daughter. Most times, it really does. My daughter will probably go through this process next year, and it does worry me as a Mom. Hang in there. Your daughter has a great Mom who cares about her!

Ivy Leaf~
I agree with so much of what you are saying!!!! Mizzou needs to expand its greek system to accommodate more of these wonderful, highly qualified women. The fact that there are only 14 chapters and 1600+ PMs is very frustrating. When I went through recruitment at Mizzou waaaaay back in the 80s, there were 17 chapters and well under 1,000 PMs. Of course, RFM wasn't being used then and some chapters were much larger than others. I remember being nervous and excited during my own recruitment, but nothing like the level of stress that the PMs (or their mothers ;)) seem to be experiencing these days! I really hate to hear about girls dropping out of the process completely. I admire your daughter for sticking with it. I hope she ends up in a chapter she loves - it sounds like any group would be so lucky to get her!!!

I understand the number of PNMs must be overwhelming, but I don't really see how adding some more chapters will really change that. PNMs would still be competing with the same number of women. It's not as if the chapters at Mizzou currently "cap" the pledge classes at a certain number - quota is not determined until preference, basically, and it is set at a number that would allow every woman to be placed in a chapter. So really, the only difference a couple new chapters would make is that the pledge classes would be smaller - but that only becomes relevant after recruitment is over.

For the vast majority of women who withdraw from recruitment altogether, it's because they're pouty and emotional and their pride won't allow them to join a chapter they *think* is beneath them. Though it sounds like the campus could acommodate more chapters, it's not as if the PNMs don't already have many options. Some of them just choose to only accept a handful of them.

Mizzou Mom - how did her prefs go?

One of the great things about Mizzou is that the greek community is very close knit. I hope both girls have great outcomes tomorrow. Regardless of where they end up, there will be lots of opportunities to get to know others on campus.

This is a big year at Mizzou -- the centennial celebration of Homecoming! There should be lots of ways to get engaged in campus life.

Keeping my fingers crossed for both of them! Keep us posted tomorrow!

Pearl~

Both pref ceremonies were wonderful - very heartfelt and emotional. She says she can see herself in either chapter after today. She is still hoping for Candlelight, but knows that she would be happy in Chrysanthemum also. I'm just hoping she doesn't get the dreaded pi chi visit tomorrow morning.

One thing that was shocking was how some of the PMs were behaving as they waited outside for the ceremonies to start. My daughter said that the girl next to her was openly complaining about having to go back to Chrysanthemum and she didn't understand why she couldn't cut them. Something similar happened outside Candlelight, only it was a girl who was excited to go to Candlelight but was complaining about having to go back to Respousse (a chapter my daughter would have been sooooo grateful to go back to).

My daughter estimates that out of her original group of 80 girls, about a third have dropped out of recruitment. She tried to count everyone this morning when the pi chis were handing out invitations.

Oh, and some PMs were wearing shorts and tank tops to pref. :confused:

Mizzou Mom, my daughter is also rushing at Mizzou this week. I have a question, do the houses see the girls preference order before deciding whether to cut or keep them?

I don't think I am getting into membership selection - shoot me a pm if you think I am - but no, the sorority actives do not see the preference order.

Mizzou Mom - I'm so glad her prefs went well. I will say a prayer for her that she gets a bid tomorrow morning. I talked with the moms of the 4 girls going through from the high school where I work and 3 are still in (1 dropped this morning). They all had 2-3 parties and seemed to be happy to go to any of the houses. The Moms (3 were not greek) couldn't believe how intense and emotional the process is.

I'm shocked about the PNMs wearing shorts and a tank top - were they trying not to get bids?!

I think it is safe to say that NO, houses do not see what the girls pref before they vote. In most cases, the houses are voting while the pnms are back at the student union signing pref/bid cards (or whatever they are officially called!).

I can assure you if the sororities could get their hands on that info THEY WOULD. You would save yourself a lot of heartache on both sides if you could magically match your first list with the rushees first choices. They're on your list anyway, so moving girls around a few positions would be easy peasy. I remember being at more than one preference and trying to probe if we were first choice.

What time do bids go out?

I think noon or 12.30. Pi Chis will be making visits to the gals that did not match successfully by 9 am this morning. This is stressful for the mamas and the daughters!!!

Thinking about both you and MizzouMom this morning, and your sweet daughters.

+1 ... hoping the best for both of these girls!

Spoke briefly with my daughter - no dreaded pi chi visit this morning!!!! They have moved bid opening up to noon. I'm heading to the quad to be there for the excitement! Will it be Chrysanthemum or Candlelight???

Bid day from last year! Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtNB0ycaJN8

OH. HELL. TO. THE. NO
how disrespectful

Hope your daughter gets her first choice!

I've been following this thread all week as I've been in the same shoes as mizzoumom and ivyleaf. What a roller coaster ride the week has been. My daughter's week started out great as she went from 14 to 11 to 7 (which included 4 of her 5 favorites from the beginning) to 2 on pref day (one being her favorite all along and the other being one she didn't "click with as much" to use ivy's expression.) She nevertheless listed both on her bid card with a committment to make her second choice work as she was sure there would be great girls she would "click with " whom she just hadn't met yet. She was very happy to receive her first choice and I hope the same happens for the others. No matter what though, we can all be very proud of our daughters. Thanks for sharing this past week.