Yes that is the total 907. Up from 872 last year

I just abhor the "top/bottom" tier vocabulary. What makes one chapter "better" than another? I would love to see a study done... Show a photo of a chapter, no definable letters or colors lay them all out and have people rank.. I'll bet, based in looks, most chapters are very similar, but there are some "cookie cutter" houses out there. And I suppose tiers also play into other facets of the college community. I remember way back I went to a state school. There was a sorority, probably a mid to low "tier". But! Their claim to fame? They had the current miss Illinois in the house! She put her crown and sash on display during rush. You never know what type of girls are in the sea of smiling faces!

I heard the reason why preference round is only 2 chapters instead of 3 is because one chapter is only doing the first round of recruitment. So, there are 13 chapters that are giving bids through formal recruitment. Which is why they lowered the numbers to even things out.

Just chiming in...

I am a chapter advisor and was on campus yesterday for part of the Welcome Back round. The chapter is enthused with the overall registration numbers and hope that we don't lose too many with this weird broken up schedule.

Three cheers for Iowa Greek Life! :)

I'm still hoping to see a good recruitment story!!! Anyone..... Crickets.... With all this action!

I know scheduling can be difficult, but they really didn't do the PNMs or actives any favors with having rounds the same weekend as a home FB game and then the ISU/Iowa game.

Agreed, it's a mess. Our seniors are especially annoyed with the football situation. ;)

Talked to my daughter last night. She already has a rush crush who is a legacy at another chapter. We'll see. Hope everything goes well for 3rd Round and Prefs. Good luck to all!

The football games were a terrible bit of timing! Next Saturday the big rivalry is an away game I believe.

Yes, the game is in Ames. Kickoff isn't until 5pm, which is rather late for that game. I hope girls don't drop out just because they would rather tailgate in Ames. Or, tailgate and then drive back to IC and try to attempt attending parties (I'm not sure what the schedule is for Saturday).

If my math is right, its Preference. Since they're only having 2, being completely done before gametime shouldn't be a problem. Although roadtripping would be out of the question.

Wow...that might have been a serious deal breaker for me at 18. I am a huge sports fan. I hope it doesn't impact the chapters too greatly.

THIS is exactly what I think will happen. Girls who aren't 100 percent committed to the idea of a sorority or who aren't thrilled with their invites will drop out of recruitment and head to Ames.

I could be wrong (and I hope I am). But, I feel like I'm pretty in tune with the general U of Iowa freshman girl vibe -- since I live in Iowa and am the mom of a recent Iowa high school graduate (who decided to head out of state for college). I've also got two rec girls at Iowa and two of my daughter's best friends are Iowa PNMs (but declined my repeated offers to write them recs :rolleyes:).

According to the information in Iowa's Greek life brochure (online), Preference isn't until Sunday. Friday and Saturday are both the Sisterhood round. If my rec girls are giving me correct information, they can be invited to up to 6 chapters for that round -- but I don't know how many parties are scheduled for Friday evening/night and how many are scheduled for Saturday. I think the scheduling is really unfortunate and hope it doesn't cause havoc with retention rates.

I know the girls who it really will impact are the ones who have to travel -cheer, poms etc... Horrible planning two football weekends in a row but such is the nature of fall football in a big 10 world!