small northern school rush thread
 

Ask and ye shall discuss.

I'm from a small northren school in Canada and from reading the rush threads I think we have a VERY different recruitment process than everyone else. I'm wondering if this is common on all small campuses or if it is unique to our campus.
For instance, all girls who attend preferences parties at our school are pretty much guaranteed a bid. There is a rule that you may only invite girls to preference parties who you would willing extend a bid to. Also suicide bidding seems quite common at my school, almost all of my sisters suicided and got their first choice, but it is easier to suicide when there are only two NPC groups to choose from.
What are other people's small campus recruitments like?

YES!! Thanks PhoenixAzul!

Ok well my school is a strange one. We are the 2nd largest state school in OH. You would think that would make for a really big, competitive, system, right? Nope.

Here we have 6 Panhellenic and a local. Formal Rush is a hard sell for alot of the freshmen. This year was a low year with 140 PNM's going through and a quota of 19. The record year was 2003 with 200 PNM's and quota of 25.

So we're not really a "small" northern school, but our system is small compared to the school size. And it's REALLY laid back. As long as you maximize your choices and don't suicide, you WILL get a bid.

It's interesting to read about BIG southern rushes, but I know I wouldn't last long in that kind if environment. I CRACK UP over their $10,000 budgets and things because i'm from a school where Panhellenic severely limits our budgets to I think no more than $4,000- to keep with "no frills". :)

Another small-Northern-school girl here... :)

Your rush budget is that high?? Ours was (I think) $2400, and that was when I was an active, ~ 10 years ago!

Our rush budget last year was about $500 Canadian for each group. THere is no fee for our table or room rentals at the University so really the money was only used for decorations and food at one of the three parties. Also the Panhellenic budget was $150 for food for the panhellenic room. There was also money set aside to make photocopies of information booklets and sheets.

Yes I know that seems very very very small compared to some of the US budgets, but in Canada it's hard enough to convince people to go Greek let alone go to recruitment parties. The biggets year I can remember was last year where at the beginning of the process there were 64 interested girls, quoto only ended up being 12 + 1 though as only 25 girls met the eligiblity requirements by the end of the week.

I'm excited to do the new NPC partially structured recruitment this year I think that it is something that will really help our campus.

I go to a small school in Ohio, and we have an all-local campus. I can't imagine spending 2400 on rush! I think our rush budget has to be under 1000. We had 200 some girls rush this year, quota was 18. We have 6 sororities on campus. First round is open house, then invites are extended to Novelty Parties, which are themed and generally casual dress. Girls may be extended up to 6 novelty invites but my only accept 4. Then comes Final Party round. Girls may be extended 4 invites but only accept 2, with the understanding that accepting a final invite expresses a deep interest in those sororities. Suiciding is very very common on my campus, and while discouraged, it's not punished. It seems that most people either get their first choice or none at all... I've never heard any girl say that she got her second choice.

Small southern school (4 panhellenic) There is no reason for a girl not to get a bid, unless they suicide at UNA. Even then there is snap bidding.

LOL

I can't imagine spending less than 24,000 on rush!:p

And don't forget the "no exact matching" rule. My school follows the "no frills" policy to the letter. We are forbidden from wearing the EXACT same items. This means (with the exception of your chapter's philanthropy shirts) that you all CANNOT wear the same item from the same store.

Example: You can require navy blue pumps, but you CAN'T require that everyone get the same pair of navy blue pumps from Steve Madden.

That sure eliminates matching pref dresses from the seamstress. :)

We are the same way with if you attend a pref night party, you will get a bid. Suciding happens a lot, and mostly everyone gets thier first choice. In recent memory only one girl got her second choice, and stuck with it and was happy (a current alum, ex-president of Sigma Delta Tau). We have three NPCs

I am an Eastern Michigan alumna and oversee AGD chapters at Wayne State, Eastern Michigan, University of Michigan, U of Toronto, U of Western Ontario and SUNY-Buffalo. Wayne State and EMU are very similar. Quota is usually around 9, Total is between 50 and 55 and most chapters COR year round. This is pretty typical of all of our chapters in Michigan (someone else oversees the northern 6 chapters). Some are slightly bigger, and some are a little smaller, but it's really very similar. They are close to no frills rush, compared to when I went through, but they do still have decorations, similar outfits, and a skit/video evening. They each do a philanthropy round now. The University of Michigan is the exception to that because Total is 120 there and Quota is usually around 35-40. They get about 1000 PNMs, which makes it really tough on the smaller chapters. Western Ontario is pretty big too. Total there is 80 with some talk of making it 100 or expanding and quota is around 20. That seems big to me! Numbers have been down all over Michigan and there aren't a lot of groups who are at Total in any GLO at any campus, which is sad. U of Mich has the strongest system, with most groups at Total, but all of my other chapters, and those I'm familiar with in the state are CORing all year round and so are the other groups on their respective campuses. I think it's because our economy has been in the doldrums for so long and shows no signs of improving. It really affects the financial ability to join a sorority. Women are going to school part time instead of full time or transferring to community colleges to get their basics out of the way at a cheaper rate.

Dee

my alma mater, no rules what so ever, there was us and two locals. I think our rush budget for the whole year was $300, $150 or so per semester. We had a very cute house though, despite the fact that our rush was so simple. :)

I don't think the 6 sororities here could come up with 24000 a year, let alone for rush. Our system is kinda complicated, but it works. The only thing I wish we could do is have an actual COB/COR system, rather than just putting all the non-matched PNM's up for grabs. Although I wouldnt want to pledge girls during winter and spring...gahhhh!

sorry for this, but it's bugging the hell out of me...

Single Intentional Preference!!! NOT suicide!!!

ok, I'm done now! =)

actually, the word "suicide" is still in use by our Panhellenic. We finally got around to changing "Rush" to "recruitment" this year!

Incidentally, what is silent period like for you guys? How long? How strict?

Apparently "single intentional preference" isn't working as a term, or people wouldn't still be saying suicide. Plus, "S.I.P." makes it sound less serious than it really is. That's why it was called suicide to begin with.

/hijack

I have no problem with calling it "suiciding," either.

Well due to the fact that we have no Greek Life Official or really any recognition at all by our University we have a huge silence period!!! The university imposes a silence and ban of greek letters on campus for frosh or orientation week. Then Panhell recruitment starts and in the past the silence started the same day as recruitment starts... minus the week of information booths.. strict silence, as in don't tak to PNM at all no matter what the conversation doesn't start until immediately following the end of preference parties until the PNM has accepted a bid.

We enforce silence pretty strictly but not as strict as the university does. If you are a facilitator for frosh week and are caught talking about GLO's to any new student you will get fined $75 and no longer be allowed to facil. It's one of the things that makes it so difficult to be greek on my campus, absolutely no respect for all the hard work, good grades and charity work we do. Let alone recognizing the fact that all the big positions in school have greeks holding them, and we have stellar GPA's.

At my school I think that each sorority spends about 500.00 on rush and no more.

We have six sororities at my school: Chi Omega, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi and Alpha Phi.

Only two have houses and at the end of the summer it will be only one (Chi O). Because of the whole house thing, the only time girls are allowed to see the house is during preference night.
The odd thing about my school is that if you're a legacy to an org you're rushing you still don't get a guaranteed bid...my roommate (and sister) rushed Chi Omega because her grandmother was a Chi O and she wasn't even invited to the second night :-(

The greek system is small here and a lot of groups keep to themselves-I really, really wish we did more with the other sororities but my sorority is the one that's the butt of all the jokes because we're the smallest.

I don't think any NPC groups guarantee a bid for a legacy at ANY chapter - north, south or anywhere.

NO NPC group can guarentee a bid to any legacy, most have rules about inviting them back at least 1 time or if they are a bid they must be 1st on your bid list and how to contact their mom/sister etc.. if you are releasing them.... but they can be cut.

NPC actually has guidlines and some rules about strict silence. I believe its like when the year begins before formal rush and then until bid night,

Our rules state: "From the beginning of formal, starting with the first day of fall classes, through the acceptance of bids on bid day, no PNM shall visit with sorority members outside the confines of "normal social contact"...unless they live together or work together.

From 12 noon bid day to 12 noon the next day there is a strict no alcohol policy for every sorority and her NM's.

Not odd at all. That is the normal practice. You get certain "extras" as a legay, but no guarantee of anything.

Some schools could have entire pledge classes made up of legacies if they had the guarantee.

Blast from the past!

Little bump for our summer/fall rushees at small northern schools :)