No news is good news!
 

As far as I know, DD has not been contacted. This certainly must mean that she has the bid. She and I texted a little this morning, but only about classes. She's a little cautious and I don't want to make things worse. Once the bid is in hand, then we'll celebrate!

I do believe they will get their bids around 5:30 then all gather at the big fields. Parties at each house follow tonight.

My daughter just went through rush at Alabama and I do believe that the time right before they received their bids was the WORST! My daughter was fortunate enough to have several really good options after prefs but she really had her heart set on one. It worked out for her and it looks like your daughter is going to be a new pledge tonite too! Please keep us posted!

I was emailed that Quota is 58 at UGA.

Just talked to daughter
 

I just talked to my daughter on the way to class and she is still not comfortable. She's worried that her Gamma Chi may have dropped the ball by not calling her and she'll show up in the lobby in her white dress and feel like a fool! I can't say I blame her for being cautious. She says there are lots of stories going around and "misstatements" of truth, if you know what I mean. One story that she heard is that 600/1300 have been cut or withdrew. That seems unusually high. Does anyone have any inside info? Also, I told her to call the panhellenic office and just ask. Her Gamma Chi did not reply to her text today. It's possible she's in class, but DD's worried that the GC does not want to be the one to break bad news so is avoiding it. Any thoughts, ideas or info?

*That number seems like a "rumor" number. I'd take it with a grain of salt.

*It seems like your daughter is just being paranoid. Gamma Chi's are trained on how to "break the news" to PNMs. I doubt that her Gamma Chi would leave her hanging if she knew that she wasn't getting a bid just because she "didn't want to break the news." In general, they like to notify you as soon as possible so that you DON'T show up to Bid Day.

Bless her. If bids at today at 5:30 and she hasn't heard from her Gamma Chi by now then I'd say she has a bid for sure! There is no way her Gamma Chi "dropped the ball" or is avoiding breaking the news to her...they can't do that. Just based on what I know from girls who rushed this week at Bama and AU, I would say that if she didn't get a call first thing this morning then all is well. My daughter's Pi Chi texted her her party schedule after the 3rd round of cuts at like 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning. I almost had a heart attack running to my phone when my daughter texted me right after that. :o

I hope you're going to see her get her bid!

I agree that number seems way too high to be true.

That number does seem really high. I think Alabama lost 500 out of 1600 by the time it was all said and done. I think her Gamma Chi would definitely have called but I understand the paranoia. It never seems real until you have that bid card in your hand!

If DoctorD is right and quota is 58... multiple that by 17 chapters and you get 986. Not all chapters may make quota, and some will go over, but that should give a *general* ballpark of girls getting bids.

It also seems more in line with what would be expected.

Tell your daughter to take a deep breath, and just hang in there.:)

Just got the news that she got a bid! YEAH! Thanks for all you support, information sharing and kind words throughout!

Yay UGAMOM's DD--- but where is her bid from??? You're killing me!

I have been reading this and just waiting for the word on your DD!

Congrats!!! Let us know where when you can!!

Yay! Congrats to her.

Congrats to your daughter! Hope she is very happy!

Any word yet on whether all the chapters made quota? I wonder if there is still some snap bidding going on?

Hooray!! You had me kind of worried there! (sympathy worry;))

Congratulations and let us know where she ended up!

Wasn't there someone from UGA on here last year saying stuff like 3/4 of the girls got dropped - just to make it sound more elite? I know that there's confusion sometimes but I honestly believe some of it is deliberate.

I used to hear similar rumors in college.

"Oh back in Georgia, we don't even set quota by dividing the number of PNMs returning to pref night by the number of chapters, we just choose a number that we want in order to make our chapters elite enough. Lots of girls go bidless."

Uh, yeah. If you say so. :rolleyes:

I am SO relieved...I have been following UGA rush and was getting nervous as you relayed your daughter's story...hitting the refresh button WAY too often...congratulations to both of you, and I hope she has a wonderful bid day! Do keep us updated not only on where her new home is but also on bid day activities, once she tells you about them... we all need to re-live the magic!

Recruitment Stats for 2006 & 2007
 

Your information is correct. I'm looking at the statistics that UGA panhellenic gave us in their parent packet. It breaks down 2006 and 2007 by how many were released and how many withdrawn at each step of the way. To summarize, they are as follow:
2007 2006

# Starting Recruitment 1265 1285
# Pledged 940 940
# withdrawn 241 259
# released 42 6
# mismatched 42 8
Quota 56 55

It appears that about 75% of those who begin recruitment were actually pledged and about 25% are withdrawn, released or mismatched.

Edit: The columns did not work out. The first number on each line is 2007 and the second is 2006.

The one statistic that I heard was higher this year was the number released, right out of the box. That indeed could be a rumor.

Thanks Lightening Bug! I keep hitting refresh too! I don't want to miss anything. I'm worried about our local girls. We sent quite a few to UGA this year and there has been no buzz in the community and no emails about recruitment. I don't want to be the one to ask, but the fact that no one is talking might indicate that it was a tough year for our local girls.

Hooray!! Another happy ending! (And yes, we do want to know the name of her new house)

The sororities membership get the list at 4pm today, but probably won't tell the girls until closer to the time the PNM actually receive their bids.

How did she hear so soon? Still waiting to hear frommy rec PNM. Is the snap bidding going on now? Does anyone know?

Thanks -- I'm flattered
 

Thanks so much ice, I’m flattered that you remember me. This site was such a help last year for us, and I’m glad that the GC crew has continued to help out this year’s group of PNMs and parents. You really do provide a great service for those lucky enough to find you. I must admit that I have been lurking since this year’s recruitment began. Your remembering me inspired me to post.

I thought I would post one perspective from the other side of recruitment that may, at least eventually, be some comfort to disappointed PNMs and parents. It has been a huge surprise to me (because I guess I never thought about it last year from the other side), but PNMs and parents should know that there are just as many, and maybe even more, tears and fears on the other side of this process. Most of you who post here know that far better than I do, but I didn’t expect the level of tension and emotion that UGADaughter is going through again this year. It should be at least some comfort to know that these are not a bunch of heartless girls on the other side – they are going through a heart-wrenching experience themselves, as they fall in love with more girls than they can keep and then sometimes fight hard for a girl who ends up going in another direction. They care so much about the girls coming through -- the ones they keep and the ones they can't keep. With so many great sororities and great PNMs at UGA, it is an awful (but I guess necessary) process to sort through all this in less than one week (maybe “rush” isn’t such a bad description of the process).

My sincere sympathies go out to all the PNMs and parents who are experiencing this for the first time as we did last year. But my sympathies also go out to the sisters at all the houses as they experience the very high highs and the very low lows of recruitment from the other side. I am so glad things worked out okay for UGAMomof4 and her daughter. Best wishes!

So true UGADad... Our daughter went through recruitment last year and was probably just as nervous this year being on the other side.

UGAMomof4, I have you in my thoughts - I know what you are going through. Can't wait for your update...

ok I am new at this and just spent 5 min. writing my thoughts and got kicked out.
So I am just going to hit the button and see if it works first.

I have just spent the last week talking and texting with my daughter a PNM at UGA.
What a stressful week for both of us. I come from greek life of 30 years ago. It was never this bad. Yes my daughter got a bid from a sorority she wanted but she was forced to suicide that bid. The only other pref she was invited to was a sorority she felt she would not fit at all at. She did not want to be forced to join it if her first choice did not take her. But because she did not maximise her bid process, if the 1st choice had denied her she would not have been able to be picked up by others or go through informal rush. I understand this rule and that some would abuse it if they could "work the system" But what about those that are truly unmatched with any other choices? She was cut early by a couple sororities who she felt she knew several girls and would be ok. I have heard that if they are a sophomore they have "no say". How can so many girls get cut with only 7-10 min. with one or 2 girls who may also have not had much in common with her? She got mismatched but took the boot because of it. There must be a better way?

Your daughter got a bid from a sorority she wanted. Others were not as lucky.

Just leave it at that and don't waste your time asking "how come?"

Welcome to modern, computerized, regulated sorority recruitment in the South! Be glad your daughter's story ended up being a happy one...we all ask these questions about the recruitment process, but unfortunately PNM numbers have gotten to the point where strict regulation and expediting of the recruitment process are completely necessary. The system is far from perfect, and both the schools and the organizations are working to find the best way to do it. Of course it is unfortunate that houses cut girls they've only spoken with for 20 minutes...but you cannot have 1000+++ girls get extended time with each sorority's members...the process would drag out forever and ever and ever, and everyone would collapse!

As OTW says...count your blessings...you could be consoling a heartbroken girl instead of just a stressed out one!

If you have a suggestion as to how to match hundreds, if not over a thousand, girls with 10 or more sororities in a week's time I'd love to hear it. :) I don't want to sound snarky - I just honestly have yet to hear of a better way.

The system, flawed though it is, is the best we've come up with so far. The new release figures have done a wonderful job of helping match each girl with a sorority home - and yes, you are right, it doesn't always work. I will point out that it worked out for your daughter, and even had she been placed with her other pref group it might have - we have many threads in our recruitment threads that have that exact scenario, and many of those who didn't think they would click found that they were actually where they were meant to be.

Formal rush is really a very intense experience. I've posted elsewhere that my daughter will not be going through formal rush because she and I know she would not be comfortable with the hot-house environment of recruitment. I hope she is able to find a home through informal recruitment, but who knows.

I think the NPC has done a great job of trying to address concerns about recruitment. And I would be very surprised if they weren't always trying to think of ways to improve the three types of recruitment they currently recommend.

I'm so glad your daughter had a happy result. Hope she really enjoys her new member period.

So...ok question:

What is a mismatch? I'm sort of guessing that if the pnm wants House A at pref...but House A puts her on a second or third list...but there has to be more? Like House B wants her, but...not enough?

(Sorry, in my day...no computers..)

Ha! We all responded at the same time in the same way...sorry if we seem harsh, but really, life is full of poorly designed systems, and really, those of us that come through okay should be both grateful and willing to come up with constructive suggestions for fixing the system, not licking our relatively minor wounds and wondering why the whole thing couldn't have been lollypops and gumdrops.

I do feel your pain...if you haven't kept up with how recruitment goes in recent years, then I guess it can be a shock to the system, and I understand that the stress was very real for you and your daughter. We really are happy that she has found a good home, and we are confident that after a few days both of you will forget about most of the unpleasantness and be focused on how much fun she is having! But there are lots of very sad mothers posting right now about how their daughters didn't get ANY bid at all, not even one to turn down, and they are just hoping that their daughters can pick themselves up and move on (which they can, of course!)...so maybe your post seemed a little insensitive to those mothers, although we know of course that you didn't mean it that way. Stress is stress is stress, no matter the situation.

Now get some rest and decompress...you sound like you need it!

I THINK that Greek Stress simply means pnms who are "forced" to attend parties at chapters where they do not feel a connection, and not a computer/matching mismatch.

Correct me if I am wrong, GS.

You know, I am just trying to better understand. I am not the type who just accepts it and lays down. She got into a sorority yes, was it the one of the ones she wanted more than others, did she feel she was left with any other choice, NO. Yes that is my point, I ache for the girls who pulled out and the girls who did not get a bid. I think it is horrible.
Don't you think there are ways for surveys to be taken by the PNM's to better educate the houses on who is coming to rush and to better match them with girls they are interviewed by? Obviously using resumes does not do it. My daughter had hundreds of hours of service work in a variety of organizations, she had recs from everyone. Sheer numbers yes, but more research and time can be taken. 11 houses in one day is ridiculous.
These girls went home and went to bed and still were completely exhaused by day 3 and 4. They can't "perform" to their best when put in that condition. If only you knew the hours of tears. You know as well as I do many of these girls are dismissed for brainless, rude reasons. These girls can be extremely wicked. I can only hope that next year and the years after that these PNM's remember how they were treated and how they felt and be a little kinder to others. Isn't that what a sorority should strive for?

I agree, I dislike the system but don't have any better ideas. It reminds me of this quote:

Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.
- Winston Churchill

Substitute "Formal recruitment" for democracy and "membership selection" for government, and it pretty much describes the situation.:p

You know what, I think I will work on it.
I never meant to put down any of the mothers whose daughters did not get bids. My daughter could easily have been in that situation. As I mentioned, I am new at this blogging so patience with people would be a good idea. I was hoping to get some constructive ideas from you all but criticism seems to be all you are all willing to offer.

Why would you want your daughter to be associated with women who cut her for brainless, rude reasons and who are extremely wicked? And why would your daughter want to be with them?

It sounds like she has landed exactly where she should. People never believe it at the time, but these girls really do a better job then you think of picking girls like them.

From experience or older age.....
 

Greek Stress- you bring up excellent points that NPC has been working on for years. I too agree there is no perfect system and what I do know is women go into recruitment thinking I only want to be in this house or this other.

Here is what I do know, many women who try a house/group most of the time end up happy. It's a bit of "what I know now that I wish I knew then" sometimes mistakes happen. And that is what also happens in life. Not to say that makes it right. I was given an incorrect bid ( this was in the days of hand matching) and it turns out it was a mistake. I was given one week to depledge and repledge the other group ( which historically was the "best" house on campus)-- what happened? I loved my pledge class and the women I got to know after rush ended and decided to stay. I have never regretted it and 30 years later they are still my dearest friends.

That is why so many women on GC encourage having an open mind. It can end up being the best years of your life- if you let it. And we can always improve hopefully, the greek system will have a survey after recruitment to evaluate the process. Then will be the perfect time for your daughter to share her thoughts.

Congratulations to your daughter and her mom who cares so much~!
Smiles