Missouri Ivy: Thank you! Great advice! I will let her know.

Just now chiming in. Rough week for my girl. She did go to 3 houses today for pref, 2 of which she consistently ranked last but kept getting invited back because she was cut from the others. She does not feel any connection with them and doesn't want to take up a spot in those houses when she feels that she won't be happy. So...she is suiciding one house, her favorite all week.. I hope that it works for her, I'm so nervous.

I agree...Bama PNMs are "getting it"...that their best chance to join a sorority is through formal recruitment freshman year. Those 2 or 3 chapters that some didn't see themselves "fitting in" have turned it around in the past few years to chapters that most feel comfortable joining. And all groups are growing by leaps and bounds in all of those new houses!

Sorry your daughter did not feel the same way. Sometimes it just takes one pledge class to overcome the negative vibe (but I think tent talk hangs around for years and years).

AGDMommy, fingers crossed that suiciding works out for her! May the odds be ever in her favor!

I am sorry to hear about some of the more disappointing experiences girls had. It really is heart breaking. My daughter just let me know that her roommate was released by all but one house as well today. She attended preference with them but didn't see herself there either so she has dropped out. :(. Maybe she will look at Sigma Phi Lambda?

AGDmommy fingers crossed for your daughter! I wish the best for her. I know that Intentional Single Preference is strongly discouraged and at the same time I understand that sometimes it seems like the only option. While I do agree that sometimes "tent talk" and "tiers" plays a role (when I wish it would not, because all the houses have something to offer), I do understand that once in awhile that is not the issue. Sometimes girls just don't feel any sort of connection to a house. While there's a good argument to be made that she could find friends if she went ahead and took a Bid and stuck it out (and it DOES happen!), sorority life is a big commitment and if a girl feels strongly that she'd rather not be in any house at all than be in a particular house, that's the right decision for her. It's a very personal choice.

My heart goes out to all the Moms and their daughters who were released from recruitment, or who dropped out of disappointment. This is such a tough time. When I rushed (many years ago), one of my best friends rushed with me and she dropped out near the end of rush. The next year she went through rush again, with the same result. She was/is, beautiful, intelligent, funny, interesting, an all-around wonderful person with a lot to offer any organization. She's had a successful career and happy family life and continues to be one of my best friends. I remember the heartache she went through and my own frustration at her result, because I knew that she would be a great addition to any sorority.

I hope that none of the freshman girls who didn't get the rush result they wanted will let it define their first year of college.

For those of you whose daughters are thinking ahead to COB, I echo the advice on here for the girls to get to know new sorority members in their dorms. COB placements happen through active members who've befriended someone who would be a good fit for the house. Meanwhile, encourage them to find other ways to get involved, explore all the campus has to offer, and focus on their classes. Whether or not they end up joining a sorority, they will have a good first year at Mizzou if they do that.

And finally, to all the Moms whose daughters attended Preference Round--good luck to your girls! Here's hoping they are all celebrating with their new sisters tomorrow.

All the best.

It is heart breaking when a PNM is COMPLETELY released, as in, no invitations. It is not heartbreaking when a woman has choices and options and chooses to drop out. Two different scenarios completely in my opinion.

Yes, Katmandu I agree--different scenarios. I feel really horrible for the girls who were willing to keep going and had no options. It's just awful. I'm only saying that we can't always assume that someone who drops or ISPs is considering herself "too good" for the houses who were inviting her back. I know there's a lot of that out there, and it drives me crazy. But it's not the case for everyone.

I do like hearing about the success stories at Alabama--I know that one or two strong new member classes can totally turn a chapter around and I wish more of the PNMs at Mizzou thought along those terms. I hope that will change.

Again, some of the girls who have been invited back to full schedules each round SHOULD find a match. I feel terrible for the girls that were cut very early on-and as I said earlier-some really rounded girls with great resumes. There is a big difference with a girl having 7 options going into Round 3 and a girl who has 1 or 2. More options-more of a chance of fitting in. I feel my daughter is definitely one of the lucky ones-but so confused as to what happened to SO many of her friends. and I've heard this repeatedly from other moms with kids in other groups. Who knows-could be a whole new computer system this year-but many actives said they NEVER remember so many girls with the whole package being cut down to only a few choices after round 1(those that grow up in Missouri get that).
Would love to see these girls that were cut-or dropped-cob. It will be very interesting to see final numbers this year.
And I am telling you-I would TOTALLY encourage my daughter-if she had not many options-to get that group together and pledge a house--it's to bad some of the pi chi leaders couldn't organize something like that with girls they knew were dropped or had one other option. Being in education all my life, I know that sometimes it takes some skilled coordinating to make something positive happen!

AMEN!

The number of PNMs released from all houses is up a bit this year. But, although I can't remember exact numbers, it seems to me that the number of registered PNMs who had very low grades was also up a bit.

9 out of 10 women who are no longer participating as of right now are women who chose to drop out. The number who were released is still very small comparatively, although I know that doesn't make those women feel better!!!

Mizzou truly does have a retention "problem" when you compare it to other SEC schools. We also tend to have fewer quota additions, because many women choose not to maximize their options. I'd say that 65-70% is the average in recent years of women who register for recruitment and end up with a bid on bid day. Right now I think it may be worse than that this year.

Please know that I'm not blaming any of the daughters who decided to drop. But it is part of campus culture to drop and not give every house full consideration, and I think that's a shame. There is not a bad house on this campus.

pbear19~we both have facts-or statements, lol-and I'm sure neither of us is 100% correct.
Yes, I've also heard the number of PNM "released" this year is up-it is a higher number than last year. However, there were fewer girls registered this year. This was the first year-ever-that they suggested to PNM prior to registration to hold off until after their first year of college if their GPA wasn't at a certain cut off(which was pretty low, maybe a 3.5?). That is what people thought initially was the reason for the lower "registration" numbers this year. But as someone pointed very early on, the number of females that applied-and registered at the University was far lower than anticipated-thus the issue of moving girls from certain dorms to others to make more space for boys. So basically-the total number of females attending Mizzou this year was much lower than the previous year-which actually went along with national averages for the years 1997-1998 birth year. All that aside-according to actives-your estimate of 9 out of 10 no longer participating is not near accurate. After the second round there were drastic cuts made--some now think because it was all computerized it was based on past totals but who knows. Kind of makes sense if it was. Regardless, the "number" released last year with the number 'released' this year is irrelevant because there were fewer numbers of girls registered. They weren't talking percentages-but numbers(and even those numbers haven't officially been released).
This year was definitely not a 'retention' problem. When too many girls are left with only a few choices(say 2) while others have 11 after Round 1, there is clearly a glitch. Educators see it all the time within the first few years of going to a new computer program-so I'm guessing that is what has occurred. These girls have been through enough this week and I hate to see people stating that they just didn't give it their all. And again, if you think about it, a girl that has 11 choices after Round 1, compared to a girl that has 2--obviously the first girl has a better chance of "fitting" in some where when she has more 'options'.
It will be interesting when the final numbers come out--and the pledge class numbers. the public will never be privy to exactly how many were on a bid list, quota + and even "other' bids. Problems were seen early on and chapters most likely knew that. What many are saying is that is the reason for all the questions this year about Snap Bids. Something was off this year-chapters went exactly by the numbers they were given and needed to submit-there are a bunch of girls out there that put themselves through an extremely emotional, exhausting week to end up with nothing but disappointment. Again-I hate to see anyone judge these girls. Every school is different. Every Greek system is different. Every chapter is different. I think of the many that dropped-had they been given 7 choices-rather than 1 or 2-they most likely wouldn't have dropped. And we all know Alabamas Greek system has been in place far longer than Mizzou. So although people can compare numbers of recruitment and say we are just like Alabama-we all know they have a far longer establishment of many houses.
To all the girls that gave it their all this week I truly hope you don't give up..cob, join other campus organizations-just don't let this define your freshman year! It was so tought for SO many!

The Mizzou Greek system is actually pretty old, and the tier problem is old too. Once a sorority becomes stigmatized it soooo hard to overcome that. I've heard so many stories of great girls this year who have dropped with a couple of options remaining. From the outside, we can see that those girls could comprise great pledge classes that would really jump start the turnaround. But that's a lot to ask of girls who are in many ways looking for a sorority to be a safe place--not a risk/challenge to take on their first week of school.
New colonies seem to get a pass for a while, but we've seen houses colonize, then have to leave, then recolonize.
Is the real difference between Bama's success at retaining PNMs and Mizzou's failure to do so is the perceived importance of being Greek? PNMs who drop at Mizzou are deciding they'd rather not be Greek than pledge. Maybe it's more important to be Greek at Bama?

If Alabama really has fixed this, I want to know how. I hate to see so many young women miss out on a the sorority experience because of ... all this other junk.

And I would be absolutly shocked if PHA screwed up the RFM numbers somehow. They've been doing it this way for quite a while. RFM won't work if PNMs won't consider weaker recruiting chapters. It seems like we are putting up with the pain of the harsh cuts but not reaping the benefits, simply because of campus culture.

Question: Does not Mizzou use the RFM factor? If so this is really what should have happened.

Generally under RFM, 85 to 95 percent of PNMs are matched with their first preference on their membership recruitment acceptance binding agreement (MRABA). This percentage is a key statistic that NPC tracks for each campus.

I wish this would have worked out differently for many girls at Mizzou this year.

Yes.
 

Mizzou uses RFM. Our problem is tons of girls who drop out the last couple of rounds. At least that's my perception from watching the last few years as a mom/rec writer and from back in the Stone Age when I was on campus.

Thank You, It really is too bad that many wonderful girls drop just because they are not giving a lower tier house a chance.

Ok-that's part of the problem. We know several girls that were cut-who , if we are talking tiers, which is ridiculous, did not want some of the 'top' tier houses. Perhaps shocking to some, but some of these girls have worked themselves to the bone in high school-and don't want to settle for a 'pretty' house when actually they are being cut by those other houses because they assume these 'pretty' girls won't give them a chance- and they want to maximize their options. But that might be part of the problem-because they are 'pretty' some of those other houses cut them because they think they won't consider them? From what I've just read-it seems there are many thinking girls dropped when they didn't get a 'top' house. I personally know for a fact there were many girls that wanted what you might consider mid-or even lower-tier houses. they were dropped early. they had 2 options. they were nervous because they didn't want a 'pretty' or 'party' house. It works both ways, girls are far more educated these days than people give them credit for. I would say more specifically on this, but I do not want to offend anyone on what choices their daughters make. It's unfortunate to think that there are parents who think the only reason girls drop is because they didn't get a 'top' house. "top" is defined differently by many-lets not lump all these girls into being totally superficial.

I feel badly this board has gone from one that had been 100% totally supportive to one making opinions on girls that drop. We all want girls to stick it out to the end-but unfortunately-that's not always realistic. My daughter is in a very good position with her choices-I feel horrible for others that are not. Once you experience this first hand you have a different perspective. Yes-we want them to stick it out to the end-but unfortunately that's not always the best option for all. Lets get back to supporting-or at least trying to understand-others options. This board has been a wonderful resource long before I had someone starting recruitment--Please lets keep it positive and supportive!

Every girl should absolutely do what she believe is best for her. It's up to the people in the system, including me as an alum who loves it, to fix the system, not the PNMs. I guess I was just lamenting that so many girls miss out when there are spots available and wondering how to change ithat. I hate that girls end up disappointed.

I love this. Those girls need to get together, take a week to regroup and appproach one of those groups who didn't do well in formal as a block. Because groups can still take up to quota even for a while after formal rush, and of course up to total any time they are under total.

I'm speaking as an absolute outsider to that system, but it seems to be more supportive, and I'm also going to say something that I'm sure will make more people than usual think that I'm off my nut. I think that issue that they had a couple years ago with the alumnae trying to cut girls and the collegian standing up and saying hell to the No was the best thing that could have ever happened. I think it showed that the sorority system was no longer the provenance of a select few and the people really were trying to change the status quo and make it more accepting and open. Also, they've been accepting a lot more out of state students who may be do not have the same preconceptions coming in that people who have lived there all their lives have.

Please know that I am not disparaging any woman who chose to drop from recruitment! I can only imagine how much they are hurting. It's such an emotional roller coaster. My position is not one of throwing stones, but of heartache for the fact that they are missing out on an incredible life experience.

But please also know that I am not guessing about the numbers. No matter what rumors say, as of the exact time I posted last night, 9 of 10 women who were no longer participating had chosen to drop. I'm not saying they didn't have hard cuts. But they also still had at least one, if not more, invitations left. I'm not a mom (at least not of a PNM) I am an advisor. I checked the actual numbers on Campus Director right before I posted last night.

Hugs to all who are hurting!!

Thank you for bringing this up. I definitely agree

Over the years, we've seen people suggest that these outstanding girls who are dropped approach a sorority that's under total and try to join as a group. I recall this happening a few times and here's how it went down. The juniors and seniors highly resented the newbs who were trying to change their sorority into something they never wanted (maybe the older ones liked the smaller size or low-key ways) and all hell broke loose.

The idea really does sound great in theory but it doesn't always play out like you'd think it would.

Quota was 83!!!

Every chapter matched to quota!!!

Congrats to all involved. I suspect there may be a few chapters who are below total once that number is released. (Including my own chapter, potentially.) So there may be COB options. But with every chapter matching to quota, there will be no snap bids this year.

Here's to hoping the PNMs on the field this morning are thrilled with their new homes!

Also, while I won't disclose actual numbers, as I'm not sure that is appropriate, I will reiterate that, as of the end of recruitment, 9.7% of the women who registered and did not end up with a bid were released by all chapters. The other 90.3% chose to withdraw when they still had invitations, or failed to maximize their options after preference (suicide or only listed 2 of 3). I'm not blaming those women or casting stones, but I think it is important not to malign the process or disparage the entire system based on rumors about how many women were released this year. Again, hugs to anyone who is disappointed. I can only imagine the heartbreak!!

Live stream from Faurot Field at 10 am.

Thinking of all the Moms this morning--those whose daughters are waiting for Bids, and also those who were up last night wondering how to support their girls who are so sad that they won't be at Faurot today.

Hang in there everyone! This week classes begin and whatever the outcome, their focus can move beyond Rush and onto finding their place on campus academically and socially. For a lot of these girls a sorority will be an important part of that picture and I am just thrilled for them. 30 years later I feel more connected to my sorority than ever and see, with hindsight, benefits that I didn't even realize as a collegian.

For those who aren't Greek at the moment, academic and service Greek Letter Organizations, faith based organizations, Residence Halls, student government, clubs focused on sports and any other interest you can imagine are all ways to start getting involved on campus. And there's always COB! Again, if that's an interest for your daughters, encourage them to reach out to new sorority members in their dorms and classes and other organizations in the coming months. The more involved and invested they become on campus, the happier they'll be (while also likely improving their chances of joining a sorority later via COB).

A big hug to everyone here: Moms and chapter advisors. We all want what's best for Mizzou's Greek system and for the girls going through recruitment. Chapter advisors and Panhellenic Officers, thank you very much for your service to your GLOs and to the Greek System. You help keep Mizzou sororities strong.

WOW this is wonderful!!! How long has it been since every chapter made quota? I think this speaks to the power of RFM and also bodes well for the strength of ALL the chapters on campus. I'm really happy to hear this.

2011 was the last year. It really is exciting!! I know this was a heartbreaking year for many, so it's wonderful to see some happy news at the end of the week.

Edit - and if I don't stop looking at numbers and texting/messaging/replying to everyone and their uncle, I'll never finish getting ready for bid day! :D :D But if any moms want information on which chapters are below total (once we know) and that are potentially going to have room for COBs immediately, feel free to message me. I'll do my best to help ensure every woman is able to go greek. Can't promise she'll have equal opportunity to be part of every chapter, but will help if I can to point her in the direction of the options available.

No call this am for my girl :-) I guess the risk was worth it! So sad for the girls who didn't get matched.

pbear 19 and any other chapter advisors, question for you:

Since this year's quota is smaller than last year's (I believe last year it was 93), what will they do in terms of placing new members with Bigs? Maybe this varies from sorority to sorority. Just wondering if they will have some new members with two pledge Moms/Bigs, or what?

Hooray! So happy for your daughter ADGmommy!

AGDmommy congratulations to your daughter!
So happy it has all worked out and looking forward to watching the live stream today!
pbbear19 thanks for all of the accurate information-looking forward to continued growth!
Best of luck to all today!

AGDmommy. YAY! So happy for your daughter and for you as you celebrate with her. It sounds like she found a sisterhood that she feels a great connection to. Wishing her years of happiness with her new sisters.

So excited to hear from the other moms about where your daughters end up.

On another note, I'm supposed to be the greeter at church this morning. It starts at 10:30, so people will be arriving to be greeted starting about 10:15. I guess it would be inappropriate if I greeted them halfheartedly while watching the live stream of bid day with earbuds in ��. I may have to slip outside for a quick check after the service starts!

Can't wait to hear where your daughters end up. Maybe some of our daughters will end up as sisters!

Usually it's just that not everyone gets a little. That's how it works in most chapters.

It will vary by group. Some may use a point system where members who have accumulated the most participation points get first priority to take a little. There also may be some women whose littles have left school/transferred and take another, or as you pointed out, they may double up.

thanks Griffins@Quills. This seems really sad!

Some girls might have dropped out or transferred since last year, and some girls might not have the time or money to give to a little. It usually works out ok in the end.

That makes sense; I suppose they ask first who might not want a Little.

Grades are also a factor. In my daughters house the sophomores must make grades to be eligible to have a little.

yes of course; that makes sense. thanks for the info everyone!

YAY AGDMom - so happy for your daughter!!

The actives are SO excited this morning!!

I can't wait to hear all the new and see pictures!