I don't think that anyone on here has asked for return rates. I agree that is none of anyone's business except that sorority's, and Panhel's when they are calculating release figures.

However, as pinky pointed out, at some point in the semester it will become known how many pledges each group has. I can see the virtue of waiting for a week till COBs are given out, but why not publish CORRECT information to prevent rumors like "XYZ got 3 pledges" when they actually got 20. And what if there is a group of women who could come together and pledge and revitalize a chapter that may be having problems? How are they supposed to do that if they are kept in the dark?

And I don't know how other schools work, but we always knew how many girls each sorority got on bid day - we knew who went where as well. It's a heck of a lot better to find out in private, in your house, what to expect rather than get surprised in public and have to fake being OK with something when you are upset.

I don't know about you all, but I don't pay attention to who reached quota, I pay attention to how many new members drop before initiation...

THAT would be an interesting statistic...New member retention rates...How many new members does XYZ lose before initiation compared to ABC...

XYZ could take 100 women and only initiate 60, whereas ABC could take 20 women and not lose a single one!

Retention rates seem to be a better indication of a GLO's success. Meeting quota could mean that your GLO is better at recruiting than another. Meeting quota and retaining all or most new members means your GLO is doing something right!

I agree with DGMarie that sisterhood does not pay the bills. Dues could be lowered with more members to shoulder the burden. More members could share in the running of the chapter (the same few might not feel the need to be responsible for leadership positions all the time). I'm not talking about missing quota by a little bit, but consistently taking fewer members could be dangerous to the health of a chapter.

Quality is very important, but we cannot discount the value of quantity.

Well said MSKKG...

As AlphaChiCutie said, Alumnae do write checks/donations to their chapters, this might not be something that is done at all chapters, but rest assured at many Southern schools it is done! Those checks can get rather large and as AlphaChiCutie said they could probably keep the chapter running for years.... BUT I guarantee those checks/donations would not be as large or come in as regular if the chapter was to not operate/succeed as the alumna felt it should. And those alums do know what their chapter's retention rates and know something about the NMs!

At first I thought there was a problem at UGa... but I have to wonder if there really is... I mean, 14/18 chapters made quota, 87% of the PNMs that started recruitment were offered bids. This is at par with almost every other campus... Ole Miss, Penn State, UF, FSU, 'Bama, I could keep going. I really wonder if this is not a case of the PNMs dropping because they are not happy with their returns? If so, then it is not the system's fault. I am curious though... how do you distinguish a PNM when they all have 1600's on their SATs and 4.0 GPAs?

LSU, Auburn and MS State are exceptions... what are they doing differently? Every chapter takes quota... I must admit, this year was a first for the chapters at MS State, I know LSU has not always had every chapter take quota and neither has Auburn. However, I would guess that only 85-90% of those that started rush were offered bids... because PNMs drop when they are left with chapters they are not comfortable in!

You have to remember, though, that even though 14/18 chapters took quota, some of those had to snap bid or COB to get there -- including chapters which are usually quite strong. That's indicative of a problem, to me. But you're right that the numbers as they stand now aren't really THAT different from the majority of big Southern schools.

Angels&Arrows LSU raised their SAT requirement this year to a 23. I believe in a few more years it will be at 25. With that in mind, parents and students may be more apt to look at LSU as a real live learning institution rather than a "Party School".:rolleyes:

My daughter hasn't said much about rush this year, but I should get the scoop when she comes home. From what little she did say, there were more girls with good grades and test scores and they are thinking this will continue as the LSU standards are raised.

An article in either Tiger Weekly or the Reveille :confused: said they expect the numbers for recruitment to keep on increasing.
All the sororities are sitting pretty with their numbers, healthier than it has been in ages. The system as a whole is gaining strength. On a personal note, I do think the chapters are getting too large.
OT QUESTION- From what little I understand, some sororities "count" for total differently than others or have different types of status. What does that mean? If this is not an appropriate public question-sorry in advance, just ignore it!:)

JAM, that does not surprise me about LSU... Louisiana offers the in-state scholarship? If I understand correctly Georgia does the same... which, is why there has been an increase in scholars. Is that only for public schools or does that apply to all schools within the state?

Florida has the same thing, too...the money can be applied to the state's private schools--not sure if LA and GA do the same thing.

It might take another college generation before LSU sheds its "Party School" image. Look at UF and FSU--both have worked for over a decade to prove themselves as well-regarded academic institutions, and they still pop up on the P-R. Just a little caveat...

GA offers full tuition and $150 book money for all instate public schools...and $3000 for private school tuition.

I'm glad to see that the discussion has moved onto much more productive discussion. But in response to several outlashings, I would like to make a few final remarks before I get out of this mess:
1) The vast majority of the chapters at UGA "took quota," and several of the ones that didn't are still EXTREMELY STRONG and no one is questioning their viability, due in part to very high alumni donations.
2)No, for most chapters, alumni donations could not run every single chapter here or make up for a very poor rush for years on end. But, if you doubt the financial strength of the women who have been here in years past, come see our houses.
3)We are a VERY different school from northern or western greek schools. We even differ from other competitive southern schools such as Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas, etc. Each school is different, and each must be looked at on a case by case basis. It may be difficult for someone to understand who has never seen our rush or our greek system. I doubt I would understand fully how northern schools rush. It's just different.

Thank you, and good night.

bumping for 2005 rush season--

yeah!!!!:D

Get excited! UGA RECRUITMENT 2005!

GOAOP!

I will be up helping AGD at UGA....so excited for RUSH!

bump!

How's it going at UGA???