indiana university recruitment questions/advice
 

Hi GCers! I have been looking at a lot of the information on here recently and I am going to be going through recruitment at IU this winter! I was wondering though if anyone knew exactly how it works at IU?

I have heard from some people that IU DOES NOT operate on a quota system and that it is very competitive (I read on a recruitment story from last year that only about half of the girls who go through get bids-YIKES!).

So any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

IU Recruitment
 

IU (and a couple of other large schools) operate on a "bed quota" system. It really isn't beds, but the quota for each sorority on campus for formal recruitment does vary one from another. It depends on how many women the chapter will be carrying into the next year - or conversely how many seniors will graduate, go alum at year 5 etc.

Recommendations are always an asset at a big school like IU. With so many women participating and so many chapters, it helps to get your name out there, and early!

Grades, participation in activities and your ability to present yourself in conversation with sorority women are critical.

Best wishes. IU has a great greek system. Let us know how it goes.

Do all sophomores, juniors, and seniors live in the house or do freshmen move in after bid day? If it's the former, each chapter would take the number they need to fill the house in the fall, which would equal the number of graduating seniors/5th years going alum/transfers/withdrawls, right? Like a "bed rush" for the following fall?

I believe the "bed quota" is the sophomores, juniors and seniors (although I have been told some houses let seniors live out). Freshmen have to live in the dorms all year.

PS- The "greek opportunities for women" meeting is TONIGHT! YAY!

IU Recruitment
 

Recruitment is deferred, so the number for quota is the number needed to fill the house in the fall. Not sure what current chapter total is. Many seniors do live out.

My advice to you would be to get recs to each sorority, preferably 2. It won't guarantee you a bid or even a chance to attend prefs but it might help the girls remember you just a bit more.

Hi fellow hoosier! I went through recruitment at IU last year, so if you have any concerns, etc PM me! I would be happy to help.

also, hoosierlover, check this site out if you haven't already.

http://www.indiana.edu/~gogreek/

i went through recruitment at IU (dropped out of recruitment & ended up transferring though) & i don't want to be a downer but it's such a MISERABLE process. 19 houses is super ridiculous to go to in one weekend, but add to it whatever mother nature decides to throw in there (it was december when i did it..just guess what it was like)

i'd tell you to get recs in ASAP so the houses have your contact information. more than likely they'll invite you over for a meal to get to know you better. also, recs help the girls remember you after 19 party as there are roughly 1600 girls (that's what it was last year i believe) going through. for 19 party you fill out information cards (name, phone #, etc) & on the back list all your activities. i suggest you make your card "stand out" in a way, by decorating it with scrapbook paper, stickers, etc. i put my favorite quote on there as well. stay really positive, smile, & try to make yourself stand out. one thing i remember is i HATED being double rushed. that's when one sorority member talks to two PNMs. i'm super shy, so the conversation often times got dominated by the other PNM. don't let that happen to you, or at least try your hardest to not let it happen.

also, your rho gamma will be a big help as well.

i think if you look up your local panhellenic chapter, they'll get you in contact with people who can write recs for you (if you haven't already). it's extremely competitive so go in with a completely open mind.

anyway, good luck! i hope i didn't scare you too much. :) xoxo.

My aunt was a Chi-O at IU and she said recs are essential!

She also said being personable and relaxed during recruitment helps a boatload! Read APhiAnna's tips... she said conversations that she had with PNMs that were substantial rather than "What's your major?", "Where are you from?", etc. made a PNM stand out... which is super important when there are 1600 girls going through!

She also said to make sure to keep an open mind! After the 19-House, Chi-O was the last house she wanted to be in! After second rounds, they were her top choice...

LOL, I love the fact that a "decorative drink" will be served at one of the rounds..... I'm envisioning frilly drinks.

What beautiful chapter houses there are at IU! Does anyone know which campus has the most NPC chapters? Anyone have more than the 19 that a few campuses have?

Good luck HoosierLover78!! Have a great time.

I was at IU before the "no frills" thing started, so not sure how the mechanics of the rush parties have changed, but it appears that the general organization of rush is the same.

My advice is to get as much sleep as you can. Seriously. It is a grueling weekend in the Fall and a grueling week in January.

Try not to take anything personally. Remember that if a girl acted like she really liked you but you don't get asked back to the house, chances are she really DID like you. She wasn't being fake. There are just a ton of variables that factor into recruitment. And the decision isn't hers alone.

Have fun. Stay in the moment at each house. Go by how YOU feel about your experiences--don't just go back the reps of each house. Your guy friends will have opinions. They'll tell you which are the top houses and which are the lower tier houses. Try to push all of that to the back of your mind--and go by what YOU want to do.

Also, don't just look around the room at the sisters at each house. As the parties get smaller and smaller, I encourage you to observe the girls who are going through recruitment with you. At pref night, up to half of the PNMs in the room with you could be your in your new member class if you end up in that house.

Everyone kept telling me "it all works out the way it is supposed to"--I hated that they kept saying that, so I won't say it to you...but...I hope you keep in mind that there are happy girls in every house, so keep an open mind.

Good Luck!!

University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, IL: September 4-14, 2008
Registered PNMs=1,346
Quota=53
Campus Total=170
Quota last year=48
****************
Pi Beta Phi Illinois Zeta 1895
Kappa Alpha Theta Delta (New) 1895
Kappa Kappa Gamma Beta Lambda 1899
Alpha Chi Omega Iota 1899
Chi Omega Omicron 1900
Alpha Xi Delta Kappa 1905-?/1983-1995/Colony Fall 2008
Delta Gamma Iota 1906
Sigma Kappa Theta 1906
Alpha Omicron Pi Iota 1911 (54)
Phi Omega Pi Gamma 1911-?
Alpha Delta Pi Sigma 1912
Gamma Phi Beta Omicron 1913
Alpha Gamma Delta Sigma 1918
Theta Phi Alpha Beta 1919-1953
Alpha Epsilon Phi Mu 1920
Delta Delta Delta Delta Pi 1920
Delta Zeta Alpha Beta 1921-?/1988 (56)
Zeta Tau Alpha Alpha Kappa 1921-1988
Kappa Delta Sigma Omicron 1921
Phi Mu Delta Beta 1921
Alpha Phi Beta Alpha 1922
Alpha Delta Theta Delta 1922-1939 National merger with Phi Mu
Phi Sigma Sigma Theta 1923
Theta Upsilon Gamma 1923-1940/1946-1962 National absorbed by Delta Zeta
Beta Phi Alpha Beta 1923-1941 National absorbed by Delta Zeta
Sigma Delta Tau Kappa 1926
Delta Phi Epsilon Rho 1927-1988
Iota Alpha Pi Phi 1954-?
Pi Kappa Sigma Alpha Psi 1954-1958
Sigma Sigma Sigma Gamma Alpha 1957-1987
Alpha Sigma Alpha Epsilon Beta 1982-1992

Indiana University Bloomington, IN: December 6-7, 2008 (Open house), January 7-11, 2009 (Invitationals)
No Quota Set
Campus Total Not Set
*****************
Kappa Alpha Theta Beta 1870
Kappa Kappa Gamma Delta 1873
Pi Beta Phi Indiana Beta 1893
Delta Gamma Theta 1898
Delta Zeta Epsilon 1909
Alpha Omicron Pi Beta Phi 1916-1996/1999
Delta Delta Delta Delta Omicron 1917
Sigma Kappa Tau 1918-1994
Theta Phi Alpha Zeta 1920-1959
Phi Mu Delta Alpha 1920
Phi Omega Pi Xi 1922-?
Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Mu 1922
Zeta Tau Alpha Alpha Xi 1922
Chi Omega Theta Beta 1922
Kappa Delta Sigma Upsilon 1923
Alpha Delta Pi Beta Alpha 1926
Sigma Delta Tau Upsilon 1940
Alpha Xi Delta Beta Pi 1946-1970/1987
Delta Phi Epsilon Delta Delta 1946-1952
Alpha Gamma Delta Beta Delta 1947
Alpha Phi Beta Tau 1947
Gamma Phi Beta Beta Phi 1957
Alpha Epsilon Phi Epsilon Epsilon 1958
Sigma Sigma Sigma Epsilon Xi 1989-1994
Alpha Sigma Alpha Epsilon Phi 1990?-1994

Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA: September 26-October 6, 2008
Quota=
Campus Total=
Quota Last Year=18 or 20
********************
Chi Omega Mu Gamma 1926
Alpha Omicron Pi Epsilon Alpha 1929-1973/1982
Theta Phi Alpha Rho 1929-1969
Phi Mu Beta Mu 1929
Delta Gamma Alpha Chi 1930
Kappa Kappa Gamma Delta Alpha 1930
Kappa Alpha Theta Beta Phi 1931
Alpha Chi Omega Beta Mu 1932
Gamma Phi Beta Alpha Upsilon 1932
Alpha Epsilon Phi Alpha Zeta 1937-1978
Zeta Tau Alpha Gamma Epsilon 1939
Kappa Delta Beta Theta 1939
Alpha Xi Delta Beta Lambda 1942
Sigma Delta Tau Phi 1943
Delta Zeta Gamma Delta 1946
Phi Sigma Sigma Beta Eta 1946-1970
Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Mu 1947-2000
Delta Delta Delta Alpha Phi 1947
Pi Beta Phi Pennsylvania Epsilon 1953
Sigma Sigma Sigma Beta Upsilon 1954
Alpha Delta Pi Delta Kappa 1958-?/1991
Alpha Phi Gamma Rho 1958
Delta Phi Epsilon Delta Pi 1960-1966
Iota Alpha Pi Beta Alpha 1962-?
Alpha Sigma Alpha Gamma Eta 1962
Sigma Kappa Theta Psi 1992

************************************************** *********

UIUC (20 active chapters) and IU (19 active chapters) have sorority houses and large new member classes. Penn State (20 active chapters) has dorm floors and smaller quotas (smaller chapters).

Wow! I had no idea schools limited the number of women that could pledge like that. I would imagine the "good" houses take less women and the struggling houses have more openings. That would make it extremely competitive and stressful on the PNM. At times, it seems, that we worry to much about the Chapters and not enough about the PNM's.

The University of Nebraska uses a bed rush system also. I haven't heard that they have as many unplaced PNMs as IU, though.

Vanderbilt used to do quota like that. I don't know if they still do or not. It was based on the number of seniors graduating and any others who were leaving. All sororities had different quotas. The positive side to that was that no one ever really knew if you made quota (unless your class was REALLY small) because quota was different for everyone. I though all schools did it like that until my daughter went through rush at Alabama this fall. You can imagine how freaked out I was initially when i thought all the sororities had a set quota (not based on the number of girls at Pref) and 1600 plus girls were going through rush!

Vanderbilt does not currently use the bed rush system - they use the "normal" quota system.

If an important facet of being in a sorority at IU is all the women living in the house, then limiting the amount of women is not "worrying too much about the chapters and not enough about the PNMs." Would you rather the chapters take on more members than they felt comfortable with or that they would have to deny the experience of living in the house? Each campus's culture is different and they do what works for them. IU has apparently found that living outside the house is not something its sorority women want.

Oh, and newsflash - at ALL schools the struggling houses have more openings. That's why they are struggling.

I'm new, sorry
 

I have NO idea how to do this rushing thing at IU. I just decided to do it, literally at the last minute, tonight. And, I just started asking for recs and I have a few questions. Where do I "turn in" the recs? I should send them asap, right? Do I really need 2 from each chapter? How do I get two from every chapter, that's almost forty recs? Not about recs but, how much does legacies influences IU decisions, especially Aunt legicies?

I'm now freaking out so help would be very much appericated!

Thanks!

You have ALOT of questions. It's kind of hard to tell someone every single thing they need to know about them in one post. Also, you're cutting it close since IU recruitment starts kind of soon, and it might be difficult to locate rec writers at this time, but it's worth a shot

These threads are long, but will tell you 90% of what you need to know about recs (how to get them/what they are/etc.). Please read them:

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...ecommendations
http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=54403

(this is just for info purposes, the list isn't intended for use anymore because it is considered bad form to solicit recs via the internet)

Note: Recs don't guarantee a bid. They're just a standard thing that girls have at some schools. but that doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't go through recruitment just because you don't have them. It's not impossible to rush at IU without recs and get a bid, but be aware that you could face heavier cuts early on.

Another note: Every sorority has a different policy regarding what makes someone a legacy. For example, my sorority doesn't consider nieces legacies, but some others do. Being a legacy does not guarantee that you'll get a bid to that sorority.

I can tell you that your rec writers will know where to send them, you don't turn them in yourself.

Isn't Indiana considering going to the standard quota/total system? I was told that this past summer at our Convention. Evidently there are a lot of quality women not getting bids due to their current bed count method. Anyone know about this?

.

I think the unplaced figure also does not reflect those dropped for grades, which I understand is a significant number. I have heard rumors that the traditional quota system is being considered at IU for the future.

Thanks for the help, these posts have helped a lot!

Recs for Rush??
 

I'm also rushing at IU and am really excited!! A couple of questions about recs though, is more than one too much?? And is it too late to send in more? I have a couple of distant relatives that are probably in their 30's from a certain house and could send me recs but I've never actually met them, just their father. I could also have friend of my mom's write me a rec for the same house, she is older and I know her. Should I send in both or should I choose one? Thanks!

I heard that a lot of girls drop to after they don't get their top choice, because it's deferred girls already know which ones they think they like or don't like going into it and aren't willing to change their minds. But I think that 100 or 200 girls still don't get bids.

Some information I have from last year showed that 87% of women who participated in bid matching last year received bids, and 128 women went unmatched.

I think that 128 unmatched is a huge number...:(

I went to a school where total was more than the number of women living in the house. It was a priviledge to live in the house. I don't think it makes any difference how many spots there are in a house. Our house was strong with 1/3 of the women living in.. 44 to be exact.

At my school 87% is a great number. We are lucky if 75% get matched.

This happens at many schools. IU is an exception to the rule (actually, to several rules). It's not like your school. It DOES matter how many spots are in a house, because that's what a chapter's total is.

I'm not sure what your point was but I hope that cleared things up for you :confused: .

Yeah, just as 33girl said above, here at IU almost all the girls live-in all four years. The number who live out is really, really, small. And, our Rho Gam even told us to judge houses in the mindset that you'll be living in the house and with the girls for 3 and a half more years.

As an alum from IU, I can tell you that its ridiculously competitive. Things have changed in the past decade, and seriously, recs are taken with a grain of salt. Houses send thank you notes to those who recommended them, they might get another look, and they may get invited to dinner. Other than that, they really don't mean that much. Legacies are more important, although IU's houses don't normally have many legacies..they end up going to other houses. IU's rush is nowhere near conventional and the biggest reason that women don't receive bids is because they suicide, are rude to the initial houses they don't want only to realize that they should have been nicer, or don't have strong enough grades. Oh, and the question everyone hates the most..."what's your liveout policy?" The point of joining is to get the whole experience and the question tells sorority members that the PNM isn't really focusing on the big picture or wanting the full experience.

While this is good advice, some of the things you say may have been true when you went here but have changed now. You said that not many houses have legacies- the opposite is true. Perhaps your house didn't have many but I know at least 15 girls personally that are legacies to the same house I am, and those are just the girls that I know. I would say each house has at least 10-15 legacies. However, they are in no way an "in" to a house. Basically all it entails is a courtesy invite to a dinner and to 12 party. And I also disagree about the liveout question. Some girls really do want the chance to live off campus and if it comes down to choosing between houses that do and do not allow it, it is important to know before deciding!

I would not discount the value of recs either because having a rec in some houses helps to your overall score during 19 party and will at least have you invited to some pre-rush event. The more things you can do to stand out in a system this large and this competitive, the better.

Also, the reason many girls do not get bids is partially due to suiciding and grades, but a LARGE number of girls who have good grades and good personalities get released prior to pref. I agree that everyone should maximize their options and go to all parties they are invited to, but if someone isn't invited to pref they won't get a bid period.

I feel like deferred rush here is a double-edged sword. It is great that freshmen get a whole semester to assimilate and enjoy college without being in a sorority. However, being here a whole semester makes SO MANY PNM's think they already have an idea of what the "good" houses are, so they don't give others a chance. I would say that there are a good 3-4 chapters (one in particular) here that struggle to get girls to want to join, so until PNM's actually give EVERY house a chance and maximize all of their options, which isn't really the case now, I don't think things at IU have a chance at getting much better.

There are far too many women here who have a strong desire to be in the greek system that fall by the wayside and it is truly unfortunate. VAgirl, I agree with most of what you are saying, but I think that the true reason that so many people go unmatched here is due to the "bed-rush" non-traditional quota system. I am NOT advocating switching to a traditional quota system as the whole foundation of the greek system here is living in the house for 3 (sometimes 2) years. However, it is a hard situation to solve.

Sorry about writing a book, I have A LOT to say on the subject. Anyway, good luck to all going through at IU. The rest of recruitment is about 3 weeks away!

There's this girl I just met a few weeks ago… we’ll call her Melissa. My bf is a Delta Chi and is still in school, so every so often I’ll go to the house and hang out. On initiation nights, they invite girls over to help them celebrate. Melissa was there, and I only knew her because she had randomly requested to be my friend on Facebook a few days earlier (I assume she saw that I was friends with the brothers?) I told her I knew who she was, she still asked how I was aware of who she is (even though I knew that she knew), I told her it was because of the friend request, and she said, “oh, no.. you must have just seen me on your bf’s page.” After that, we talked a bit (I couldn’t avoid her) and eventually she asked how long my bf and I had been together. I told her just over a year and she responded with, “That’s nice. Do you trust him?” I said “yes…,” and she said, “Oh, good luck with that.” Throughout the entire night she pretended to be my friend around everyone else, but she’d make comments like that to me periodically. And she'd TRY to get as much attention from my boyfriend as possible, but it definitely wasn't working. I was civil to her because I thought she might have been good friends with one of the brothers… she isn’t. Some people told me that she expressed interest in joining a sorority. She now wonders why members of all three chapters avoid her like the plague.

While more obvious forms of insults might rarely happen, it's still a good example of why you should be nice to ALL sorority members, both before recruitment and during. As “competitive” as sororities might seem on the outside, they can actually be a lot closer than you think. And none of them want to see anyone ruin the reputation of Greeks as a whole. If you’re rude to one member of one sorority, it means you insulted their entire chapter, and possibly all of the chapters on campus. And when that happens, you won't receive a bid to those one or two sororities you had your eye on and were EXTREMELY nice to at recruitment parties.

Actually, I completely disagree with your statements for a multitude of reasons. Yes, I am an alum from 06, but I still keep up with the members of various chapters at IU and was there for 19 Party this year. I'm not saying that houses won't accept large amounts of legacies, but seriously...legacies are what gets you invited back for 12 if you choose to do so, not recs. Attending dinners and stuff gives you a feel for the system, but it also eggs on dirty rushing or puts into their minds that they want one house or else. Not everyone does their matching the same, so you can't say that it will get them back to 12...don't make it sound like they'll be guaranteed back. I know three people personally who weren't invited back to places for 12 even though they had strong recs...and this was last year.

I've been around the system for a fairly long time and can tell you that in the past five years, the majority of women have dropped out because they didn't want to come back from break early, didn't have the grades, or were just not getting the one house that they wanted back. Its a requirement to attend all parties and all houses that you're invited back to in order to continue into the process. Obviously its a given that if you don't go back for 3 party that you won't get a bid...but, also, a number of houses snap bid and keep it under wraps...some of those houses are on 3rd Street.

The system may not be perfect, but its fine as is. Would you rather have 1600 people going through rush, have them all get a house, and have pledge classes of 70-90 people or would you rather actually KNOW your sisters and every member of your house? Yes, the bed quota may not be ideal, but life isn't always fair and most people who make it to bid day will get a bid somewhere...its their own decision as to whether they accept it or not. The deferred rush is a good idea because it breaks up a massive amount of events and gives women a chance to think about whether or not they'd actually like to be in a house. It also weeds out people for grades and if they don't come back from break early, it also proves that they're not really dedicated to joining. Let the women have a real college experience before they're thrown into a house. Let them get to know the people that they're living around. Let them adjust to college life.

As for the house thing, I already know you're talking about my chapter. Everyone who is associated with IU's greek system surrounds themselves with the stigmas and rumors, so don't even try to hide that. I had the opportunity to join a 3rd Street house and a few others but chose my chapter because I saw beyond the BS and rumors and found real people that I clicked with. Most people don't realize that its the advisors that have been screwing up rush for the chapter for the past few years, not the members themselves..it was never the chapter's idea to bring in others...it was the advisors'.

The liveout question is dumb. If a house is overfilled, then they'll have liveouts...otherwise, you pay a large fee to liveout or are cramped in. As someone who lived out, you miss a lot of things and its far better to be living in and getting the entire experience. It may get annoying and tense, but you're far better off living in your soph and junior year and maybe living out senior year. Why not ask meaningful questions like how you help with your philanthropy or how you know that your sisters will be there for you.