spring rush at bama?
 

hi! im a freshman and i go to alabama and i decided to go at the last minute and missed rush. does anyone know anything about rush in the spring at bama and what chapters would participate? and is it even a good idea to rush in the spring...should i just wait till falll as a sophmore? HELP!

Zillini, a Bama alumna made this post in our big Bama thread about spring recruitment:

"Historically for most Chapters, COBing is pretty rare at Bama. A few years ago Chapter Total was increased to 180 and that pushed several under Total. As I recall perhaps 6 ended up doing Spring COB that year. Even then Chapters were only able to take like 5-10 new members.

AFAIK and not counting SDT, all Chapters except 1 were still above Total last Spring. Normally with a quota of 72 Fr and 5 Up, most would be well above Total. However with the lousy economy I know everyone is facing a significant increase in the number of member resignations due to not being able to afford sorority life. So this year, who knows?

According to her, it's a rarity for chapters to have spring recruitment.

And really, rushing as a sophomore is a pretty daunting task. There are a few upperclassmen who get bids (thanks to upperclassmen quota), but you'd need to be ULTRA prepared with recs, grades, involvement, etc. And even then, there's no guarantee. It's pretty tough for non-freshmen.

so is it not worth bothering?

But they have the upperclassman quota, right? Wouldn't that mean that you had about the same chance of getting a bid as a freshman?

Do some groups not take upperclassman anyway?

but isnt that to say much fewer numbers of upperclassmen go through rush?

i talked to the office of greek life and they said 75/100 sophmores got placed. i dunno if those odds are good or bad (i know 75% but i dont know if thats a good number). also, she said overall its easier since i will know the girls and i plan to be very involved academically and in several clubs. i just dont know if chapters will look down on me greatly for being older or if theyll be pretty understanding since i transferred.

I think it's set the same way though. I think it just reflects that many fewer upperclassmen were in recruitment. (8 times however many chapters at Bama would give the number of upperclassman signing bid cards, I think.)

I suspect that even the 75% figure may reflect that part of the other 25% dropped out, rather than were cut out, unless the OP knows differently.

YES!

And you might have to work even harder to keep an open mind.

Wow, that's a pretty assuming statement on her part.

Since all the chapters are now over total, I doubt anyone will be having spring COR...unless they lose several to December graduation.

What was said about recs is VERY important - in fact, the most important thing you can do for recruitment at Bama. You won't get past the first day without them.

Recs i can do. im worried about being looked down upon as a sophomore. any ideas on how to meet sorority girls this year?

Let me add that grades are extremely important. Many chapters require PNMs who are upperclassmen to have a higher GPA than freshmen. Think higher than a 3.5.

That said...you can always sign up for COB (which is what spring recruitment would be - there is no formalized spring recruitment) and see what happens.

Do you think there will be COB this year? I mean, from what I've seen, every chapter there took quota plus several additions.

Right now all 15 Chapters that participated in Formal Recruitment ended well above Chapter Total, which is currently set at 180. There is talk about raising Total, but as yet it is just talk. So I sincerely doubt there will be any COR unless there is a large loss of members or Total does in fact get changed.

P.S. Just a minor correction. I am not a Bama alumna. Actually I'm a University of Illinois grad who has been an advisor here at Bama for many moons.

It just frustrates me when I read on here that Panhellenic doesn't tell PNMs that they need recommendations, yet you're likely not to make it through the first round without them at schools like Bama. I get really mad about it, and also thankful that recs aren't really neccessary at my school :) But I just feel for the poor girls who don't know because they listen to Panhellenic - I mean, that's what I would do (if I didn't know about GreekChat).

I don't think they will look down on you, it is just a limited number of spaces. My daughters house gave bids to 3 upper class women of the 6 spaces available.
Get involved in service organizations, try out for stewards or capstone women. Next week there will be booths in the by the furg with things you can do to get involved.

There may not be. But every chapter generally has a couple of NMs who drop out, and December graduations are common. You never know. By signing up, she'd at least posted her availablity.

Is this a typo? :p If not, what is "the furg"?

The Ferg (pronounce "furg" but not spelled that way) is the Ferguson Center, where the Greek Affairs Office is located within the Dean of Students Office at #230 Ferguson Center. It is also the Student Center.

Actually, tomorrow is Get on Board Day. All student organizations will be set up on the Quad for students to explore. Check the CW for the hours but I believe it is for a good part of the day.