University of Illinois Greek System
 

The Greek system at University of Illinois fascinates me because it has always been billed as the largest and one of the best. I have just finished a chronology of every Greek organization ever there and the results are astounding. At its peak (in total chapters) in 1929 there were 86 fraternities and 33 sororities! I have a fraternity rush guide from 1926 which features seventy-something fraternities with houses. More than 50 new fraternity and sorority houses were built around the campus during a twelve year period around the 1920s. Can you imagine how exciting that was, and what rush was like? It is my understanding that rush was held prior to the opening of fall semester during which other orientation activities took place.

The only other schols which can come close to that record, at their peaks, are California (64 fraternities & 35 sororities), Ohio State (60 & 30), Penn State (58 & 27) Michigan (60 & 24), and Wisconsin (58 & 25).

While being the largest in terms of number of chapters doesn't make us the "best", I have to admit that being part of something this big is a cool feeling :)

By my last count, which is in another thread recently, there are currently 34 sororities and 58 fraternities.

Did this include NPHC groups at that time?
________
Avandia settlements

Yes, this includes AKA & DST, plus some locals & very small nationals. SGR & ZPB did not come along until much later. With the fraternities, Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Pi & Omega Psi Phi were active at that time.

I'd love to hear about sorority rush at U of I in 2010. My neice, from a small town, knows few people there. She is a very good student, outstanding dancer, very cute. Tons of high school involvement. Is one rec and one letter enough for each sorority at U of I? Do we need more?
thanks

I was only active and "on the other side" of recruitment for one year before I graduated from U of I, so not an expert when it comes to recs, but one should be enough. When I rushed, I knew many girls that didn't have recs (and many that didn't even know what they were...including myself.) Now, I ended up joining a colony during my junior year, but my friends that all rushed without recs during our freshmen year ended up happy and loved their Greek experiences.

U of I seems to be odd in the sense that although recruitment is pretty competitive, recs are not necessary just because so many PNMs do not have them. BUT as always, recs are helpful, so having them will be advantageous.

Hi, I have a couple of questions about the greek system at U of I, and I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong spot. I hope someone can answer them for me.

1. On average, how much are dues per semester or year for a sorority with a house? I read on here that some are like 12k, but two of my teachers said they paid roughly 1k, unless i heard them wrong.

2. What happens if you are not given a bid? Are you allowed to rush again next year or go through informal rush? I read on the site that we should contact our Gamma Chi's, but I don't really know what they could do for us after that.

1. It's more for a chapter with a house because it covers room and board. To my knowledge financial aid including loans and scholarships can cover this cost just as it would if you were living in the dorms. If the U of I Panhellenic website doesn't list this info, you should get it at some point at an information session or in the early rounds of recruitment. Someone from the U of I may be able to give you more information or a better idea of numbers.

2. If you're not given a bid, you can participate in informal recruitment or formal recruitment next year. Your Gamma Chi can give you advice and support throughout the entire recruitment process. They can't fix things but they're there to help.

Also they may be able to advise you as to which houses are doing informal recruitment/COB. This isn't always publicized to the campus in general and this way your Gamma Chi can pass on your name to the sororities who are doing it and let them know you're interested.

Exactly, although it does appear that on the Illini Panhel website they list chapters for informal recruitment, I don't know how current that list is, or when it will be updated next. Your Gamma Chi will have more information and be able to help you there too.

I'm excited to see these Illinois questions this year!

To answer your first question, dues do not get as high as 12K per semester. The highest you'll pay is when you live in the house, which is a 1 year requirement for almost every chapter on campus. However, in order to attract members to stay more than one year, sororities try to make their room and board and dues more affordable than living in the dorms. That said, semester dues AND room and board can be anywhere from $3500-$4500 (it's been a while since I've seen financial sheets for other chapters, so that's based of my chapter's costs and what I can remember).

Dues for out of house members vary a bit more. My out of house dues were just under $1000 per semester. And of course, dues will be a bit higher during your first semester because of one time new member fees.

You will get a financial sheet from the chapters that you return to visit on First Invite.

As far as your second question goes:

The majority of chapters do not publicize their informal recruitment (if they event do informal at all). Many times if chapters have the opportunity to take a few members, they will privately invite girls to come to a COB event. As 33girl said, if you do not receive a bid, you can talk to your Gamma Chi who will get your information and pass it on to the sororities so that they know you are interested in informal recruitment opportunities. From there, any sororities who are looking to take on a few will contact PNMs on their own.

Panhellenic usually updates the information recruitment section on the website shortly after bid day and at the beginning of spring semester. If any chapters are advertising that they're doing COB, they will be listed there and PNMs can contact them about events. Not many chapters do informal, however, the most I had ever seen listed there was 5 (out of 20 NPC chapters).

Wow, thanks for the information! Does anyone know by chance if the 2009 financial sheets are posted online anywhere? I searched a little but could not find anything really.

I don't ever recall seeing financial sheets anywhere online.

Can't wait till September when Phi Kappa Tau is having a reunion of all there former chapter members to restart the Zeta Chapter!