My cousin's UT recruitment
 

I just got a call from my cousin at UT. She's going to call me back later with details, but out of her four favorite from last night, she was invited to 3. She was invited to others, too, but she wanted to let me know who her faves were. lol Can't wait to hear the details when she calls back! In the meantime, I need to come up with some clever code names. haha

Good luck to your cousin! I guess she's playing "Texas Hold 'em" and is playing her cards close to the vest!

UT Texas or UT Tennessee?

I'm gonna guess she's talking about Tennessee, right Heather?

Yep! U of Tennessee! I just got off the phone with her and here's what she had to say...

(I can't think of anything super creative, so I'll just go with NFL teams!)

Steelers - Didn't like this group at all. She felt like they were fake and she didn't click with them at any point.

Bears - Really liked this sorority and really liked the girls she met, but wasn't sure if she'd fit in with them or not. They seemed really down to earth and fun. This was one of her top 4 favorites.

Seahawks - This sorority was okay. They also seemed laidback. Active in intramurals. Nice, but not a favorite.

Rams - Liked this sorority, but didn't feel like she'd fit in.

Ravens - Least favorite. Very girly girls. lol Giggly, kinda fake and she felt like they were trying too hard.

Jaguars - Down to earth girls. Felt like they were active on campus and Greek life. She liked them, but they weren't one of her favorites.

Patriots - Really liked the sorority, but the person recruiting her wasn't that great. Hopes to meet more people next round. They seemed laid back and "real". One of her top four.

Giants - Loved this group. Girls seemed fun, laidback and real. In the top four.

Cowboys - Clicked well with these ladies. Felt like they were a good sorority on campus. Had easy conversations with the girls she spoke with. Top four.

Cardinals - Liked the girl that was rushing her, but didn't feel like she clicked with her or the sorority. A lot of people seemed fake to her.

Colts - Didn't like this one at all. Way too girly for her. Did not leave a good impression on her.

Panthers - Felt like the conversation was forced. They seemed okay as a group, but she's unsure on how she feels about them. Hoping she will talk to someone new next round.

Packers - Girls seemed weird. Didn't click at all. Her rusher was informative, but she doesn't care for this group at all.

So, she's going back to the Seahawks, Jaguars, Patriots, Giants, Cowboys, Panthers and Packers. She's a little nervous that she was cut by so many and I was really surprised. Beautiful girl, amazing resume and educational history, great personality. But all the ones she got cut by, except for the Bears, she couldn't see herself joining anyway. I tried to make that a positive for her. She has philanthropy rounds tomorrow and the next day.

Her friends that are going through...
K was cut by the Bears and the Ravens. She cut the Packers. Her favorites so far are the Rams and the Giants. She's a legacy of the Colts.

S (one of my rec girls) was cut by her favorite, the Giants. My cousin wasn't sure about all of her detals because they didn't have long to talk. She just knows that the Colts are her least favorite.

I know 3 other girls going through up there, but haven't heard from their family here on how things are going.

So, that's round one! I know it's not really descriptive, but it was the first night and she was really looking to see who felt "real" and who didn't, where she clicked and what vibe they gave off.

you make me sad.....the COLTS are my fav. NFL team, and she doesn't like them at all!! ;)

Good luck to her! I know that there are TONS of beautiful women going through recruitment and a lot of "big names" this year. Every sorority woman is working EXTRA hard!

Oooh, big names, eh? You have my curiosity piqued!!

i don't like sharing names on a public board, but I'll PM you ;)

Too bad she doesn't like the Steelers, but at least the Ravens are her least favorite.:p

Go Giants and Bears!

Go Seahawks.

Woohoo, go Patriots! :D

My sentiments exactly! If anyone's PMing the big names, I'd like to know them, too.

The Giants are my favorite team, and i'm glad that she likes them!!

Goooo Giants!!!!

I mean, how can you have a UT thread and not have the Tennessee Titans as one of the teams? haha. Good luck to your cousin! I've got one of my rec. girls going through this week with 6 of her friends. She's doing good so far and was invited back to all but 2!

Well the Titans are my favorite and I almost named my sorority the Titans but was afraid that might give it away!! :) Good luck to your rec girl and her friends!!

Because that'd be making one sorority an obvious favorite.

Round Two is over!

Seahawks: She got a better impression of this sorority in this round and thought they were a really fun and cool group of girls. She likes them better than she did before, but they don't stand out as a top favorite at this time.

Jaguars: Another great impression during this round. They seemed like a really sweet group of girls who were genuine and close to each other. She thinks she felt more of a connection than she did during Round One.

Patriots: Still a favorite. She felt like these were quality, sweet girls. She enjoyed her time in here more than last time and clicked with her "rusher" better than the one she met before.

Giants: Current top favorite. She felt really at home here and very "wanted" by the girls she met.

Cowboys: She didn't have as good of a feeling as she had about this group in the first round. She likes that they are very involved with philanthropy, but she didn't feel like she really fit here.

Panthers: All she could say was heck no.

Packers: Same as Panthers.

So the she would be happy accepting a bid from any of the first five, but her top three right now are the Jaguars, Patriots and Giants. She has her invitation and response in the morning and she can have a max of six more parties. If she gets invited back to all of them, she will drop the Packers. Poor Brett Favre. lol

As for her friends...
My rec girl's favorites right now are the Seahawks, Patriots and Colts.
Her other friend's favorites are the Giants, Patriots, Steelers and Rams.

Yes, cousin said it was very hot today. Still sending those prayers for some cooler weather! I love your pictures!

Aren't all of the parties in air-conditioned suites in the Panhellenic building?

Yeah, but...how good does an air-conditioner work with 100 degree temp outside and 200+ in each suite?

Well, cousin got her invitations back today. The Patriots, Seahawks and Cowboys released her. She was invited back to the Jaguars, Giants, Panthers and Packers. We're both really disappointed...especially since one that cut her was my sorority. She's holding out for the Jaguars or Giants. :(

K was cut by the Steelers and she cut the Patriots. Cousin couldn't remember all of K's details, but she knows she's returning to the Giants, Rams and Colts. She is legacy of one of those groups and her favorite so far are the Rams.

Rec Girl - S was cut by the Cowboys, Colts and Patriots.

I'm kind of baffled because both rec girl and my cousin are phenomenal. Beautiful, funny, 3.9+ GPAs, volunteer work, extracurriculars, glowing recommendations, cousin was salutatorian and student body president, etc etc. I'm just really disappointed today!

Hugs to you both. I know you were hoping that she could end up being a member of your sorority.

Packers and Panthers
 

Recruitment at UT is very competitive. If your cousin really wants the sorority experience, I suggest she try to look at the Packers and the Panthers with new eyes. She'll be closest with the members of her pledge class, so she should look around the room at the other potential new members, not just at the actives.

I agree. Recruitment at UT is very competitive, and has become more so as the University itself has become more competitive over the past few years. I know of several great girls- multi page resumes, 4.0 plus gpa, beautiful, and wonderful who have been very heavily cut. Because of the release figures they are using some of the chapters have had to cut enormous numbers of girls. It has been a very hard week for both PNMs and actives. A lot of girls do not have full schedules left and they are very nervous about being cut before preference. However, there are no weak chapters at UT. Tell your cousin to look hard at the 2 she has left- she would probably be very happy in either one.

To all University of Tennessee alumni and students:

Feel free to use the word "difficult" or "hard" instead of multi-syllabic words like "competitive!"

:D

(formerlurker...you can edit your original post.)

I'm an alum of UTK, back in the day....best wishes for all of the PNMs. Some of my daughter's friends are there.

ZTA72

Not yet...I'm nervously waiting! She usually calls right after the last party and then after invitation and response. I'm dying to hear who she's going to pref parties for!!

Anxious to hear an update about your cousin. Hope all goes well as she picks up her pref invitations!

Cousin is going to the Jaguars, Packers and Panthers for pref. She was cut by the Giants and was pretty diappointed and surprised. She thinks that maybe she was only invited back to this point because she had rec from someone pretty important within the sorority. I'll update on the other girls later cause I've got to hop in the shower and get to a youth football game (in this God awful heat).

I hope she keeps in mind, if she gets a bid from the Packers or the Panthers, that they think she would be an asset to their organization. That's quite a compliment. Even the smallest chapters at UT have more than 100 members. They're all good ones with outstanding young ladies.

Ranking System on Pref night
 

Hey Silverblue or anyone else out there,

Do they still do the ranking system like when I was in Tri Delt almost thirty years ago. My daughter is so torn between three awesome sororities at UTK and is currently going through recruitment with tonight being the pref night. My worry is that I remember us messing this up several times on the ranking system. If her #1 has her at a #2 and her number 2 has her at a number 1 how will this pan out for her. And of course her number three having her as a 1 or a two.

I don't know. I haven't had to fool with that in 20 years, and I didn't understand it even then.

She will get her first choice unless they fill quota before they get to her name on the list. Even if her 2nd and 3rd choices have her at the top of the list.

Violet is correct

Bid Matching
 

Also, if they are using the newer computerized bid matching, it minimizes any of those errors with the manual methods. It is highly effective and much faster.:)

I am a recruitment adviser for a sorority at UT and the release numbers this year have been a lot heavier than in the past.

The responses about bid matching are correct. We list our top group (which is what ever quota is) and that is our first list. Everyone else is second list in preferential order. She wll not go to her second preference unless her first choice fills up their quota before they reach her on their bid list. Then she will be available to her second choice. If she is on the top of their list she will match there. Then just like the first sorority, she will not be released to be available for the third choice until the second choice has filled out their quota allotment.

Good luck to the girls as they enter preference tonight. I am ready for tomorrow!!! It is a tough week!!!

I'm soooo glad I'm not going through recruitment ever again. I don't envy the PNM's or the actives this past week.

UTKAlum.....
 

.... so if no has told you this in this past week... THANK YOU! It takes many women who volunteer so very many hours to make recruitment successful.

The collegians don't always realize the behind the scenes workload to make it all "seamless". And without the women of the all of the greek organizations who volunteer for the love of what our organizations have given us, it (recruitment) would never happen like it does. So from one greek woman to another, thank you for all that you do!

( Okay, I'm now off my soapbox-- however, moms and greek women this may be a hint to send an advisor a quick note of thanks... just a thought!)

Panhellenically,
Merry:D

Thank you!! It is definitely a labor of love. The late nights and time away from my 2 young children this week is very hard but to me it is worth it for the longevity of the chapter.