The second day of house tours was today. Out of the two Lindsey saw, she loved one, but still doesn’t like the other. I’m not speaking only about the house, but everything about the chapter. Tonight she will rank in this order:

Risky Business
Weird Science
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The max number of Pref invites she can get is two. She says she would be happy to pledge either of her top two, but she said she would probably not pledge her bottom choice. I keep telling her not to rule anything out yet, but she seems pretty sure. Now we will wait a week to see what happens, so I won’t have anything else to post unless she gets the infamous dreaded phone call.

Lindsey will get her Pref schedule early next Saturday morning and then parties and filling out bid cards lasts until at least midnight. Because she won’t be able to call me Saturday, I won’t know anything until Sunday morning, which is bid day. I will post as soon as I can, but it may be when I get back home Monday night. Sorry for so much detail, but I don’t want anyone to wonder if I will finish the story or not. I promise I will!

Fingers crossed!

qfp

My daughter is also rushing at UARK so I enjoyed reading your story. The so-called 'dead week' is killing us too. I'm also from out-of-state and trying to decide if I should be there for bid day. Do you know if they call moms to tell them the bids first?

I can't speak for recruitment at Arkansas, but I have never heard of the parent(s) being called to tell you if your daughter got a bid.

We have so many friends going thru recruitment at Arkansas and I know that this new dead week in between is so stressful on the girls and the mommas. Best wishes to you both and may you both get some rest this week!

I sure hope the ladies are out at the bar tonight.


Woo Pig Sooie!

No. They most definitely do not call moms...for anything. If you can be there, next weekend, I would go. Bid day has turned into an event and lots of moms are there. It is a nice way to check in on your daughter and console or congratulate as the case may be.

Good luck to your daughter! and GO HOGS!

Of course they do not call the mothers first!!

The mothers were not the ones going through recruitment!

Geesh!

This is where the week off could help your daughter get some perspective. That third house that's a deal-breaker? After joining the real world for a few days she might realize that's crazy talk and accept them with open arms.

Goodness - reading your blog brought back memories. I have a current KD daughter at the U of A. When she was going through recruitment, her "favorite" house cut her on her birthday. Talk about tears and tears and tears and the worst birthday ever!!! Now she fully believes the process works and cannot imagine that she should be anything BUT a KD!! So glad your daughter did not drop out! VERY glad to hear you will be on campus for bid day. I was there and it is one of those memories that is vividly imprinted in my mind. Although, it was another tough day. All the PNMs are collected in the Greek Theater with the houses gathered around the perimeter. The Gamma Chis are all introduced and reveal their house affiliation. The PNMs are handed envelopes with their bid and all open them at the same time. I had my eye on my daugher but lost her in the chaos as I watched from afar. All the happy girls were jumping up and down and racing to her new sisters. It was the longest 3 or so minutes before I saw my daughter embracing other KDs. As I write this, the tears are welling up in my eyes again. Good job mom - so glad you will be there to share it with your girl! I just might go for the fun and excitement of it. Even for members, this is a huge event full of emotion, exhaution, and anticipation. Good luck!

@UARKmom - yes - if at all possible, go to bid day. Read my reply to MomofPNM11. I was there - it is a milestone memory I will cherish forever.

@KDMomUofA - I am so glad that a happy ending was had at Zeta Gamma KD! I loved my time at Arkansas in that chapter! Please tell your daughter that the alumnae are so proud of the great job they have done at recruitment this year!

@KDMomUofA -- Thanks for the detailed explanation of bid day at Uark. I've decided to go -- Saturday is pref day, Sunday is bid day, Monday is her birthday -- so it seems like a good idea to be there for many reasons. And, KD is her first choice (but still staying open to the other three). Any idea what time the pref parties are held? Thanks!

@wavycutchip - thanks!!! I have just passed the word - it has been an exhausting week! Encouragement is always welcome!! @UARKmom - great decision! You will be glad that you are there. Pref day is busy. There are two schedules for pref parties but until all girls have finished all tasks no one is released to go. It keeps the process objective. Hang in there mommies of PNMs. This two week process is quite stressful!

Regarding the Pref party schedule - my daughter expects to meet her group at 7am and not be finished until after midnight. I don't expect to get to see her at all that day unless she is released. Of course my information is 2nd hand (hence the name of the thread), so if someone has 1st hand knowledge of Saturday's schedule, I would defer to them.

What a beautiful setting the Greek Theater is. I adore the campus at Univ. of Arkansas!

I wish your daughter well. I'm enjoying your story!

It is. The Greek theatre is probably my favorite place on campus.

So many great memories of that place from childhood on...pep rallies, studying outside in the fall, taking a campus hike and stopping off there...

MOMofPNM11, my son went through recruitment three years ago, and my God Daughter at a highly competitive SEC school just last year. I was a tad nervous for his and a wreck for hers, so I understand how hard it is to sit on the sidelines. Her mom and I agonized over it! She ended up with a great home, and my fingers are crossed for Lindsey as well. Hang in there. Pino G is a good friend.... Glad you are going to Bid Day. You won't regret being there either way.

MOMofPNM11:
Regarding Pref parties, my daughter confirmed that they meet at 7 a.m. bringing their pref party clothes with them, along with other relaxing clothes for in between the parties. They are not allowed to have their cell phones all day, nor are they allowed to return to their dorms. They will return to their dorms only after everyone has finalized their preferences -- last year 1 a.m. but may go longer because of the number of PNMs this year. So I don't even think moms will know what pref parties they are going to. Of course, maybe I could talk my dd into writing me a message with lip gloss on a mirror in the union..... JK .... watch too many movies. I will just wait it out with everyone else.

Wow that is a really long day... How many houses is the max they can pref at?

And wishing the best to your daughter. We have several girls from our area going thru as well, so stressful

^^ Good luck to these sweet daughters! Wishing the best for all of them!

I'm not sure what benefit is provided by keeping the girls all together after they've submitted their forms but before the straggler has. OK, not sure isn't the right phrase. That seems like crazy talk to me. Can someone explain the logic to that?

@arrowlady - they may go to up to 2 chapters for pref

@DubaiSis - It was explained to me when I went through Arkansas Recruitment that recruitment rules dictate a Strict Silence (No talking at all until you sign your MRABA) after the last party. When I went through, there were about 550 who signed bid cards, and just the process of getting all those members through the line took a few hours -- then there were those that had a hard time how to rank. At the time, they let us into the ranking room 12 at a time. Again, I am not sure how they do it now, but we were lined up outside the cafeteria, lead into the "ranking room" and then taken upstairs to wait (where we could talk to, I believe). I guess the concern is if you release those members who have signed their bid cards, they could potentially find out information that could influence those who haven't signed their bids yet.

Getting on a plane in a few hours. I'm much more relaxed about it than I was last week. I have full faith that whatever happens will be for the best. Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive. I will let you know as soon as I can!

Good luck, Momofpnm11!

I am on my way to Fayetteville in just a few minutes...so glad the big weekend
is finally here!!

Travel mercies to you.
Have a wonderful weekend with your daughter.
Post when you can.

Safe travels.

I just started reading this thread yesterday, and have to say that I am so impressed with how you supporting your daughter, MomofPNM11. Your story is a great example of how to do it right! Hoping happy things for pref day for both of you!

(I also love how you selected the same theme for code names that I did when I wrote up my retro-recruitment story a few years ago. :))

Good luck everyone. It is going to be a beautiful weekend in the hills of Arkansas. Best wishes to all the PNMs and blessings to all the moms.

Good luck, Razorbacks!!!:):):)

Quota was 130. AOII took 137. I don't have the numbers on other chapters yet.

goodness gracious-130 for quota-arkansas needs to do something about that.

good luck to all the chapters in keeping their members-new and old- connected and engaged!

That is just crazy! I can't imagine getting to know even half your pledge class, let alone half the chapter.

According to the KD recruitment thread, they took 136.

My entire CHAPTER is smaller than their newest pledge classes. By lots and lots.

I've been stalking an old friend of my parents (yes, she's known me as I've grown up!) on Facebook- she's a Chi O alumna and her daughter was going through recruitment. She just proudly announced her daughter received a bid from Chi O. I'm so happy for both of them!

130???? That is absurd.

Hopefully, this large numbers help U of A Panhellenic and Administration that anything (ANYTHING) they can do to aid a new sorority is only going to be a positive move for Greek life on the campus. We just watched DG at Bama do something incredible, and U of A saw the success of AOPi. With these numbers, they're primed to have another successful group quickly- IF Panhellenic is open-minded and the colony's cheerleaders, and the Administration becomes willing to help any new group as much as possible.

Of course, a group has to have the money involved in such a large project- but it sure looks like the numbers are there to succeed.

My question is, how much of the onus is on Panhellenic, as in, the Panhellenic council and the current sorority members? And even if the administration decides to be more supportive - from what I've read on here, those are far from the only two factors.