Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2176908)

I know of so few PNM's who get dropped from every chapter (and the statistics bear it out) at Illinois. My first thought was that this was an effect of having so many chapters, i.e. it's unlikely for a PNM to click with NOONE, but then other schools with a lot of chapters (Auburn, for example) seem to have a much larger number of women who are not invited to prefs.

Any thoughts on why this is? If I had to wager a guess, a lot of women at Illinois know nothing about the chapters when they get there (though maybe this has changed due to the internet?), and I bet there are very few who fall into the trap of going back to the SRCs for first invitational and having nothing later on, when they would have had a bid if they had considered other chapters.

Originally Posted by IL Anchor Girl (Post 2176927)

And to the mom from out of state who was worried about everyone being from Illinois: we used to joke that as far as geographic diversity at Illinois went, students came from 2 places: "Chicago" and "downstate". But in the Greek system it was "Chicago SUBURBS" and "downstate". I was one of only 3 girls in my pledge class from the actual city of Chicago. But- it didn't matter at all! Once we were a pledge class, we bonded. If anything, girls from outside Illinois were like a prize because they were such an exotic rarity! :D

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2176908)

I know of so few PNM's who get dropped from every chapter (and the statistics bear it out) at Illinois. My first thought was that this was an effect of having so many chapters, i.e. it's unlikely for a PNM to click with NOONE, but then other schools with a lot of chapters (Auburn, for example) seem to have a much larger number of women who are not invited to prefs.

Any thoughts on why this is? If I had to wager a guess, a lot of women at Illinois know nothing about the chapters when they get there (though maybe this has changed due to the internet?), and I bet there are very few who fall into the trap of going back to the SRCs for first invitational and having nothing later on, when they would have had a bid if they had considered other chapters.

Originally Posted by Hartofsec (Post 2176973)

The number of chapters and size of pledge classes seem just right at Illinois – I’m not sure how many more colonizations it would take to begin to reduce the size of the pledge classes at Bama, for instance. The numbers of PNMs seem to continue to climb – I’m not sure where these will eventually stabilize.

I was thinking about your question, and though I couldn’t find comparable data from Auburn, I looked at comparable data from U of Alabama instead (which also has a comparable number of chapters). I was actually surprised at the numbers – not what I expected to find given UofA’s recruitment reputation.

Comparing U of Illinois and U of Alabama – 2010 stats for both (most recent figures posted for IL, and free of 2011 colonization variable for U of A) – beginning with attendance number at Open House:

U of IL stats: http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/greek/membership/panhellenicStats.asp
U of AL stats (click to enlarge): http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/121342940.png

U of IL:
Attending Open House: 1258
Total Withdrawals up to and following pref: 325 (approx. 26% of PNMs withdrew during recruitment process)
Released by all chapters (through pref invites): 2
% placed in chapter: 72.2%
Not receiving bids: 23
Received 1st choice: 721
Received 2nd choice: 138
Received 3rd choice: 33

Uof A:
Attending Open House: 1604
Total withdrawals up to and following pref: 154 (approx. 10% of PNMs withdrew during recruitment process)
Released by all chapters (through pref invites): 16
% placed in chapter: 88%
Not receiving bids: 31
Received 1st choice: 1276
Received 2nd choice: 150
Received 3rd choice: 28

The UofA numbers were a lot more favorable than I expected – compare the withdrawals during the recruitment process, as well as the percentage placed in chapters. Thoughts? Maybe SEC recruitment is not as scary as its reputation often depicts!

But we still have more mamas and daddies underfoot on Bid Day. :p

Originally Posted by 908sfirst (Post 2176994)

So...the sorority thing..

SHE GOT HER 3 TOP HOUSES TO VISIT TODAY!!!! YAYAYAYAY!!!! All of them were her favorites after visiting, and she had such a hard time deciding. A lot of rush infractions were probably happening, as my son was getting text messages from people he knew in the houses updating him on how much they want my daughter. hahaha. Anyway, she is very excited about her number 1 choice, but would be happy with any of them. Yay! I can't wait to hear tomorrow.

Originally Posted by 908sfirst (Post 2176995)

And runtime, I apologize for offending you; I really didn't mean it to be as disrespectful as you obviously took it. Good luck to your daughter tomorrow.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2176992)

Thanks. This is a good comparison. I've always thought it was really rare for anyone to be TOTALLY released from recruitment, but we seem to get so many stories around here that go that way.

Originally Posted by HQWest (Post 2177033)

I dont have five years of numbers but from the powerpoint shiwn to parents at Camp War Eagle that is online, the AU numbers are comparable to Bama. Less than 2 percent are released from recruitment. The number of withdrawals after round one is higher at Auburn - I have been told this is because of girls tht sign up so they can move in early or who are overwhelmed by the crowds.

Originally Posted by Hartofsec (Post 2177082)

You’re right – looked up some Auburn numbers from a presentation (probably the powerpoint you are referring to):
https://fp.auburn.edu/greek/Files/2012cweforweb.pdf

Auburn stats from years 2008-2011 combined, along with comments that accompany stats:

Withdrew from recruitment: 9.74% (most over not receiving a desired invitation)
Released during week (in process): 3.13%
Released Bid Day: 2.2% (all neglected to maximize pref options)
Placed in chapters: 84.94%

I tried to find some numbers for a variety of other schools reputed to have very competitive recruitments (UGA, USC, and SMU), but was not able to find comparable numbers.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2177085)

Okay, but while the numbers of totally released women are small, they are still much higher at Auburn and Bama than at Illinois. 3% of 1000+ women is 30+ women, which is 15 times higher. Of course, I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on one year of statistics, though.