Great job!! Slow and steady seems to be paying off. You and your chapter should feel really good about your progress. Let us know how your spring recruitment goes!

This IS an exciting update!!!!
 

But this IS an exciting update! The fact that you are able to now create smaller, more manageable goals is a huge step! The fact that you are back - posting an update shows your enthusiasm and commitment to recruiting.

Thanks for the update - and please keep us posted!

While you have women from headquarters there try to get some formal rush practice in so they can help you with things like conveying enthusiasm without breaking any rules. I think small chapters tend to take too literal an approach to the rules and the result is the rushee thinks you're not as interested as the larger chapter. So some time spent role playing can be valuable.

Mid-Semester:

The informal recruitment weekend we organized was a success, and all chapters that participated were actually able to bid the number of women they had hoped from the event, which is awesome and I'm not sure that's ever happened! Plus, I think like 98 or 99% of the women bidded accepted, which is great.

As of right now, we're less than 10 from total, counting our current pledge class. Things seem to be slowing down with COB, we met our initial few smaller goals and people are really starting to get burnt out now that Spring Break is over. Assuming all women initiate and we have 100% retention (other than those graduating/going alum, of course), we will begin the Fall semester ~15 under total, meaning with our Quota trends we will be above total through formal recruitment. This is super unlikely, as I know of several women already planning on resigning after this semester (and several who would, if they weren't graduating or going alum), but hopefully with their negative attitudes gone, it will help recruitment a lot. I feel like we say that every semester, but since things seem to be turning around so well for us this past year or so, maybe this will be the time it really does. I guess we'll see then, no sense in worrying about it right this second.

Morale generally seems up from this time previous semesters, which is helpful as well. I think a lot of people are seeing that we're so close to total and feeling like that pressure is finally being taken off our shoulders - or at least some of it is - which is helping a lot. We're trying to work with other sororities on campus more also, to help increase our notariety and improve our reputation on campus, which seems to be working as well.

This is the time of year when everyone hates everyone and everything. Those women planning to resign next fall might feel differently after a summer back home. If they don't, you're absolutely right - let 'em bounce.