Not much on here about UF....how come! LOL...I only know what is happening for one sorority and even with that don't know much. Prefs are tonight and can't wait to see pics from my daughter because I know what we went through to find the dang long dress!!!! It has been a long week with the longer schedule change and at this point she said they are "just ready to bring it home and get going with a new pledge class" and return to normalcy....:)

It's interesting to read through this thread again, noting the large number or PNMs signing up for recruitment this year. What really caught my eye is that, in the SEC, where Alabama, South Carolina, Mizzou (yes I know they are new), Arkansas and Auburn had huge years, Tennessee only had a small increase in PNMs. Any thoughts on what is going on at Tennessee? I thought the addition of brand new chapter houses for all sororities would be a huge draw...but it does not look like it has been!

I'm also puzzled.
However...I'm a little familiar with Auburn, and I think the lack of houses keeps sororities from being quite as visible. Also, the campus has a cozy feel...it's not quite such a big deal if you don't pledge. And Auburn has a number of service groups that function as sororities.
At Tennessee, I'm betting that as more houses are completed and the sororities move in, there will be an increase in interest.

I can't get the exact number, but 300+ women went through recruitment at Arkansas State University. This was an increase of more than 100 over last year. The general consensus is that having the new sorority houses helped to increase the numbers.

University of California, Berkeley is up to 833 this year!

I'm curious if the recruitment experts on this board believe the numbers will keep going up/stay big, or if this is a bubble that will burst? Housing, meeting spaces, dealing with gigantic pledge classes, etc is definitely challenging. Will the trend upward continue?

I'm no expert, but I believe they will because of a change in how kids' lives are scheduled these days. It seems to be much more common for kids to start going to play dates as infants and make their way into organized sports and other activities in high school with way less of just throwing together a game of kick the can in the neighborhood. Because the kids are so used to making their friends via organized activity, they will logically gravitate toward organized friendships in college as well. Add to that the support of the schools because they finally got the memo about GLO members being bigger donors and there's some marketing weight behind the process. And I think kids are not as tied to going to school close to home as they once were. If you're far away from home and didn't bring all your friends with you, then sorority membership is a good way to kick-start that process.

Will there be a bubble? Probably, and that's why the sororities aren't just expanding willy-nilly to every campus with a chapter total of 150 or whatever. It's a lot of money and time!

Arizona State University numbers are in. There are 1049 women (plus some men who thought it was IFC) registered. This is the largest recruitment on record.

Wisconsin
 

UW Madison has about 660 PNMs. Registration closes Friday evening, with First Round starting Sunday. The folks in the Center for Leadership & Involvement tell us those numbers are similar to last year's, when we had quota of 52. Here's hoping for another great Recruitment!

No expert here, either, but over 40+ years I've seen interest in Greek groups wax and wane a couple of times. (Yeah, I'm old...deal with it:cool:)

I keep waiting for the tide to turn. I really DON'T like the big houses...it takes an awful lot of members to pay the mortgage and maintain them. When numbers drop...and they will, eventually...if the mortgage isn't paid off I expect we'll see the empty rooms rented to non-member students.

Please quit saying that! You're sending the folks at MJ Insurance over the edge. Not to mention the possible impact on one's IRS 501 C 7 standing that requires no more than 35% non member income.

It was announced today that 761 girls got bids at Clemson, and with just over 1000 girls going through that puts quota right around 64 where it was last year. A lot of girls drop out when they don't get the ones they want back, unfortunately. I'd love to see expansion happen but I don't think it's coming any time soon.

UW Madison
 

Okay, I *believe* registration is done, and we are now at 850s for Wisconsin. It's about an 11% increase over last year.

As of today, Oregon had 500 PNMs signed up.
Orientation begins September 23rd. Classes begin September 30th. We often get a lot of PNMs to sign up during orientation week so more are expected.