Penn State has record turn-out for recruitment
 

Recruitment kicks off tonight, and The Daily Collegian reports that this year will see the largest number of girls ever starting recruitment. Unfortunately, neither the Collegian or Panhel reports what that number is.

I feel bad for the girls, because it is due to pour all week. (Although the freshmen will need to get used to it, since all it rains A LOT in State College, it would still be nice to be able to go to the parties not looking like a drowned rat.)

Even though seeing this number of girls at one meeting would be intimidating, I hope they realize that, with 19 sororities to choose from, if they keep an open mind, there truly IS a home for everyone.
http://i54.tinypic.com/dfht9f.jpg

My life will not be complete unless someone in this group is cut by every chapter.

This I command.

Yuck. State College is supposed to get DRENCHED this week (thanks a lot, Lee). Even so, I'll be in town this weekend and am excited to see recruitment in action.

Senusret I - with 19 sororities, no one will be cut by every group. Lots and lots of girls will, however, be cut from every group they like.

Kappamd - Just spent Sunday with a PSU friend who was a Kappa in the 80s. Were you a Delta Alpha?

Are you a betting woman? I got ten dollars toward your favorite philanthropy that SOMEBODY will go bidless after maximizing their options! Somebody's gremlin lookin', non-legacy, foul breath-having, ill-tempered daughter is gonna be sad, sad, sad on bid day!

We Are...
 

You know I love this post! Thanks LionTamer for sharing!

This ain't Ole Miss, Rashid, my friend. This is Uggs-wearing, Paterno-lovin', baseball-cap sportin', "my parents' summer home is in Wildwood" PSU.

This is the Northeast, where legacies don't predominate, you don't go to a studio to get a photo taken, sororities don't memorize the PNM's faces before rush, most sororities do not require recs, and nobody knows from Lilly.

I am indeed a betting woman, but there's no way of determining if anyone who cut NO sororities was also cut from every sorority, so there would be no way for me to prove you were wrong so you could deliver not $10, but my payoff of preference: tickets to the opening game of the World Series, which will be held in Philadelphia (now there's something we actually could bet on)

Seriously, though: The problem is that everyone (dream girls and gremlins alike) drops the same "bottom tier" sororities after the first rounds - exactly the groups who might have provided them a happy home in Happy Valley. So there probably are women who "maximize their chances" in the most formal sense of the phrase, but they still screw up their own chances early on by dropping the groups most likely to want them.

Is PSU not using RFM?

No....my fiance is a PhD candidate at Penn State. I've spent so much time in State College over the past few years that it's sort of become my second home.

Just in town for the Bama festivities this weekend :)

It's raining? All week?

God bless the girls with naturally curly hair.

Checked this in my free minute b/w class & going to the parties.... have heard it is over 1000 pnms!

And it is pouring. Campus is a giant puddle.

Um. I love you.

I'm sure that there have been some people who, umm, stood out so spectacularly (and not in a good way) that they were cut by every chapter.

Roll Tide....wish we could be there to repeat our 1980 (I think) trip...'tis not to be though, not this year.:(

Right, it's just that LionTamer's comment here threw me off and made it sound like popular chapters are not making those early, big, cuts (ie PSU is not using RFM), otherwise most PNMs would have to go back to the same bottom tier sororities. Otherwise, I would have thought she would say "PNMs drop out when they don't get their faves".

This post
 

All the reasons why I love the north and PSU :) (except for that Uggs-wearing thing..)

I didn't know about Lilly until I came on this site.. 3 years ago, after I had graduated. lol

Oh yes indeed!

It's HORRIBLE here, weather-wise, on my side of PA. Stay dry PNMs and good luck!

ETA: I didn't read the entire thread before posting. Funny that 2 others quoted the same section!

Just got back from my first night. I heard that 906 women showed up for recruitment, which is about 100 more than last year. PSU definitely does use RFM, and that can account for the historically stronger recruiting groups making their cuts early and the women dropping out. Last year for example, about 800 started the process and about 400 were matched. Only around 10 PNMs are ever released entirely, and that's a high estimate. All the others drop out. It's gotten better for sure, but it's still a hard system to be a part of.

In other news, I love the women I've met so far. I love recruitment and I'm hoping for 9 other good days. It is a puddle here but luckily I don't have to change locations at all during the night! Anyway, I'll keep ya'll updated as best I can. Best of luck to all the chapters and PNMs involved. :)

The county has declared a flood emergency today.
We're still all basically swimming around campus. Not a good day for the PNMs to have to walk around campus, but fortunately, the rain has cooled down the temperature a bit so it is not ridiculously hot during the parties (just ridiculously wet between them)

Fiance called to tell me about the flooding. I guess his route to school was flooded out and closed today. Unfortunate conditions for recruitment, and I hope everyone stays safe.

Turn around, don't drown!

The declared a flood emergency, so does that mean that recruitment is post-poned?

I doubt it - that's more of a don't drive measure. The PNMs are all on campus and they can walk to and fro.

Pffft...as if anyone could be truly happy in that godforsaken place ;)






All in jest of course! As a Pitt alum I couldn't just let that comment go...

Fine, see if I let you know how DZ did during recruitment! :p

Just kidding, of course. I'll be Panhellenic and a credit to my organization about this. I mean, you having to spend 4 years at Pitt was punishment enough. ;)

LOL, my brother is a HS senior who loves PSU and Pitt!

Word. :D

Penn State doesn't close/cancel/postpone anything rain/flooding/ice for anything at Main Campus.
There is a Facebook group that is "When the world ends in 2012, Penn State University Park will still be open"

We're like the post office, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail...
There was snow up to my knees and the roads weren't even clear my sophomore year and they told professors they would face disciplinary action if they canceled their classes. Um, hello? Some of them drive over an hour to get here each day and a lot of us live off campus. If city transportation is closed, you really shouldn't expect students and teachers to risk their lives coming to campus.


That said, good luck to everyone tonight. Hopefully the next big storm holds out until after the parties!

Phi Sigma Sigma at Penn State
 

I just went to a funeral for my grandfather's cousin and she was Phi Sigma Sigma at Penn State (in the 1950s I believe).

Is Phi Sigma Sigma still at Penn State?

My evil brother in law (just kidding; I love him to death) is a PSU grad and he's trying to lure my daughters there with talk of fun football games and someplace called "The Creamery". Sigh. Treachery from within my own family...

Mmm, the Creamery...

No, according to Jill's records in the chapter listings thread, they closed in 1970.

Phi Sigma Sigma Beta Eta 1946-1970

The Creamery is pure bliss. I've tried pretty much every flavor at this point and they are all amazing. Tips for newcomers include:

-Do NOT tell the cashier what flavor you're getting. They don't care, they just take your money. Tell them you want a cone or a cup (it's the same price) and then move along and another person will ask you for your flavor/container of choice. Know your flavor if you're getting a milkshake though. They need to yell that to someone.

-If you only want to get a pint/gallon/coffee/sandwich/etc then use the lines to the right of the main one. It's quicker and you won't hold up the line for those trying to get cones/cups.

-If you want to get ice cream but are scared of the massive portions they provide (there is only one size, don't bother asking for a small), then buy a cone and ask for a cup on the side. Then take a spoon and put half of what is in your cone in the cup and find a buddy to share! Believe me, it's still enough ice cream.

-No mixing flavors (unless you're former President Bill Clinton)! If you want to mix flavors, find a buddy and do the extra cup thing. They seriously won't let you and it's probably annoying to them if you ask.

-If you and your friends only want to get one flavor, just buy a pint or a gallon. They give you extra cups if you ask. Major savings (a cone/cup is $2.75 and about 8 oz of ice cream and a gallon is like $5.25 and 64 oz) and a quicker line (use the lines to the right, again).

-Don't bother trying to go before/after a football game. The line will take forever and I don't think it's worth it. If you can try to go at a random time, like just as they open or on a non-football weekend. Brave the line if you wish, but remember that I warned you.

/end hijack But seriously, come to a football game and eat Creamery ice cream. Every flavor is good (I'm partial to cookie dough and coconut chip) and if you tell me when you're coming I promise you a free cone or cup and limited Pitt jokes (okay, I can only promise one, so choose wisely :p). The coffee is also excellent! Okay I'm done. We are truly too obsessed for our own good, haha. :D

Sue, your post is hilarious! And don't be shocked when CeCe and I take you up on your offer! Can you believe I've never actually been to State College?

The closest I came was my senior year of college when my Pitt sisters arranged a mixer with a PSU fraternity and DIDN'T INVITE THE PENN STATE DZs! A brouhaha ensued, they bitched to Nationals and we got our social privileges suspended for a semester. Pfft; I wonder if that chapter is still so tight-assed?

Having had three great-aunts who went to PSU, and two of them were Professors there (the cool one got her PhD at Pitt), I spent more time on PSU's campus than most collegiates. I was in their newspaper when I was four. It is a beautiful campus, and I'd like to visit one more time before I die.

That said,the only possible reason I even took a day's consideration in thinking about attending was the Creamery! Although, if they still make the Mounds flavor, it was nasty!

Sue, do you work at the creamery? The fam has been talking about going up for a football game and to learn more about the college of engineering (since that's what baby bro is going to major in). I took my brother up for the general spiel/tour back in March. I can't wait to see what side of the rivalry our family will be on.

@KillarneyRose- The main memory of have of the Delta Zetas at our campus is when they came to our water balloon dodgeball tournament, won the tournament (which had a cash prize), and donated the money back to the Foundation. I thought that was super sweet and classy of them and every one I've met since has been a sweetheart. Oh and seriously, if you come visit PM me! One visit with me and you'll see if CeCe Newbie won't start considering coming here, I'm very persuasive. ;)

@honeychile- If by the Mounds flavor you mean coconut chip, I could not disagree more. I love it! It's seriously such a perfect ice cream for coconut and chocolate lovers.

@violetpretty- No I don't work at the Creamery I'm just a fifth year senior who has hung out there a lot haha. And again, PM me if you're coming up. I promise free ice cream or coffee to all and I can give a lengthy (yet not completely unbiased) list of why Penn State is so awesome. :D

Please don't make me start another thread
 

If this is going to get like that recruitment stories thread where everyone was raving about Texas Food, then I'm going to have to start another thread.

Which will actually be about Penn State recruitment rather than grilled stickies, Creamery Ice Cream (does it taste as good in the new building???) or any other Centre County Delicacies.

Oh, and what's the deal with this (from the article at the beginning of this thread): "Jenkins also stressed the importance of following the code of conduct, which includes the rule where no rushing sisters are allowed in the fraternity houses from 8 p.m. until midnight." What's a rushing sister? Do they mean current sorority members (most likely) or PNMs? What's the purpose of this rule?

FYI, I will be there for Phi Mu's initiation....Ahem!