In the immortal words of Butt-Head, this chick has a good attitude. :) Keep it up and good luck during the rest of rush!

Don't worry at all!! Very few girls get a full 14 back-- When I went through recruitment it was 19-12-6-3 party. For 12 party I only had 8 houses back. AOE is totally right-- you only want one house.

I know it's sad when you don't get asked back to a house you loved, but keep an open mind and you might find that the right house for you was something you originally didn't like as much. "Everything happens for a reason... especially in recruitment"

yes!

No, not at all. All sorts of errors and weird things happen during recruitment, especially one as large as IU. Some perfectly deserving women will not match to chapters, and there is not some mystical reason for that, it will just be bad luck.

So so true. The only thing guaranteed with IU recruitment is a black long sleeve tee and Pizza Express (excuse me, Pizza X blahhh) breadsticks coupon at the end. However one feels about IU's quota system and whether or not it should stay in place, the fact remains that awesome girls do attend a full preference round with 3 parties and do not receive a bid, and that just plain sucks. Hearing that "everything happens for a reason" might lead a PNM to start searching for that nonexistent reason or meaning.

On a more positive note, I hope recruitment is going well for both PNMs and chapters. Last year, as a senior, I swore I would not miss recruitment one bit. And now, I want to be back in Bloomington pinning sparkly paper to the ceiling of the living room at 4 AM.

I think this is the story of every new sorority alumna's life.

Senior year it's "OMG this meeting is sooo long I'm so glad I don't ever have to sit through another election ever again."

Then it's "OMG I WISH I could be back there again." (without the classes of course).

I know I'm not part of that system, but this just seems so, so wrong. :(

Agreed. SMH. Can't wrap my head around this at all.

Okay, forgive me if this has already been explained in the previous gazillion pages, but I can't stop thinking about this.

How can a woman go to three preference parties and end up with no bid, assuming she lists all three? I know IU uses the bed system. I get that. Are the chapters inviting that many more women to preference than can possibly be taken? For example, someone mentioned Tri Delta up above having 25 spots for their pledge class. Is DDD having parties of 50-100 women for each preference party or something?

I really don't get it. I get the bed thing. But does the Panhellenic put no restrictions on how many women the chapters can invite to preference? As an outsider, this comes across as the ultimate in stringing women along.

Please correct me and tell me I'm wrong. I really want to be.

It can just be a mismatch. If a girl attends all 3 parties and is toward the bottom of all 3 lists, even if they don't invite way too many, it could happen. On most campuses, they allow chapters to go beyond quota as a courtesy to the PNM and to reward them for not ISPing, but since maximum numbers is such an issue at IU, they have to stick to the predetermined quotas.

My guess is it doesn't happen A LOT, but nonetheless, "poor Schmuck" can get left out.

Even in a traditional Quota/Total system it is possible for Suzy PNM to be at the bottom of all three chapters lists and end up without a bid. Only a handful of schools guarantee a bid if Suzy PNM maximizes her options.

AGDee, I thought with RFM, more (most) campuses were doing it. I do think it's an excellent idea to minimize the dreaded ISP. It appears to only send chapters a couple over quota, and would seem to alleviate a lot of worries among the PNMs about putting their heart and soul into this, just to have the rug pulled out from under them. If I'm wrong, I hope it's a trend in that direction. I think I'll start a thread...

Soooooo after these past couple of days, cuts from houses I thought I loved, and mental and physical exhaustion, I've narrowed down my houses for preference round. One of them is a house that's oftentimes unpopular with PNMs, and despite all the tent talk and stereotypes of the houses, it just felt SO WEIRD not putting them in my top 3. I've loved them all along but was always hesitant to go forth with them because of their reputation, but something changed in me today.

I feel like I grew up a lot today by the simple action of picking houses and I'm really happy.

Oh, this warms my heart (and it's farking cold in Chicago right now). I promise, promise, promise you that you will not regret the decision.

That is really awesome. I know the tent talk can be impossible to avoid during IU recruitment, especially overhearing things on the bus, but ignoring it is absolutely the best way to try to find a house that could become your home.

I went into recruitment bring so shallow and so stuck on stereotypes but during 8 party (well, 6 party for me) round I just could not deny feeling so much more comfortable in "lower tier" houses and I shocked myself when I listed those for pref. I certainly think I grew up too and learned a lot about myself in that one week of recruitment. Good luck tomorrow!

Good luck tomorrow. I don't know who you are, I don't know if you're coming to my chapter-- but regardless, good luck. Keep following your heart, that's the only way to go!

I'm going to write what I did in another thread...

The "best" sorority is always YOUR sorority. The "best" sisters are always YOUR sisters. If you've got an open heart and mind, you'll be welcomed and happy in any of the chapters.

Good luck at pref, don't stress, and try to sleep!

Excellent advice! and seconded here.


More excellent advice! Remember, what's "bottom" at Indiana may well be "top" at Connecticut or any other school.

It's STUPID, folks, STUPID, this whole tier business. It's meaningless when we consider the deeper purpose of sorority membership. You will, I hope, find a home, and, if you want, it will be for a lifetime. When bad things happen in your life, your Panhellenic sisters from every GLO will step in and hold your hand and help you through the hard times. They'll be there when you're having fun and they'll help you celebrate your triumphs as well.

Believe me, I know this is true. I am especially grateful for my Alpha Xi/AOII/Kappa sisters, in addition to all my Theta sisters, and all my other GLO sisters, this morning. Thank you all.

Now, Indiana PNMs, please, come back and share with us when you're finished with recruitment. May you find your home!

This (all of this) is so true. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I had joined a different chapter. I realize I would have been happy nearly anywhere. Does that make me dislike my circumstances? No. Because my sisters are the best sisters I could ever ask for and my sorority is the best sorority.

If I had ended up somewhere else, this would probably still be true. The important thing is that I have a family who will be there for me no matter what and we share a common, beautiful organization. We all aspire to the same ideals and objectives.

Are there some girls I'm not best friends with? Yes. That would also be true anywhere I pledged.

Good luck, y'all! Keep your minds and hearts open and I hope you find a home.

I have been lurking on this thread for the past year and a half. I am a current sophomore at IU. I signed up for rush last year just because it was the “thing to do”. However, I absolutely fell in love with the greek system and all of the fantastic girls that I met. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past getting cut from my absolute favorite chapter after 8 party last year. I went to 3 party but just couldn’t picture myself in either of the chapters I visited.

After a bunch of my friends joined chapters last year, I realized that the IU greek system was absolutely something I wanted to be a part of. I decided to go through rush again this year as a sophomore, despite being nervous about the potential outcome.

I had a blast at 19 party and received 11 invites for 14 party, including 5 of my favorite chapters. I then only received 4 invites for 8 party, with only one I believed I could see myself in. I went to 8 party yesterday with a completely open mind, trying to picture each chapter as my new home. There were two houses that completely surprised me, and I found myself falling in love again. The rounds could not have gone better, and I completely enjoyed myself yesterday.

Unfortunately, this morning, I was released from recruitment. I knew the odds were against me the entire time; however, I really thought that if I went in with a totally open mind, I would find my home. I am upset but not bitter, because I know how many absolutely FANTASTIC women go through recruitment at IU. I do not have a single bad thing to say about any chapter and wish the best of luck to girls still going through.

To anyone reading this, I just wanted to emphasize the fact that IU rush is unlike any in the country. It is not impossible to find a home as a sophomore-I know many who pledged after going through a second time. However, everyone should remember that there isn’t a BAD chapter out of any of the 19 on campus. I’m not exactly sure why I felt compelled to post this…except to urge PNMs to keep an open mind and not to take cuts personally in such a competitive recruitment.

Best of luck to everyone – I truly hope that each of you find a home within one of the wonderful chapters at IU.

IU PNM, I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. You seem to have handled yourself very well and kept an open mind; I'm sorry things didn't work out for you. :( Apparently, this year there are so many girls at preference round that there are 4 rounds of parties except for 3. PNMs can still only attend up to 3 parties this round, but some houses have invited more girls back than they can accommodate in only 3 parties.

I have no idea if this has happened in the past, but if this is the first year, I guess it's really showing the sheer volume of girls going through recruitment at IU. For some that I know, recruitment has been absolutely fabulous so far and they've continuously received invites back to their favorite houses. But for many others, myself included, it's been lots of brutal cuts. Many girls have dropped out and a girl I was talking to yesterday said that her rho gamma told their group that over 50% of PNMs attending 8 party had 3 or less houses back.

I have 2 houses for preference round, one of which I really like, so I guess I can consider myself pretty lucky. I'm actually about to leave for my first party right now. I hope all goes well and I wish any other PNM at IU good luck.

Thanks cookiesncream! Have a great time at your pref parties and I hope you end up at home :)

I didn't realize that some houses were having 4 rounds of parties. I've never heard to that in the past. My rho gam said the same thing about 50% of PNMs only getting 3 or less houses back. The cuts seem significantly more brutal than they were last year.

I'm glad to hear that IU is open for expansion; however, I'm not sure if one more chapter (and a houseless one at that!) is enough to combat this situation. I SOOO wish panhel would consider a better quota system..

Actually, Preference Round at IU has had 4 party time slots for a while now. Now a junior, when I rushed as a freshman, this was still the case. Also, less girls went through recruitment this year than last year

Each chapter should, ideally, have three times the number of women they can take attending their prefs, because the assumption is that one-third of the PNM's will choose them.

So one of two things is happening here:

1) The number of PNM's at each party is smaller than the bed quota
2) The chapters are inviting back way too many PNM's

In the latter case, a significant number of women who attend three prefs will not get a bid. Is that typical? I know it is competitive, but I thought the worst cuts happened earlier on.

Not all houses utilize all four rounds. Some hold only three rounds

Oh, okay. I had never heard of the four rounds thing so this is interesting. I didn't know less girls were going through recruitment this year; it seemed like more because people kept on commenting on how the cuts were so brutal.

Today was hard... we just had our Rho Gamma revealing and I kept tearing up, I've been so upset for most of today because it sucks to be so excited and happy for something and not be able to experience it. I'm not going to get my hopes up for Bid Day because I've been trying to stay optimistic this whole week but keep facing harsh reality. Oh well. Life goes on, I guess. :(

I extend that sentiment as well. Wherever you end up, you will be surrounded by some really amazing women.

Best of luck, PNMS! :)

I sincerely hope it works out for you and you get the chapter that you liked. When do bids go out and/or when do you get phone calls?

Hang in there! Remember it only takes one!

Good luck cookiesncream! I'm sorry it has been a rough week. I truly hope that it works out well for you in the end with a great sorority. Stay positive, "what if's" and worrying won't do you any good at this point (I admit I wish I could take my own advice!) except give you a stomach ache or headache!

And iupnm19, I am sorry it did not work out for you. I hope you find other wonderful groups at Indiana to put your time and heart into.

Okay, so then...some of the chapters are inviting back too many women? Or are they having smaller parties?

I have been thinking through the math on this, and it seems that, to maximize placements, they should use the same calculations as in RFM, but substitute in each chapter's bed quota for the "calculate quota" step used on other campuses. However, I have a feeling that's not what is happening here. Does anyone know how the number of invites are decided?

(For example, if your bed quota is 25, and you have historically had a 50% return rate, you should be allowed to invite 25*3/.5 = 150 women to pref.

Let's go through a full example. Say there are three chapters: chapter A has a bq of 25, B has a bq of 25, C has a bq of 50, and C has a bq of 50. Their return rates for pref have historically been 50%, 50%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. After prefs, PNM's choose a chapter at random (i.e. there is an equal chance of all possible ranking orders on their bid card).

So, we have room for 150 women in the three chapters. We'd expect that all four chapters can invite 150 women, and each PNM will go to C, D, and their choice of A or B. Three rounds of parties, each PNM has a full schedule, and each PNM ends up with a bid.

Now, let's say that C instead invites 200 women to their prefs. There are now 200 women attending prefs, but only 150 bids available. 50 women will go bidless, because group C has 200 women at their parties, but only 50 bids to give out, and the other 150 women can not be absorbed by the other three chapters.

I chose neat numbers to make the math easy, but I am fairly convinced that the RFM logic still works with a bed quota system, and I am unclear on whether it is used at IU.)

Alright so tonight is bid night- Im so nervous/ excited. I cant handle all this anticipation! so in the mean-time ive decided to write a little rush story :)

So i am a sophomore- for some complicated reasons I didnt rush last year. When we first met with our rho gamma's I was so excited- and then she started telling us some of the brutal truth's: some sophomores can have a really difficult time with recruitment and experience heavy cuts. well crap. but i still decided to go through 19 party and give it a shot! so here are my actual notes from 19 party- with their names changed to some of my favorite disney characters :)


1. Snow White- definitely liked- had great conversations, the first girl I talked to was a sophomore when she rushed too

2. Aurora- liked the house. Talked to a girl who I know by association and dont get along with- kind of made me uncomfortable. Will most likely rank, but wouldn’t be too upset if I didn’t get asked back.

3. Ariel- very awkward. The first girl I talked to was borderline rude to me when she found out I was a sophomore. So relieved once the round was over. Big X over this house

4. Belle- definitely liked. Had a great conversation with one of the girls. Would love to go back. Favorite house so far.

5. Megara- really liked, but I got double rushed here. Felt like I was dominating the conversation. Definitely want to come back

6. Esmerelda- the girls were so far the most enthusiastic with their cheering. Got along great with the girl who gave me the house tour- we talked about a lot of irrelevant things- it was like I was talking to one of my friends. I felt like I could be myself. Nothing was forced, not to mention the house was GORGEOUS Definitely want to go back!

7. Tinker Bell- first girl I talked to was a little awkward. Second girl was great- I felt like we had a definite connection. She also rushed as a sophomore, which made me feel relaxed. So easy to talk to and I knew I could totally be myself. Definitely want to go back

8. Mulan- got double rushed here again- the house was gorgeous, but the whole conversation seemed forced. The girl I was getting double rushed with had absolutely nothing in common with me, so it was hard to keep a consistent conversation going. Would go back- not in love with the house

9. Tiana- Loved! Had a great conversation with one girl who I had a lot on common with- the house was amazing. Definitely want to go back

10. Rapunzel- WOW! I got along great with all three girls I talked to. Absolutely loved. Might be my favorite house so far

Day #2

11. Cinderella: it was okay. Didn’t feel like I had a great connection with any of the girls, but they were nice.

12. Wendy: liked. The girls seemed very friendly- the first one I talked to was a little awkward but I think she was just nervous. Once she warmed up a little it was a lot better. Would go back

13. Nala: nice girls. The second girl I talked to was extremely nervous but really sweet. I don’t think I’d fit in well

14. Anastasia: really liked the house. Got double rushed with an extremely awkward girl. Tried not to dominate the conversation. The girls seemed extremely down to earth- like girls I would want to hang out with. Felt a connection with all the girls I talked to definitely want to go back

15. Pocahontas- really liked. Felt a good connection with these girls. They were all genuine and fun. I could definitely be myself. Gorgeous house as well

16. Lady- loved! (didn’t take any notes, but put a big heart next to this house)

17. Jasmine: fely like I got along pretty well with these girls. The girls here reminded me of Snow white. Liked but not loved

18. Minnie: definitely liked. Was so tired and cold by this point that I wasn’t too exciting at this house. want to go back

19. Jane: The girls here were very nice, but I wouldn’t fit in here. So cold and tired. Glad it’s the last round

Luckily after 19 party i didnt have time to be nervous because i was busy studying my life away for finals. I'm a pretty good student- but i had even more motivation to beast my finals so that I would have a higher gpa throughout recruitment.

once finals are over and im home for break I had too much time, and started freaking out that I wasnt going to get ANY houses back. throughout break I kept telling myslef it was okay if I wasn't in a sorority- but it would be AWESOME if I was.

fast forward past all the anticipation that break held, to the morning of 14 party:
our rho gam (who i missed dearly) had us meet in the union and would call us back into this little area so we could get our lists in private. she's randomly pulling our lists out of an envelope and calling our names- of course i was the very LAST one she called (not kidding at all) she handed me my list (which was folded in half) and I was dreading opening it and seeing none- my rho gam told me not to be nervous- so i fianlly opened it and read my houses and immediatly freaked out..

GAAAAAHHH OMGG I GOT 14 HOUSES BACK!!!!!! yayyyyayayayay
12 of the 14 were in my top 14!!!! My list was:

1. Megara
2. Minnie
3. Mulan
4. Wendy
5. Pocahontas
6. Rapunzel
7. Anastasia
8. Tinker Bell
9. Lady
10. Tiana
11. Esmerelda
12. Jasmine
13. Snow white
14. Nala
My 14 party was great, the two days it consumed can basically be summed up into three main points: hilarious skits, great conversations, and cold toes.

Alpha Delta Pi took the largest pledge class of all 19 housesfor the second year in a row.

The pnms' have received their bids and should all be on their way now.

congratulations to adpi, but isn't the largest pledge class relative, what with the bed rush?

They have a huge house and three years ago was struggling big time to even keep the house. I graduated in 96 and we always had a full house so am glad that is filling up again. It was sad to think a few years ago they faced loosing the house but nationals came in and gave money.

Good for y'all. I'm sure you've all worked very hard to get back to where you are. I know it feels good to see your chapter back on strong footing.

They gave out 96 bids

That's it?!

That's probably the amount that accepted, sorry I miswrote