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A young lady from our smaller city in Virginia rushed last year and is very happy there. I know she went in as a freshman without knowing anyone so it can be done!

How about cities/towns in Tennessee for the names? Or cities/towns from your state!

As a die-hard Gamecock, I can't say Go Vols, but best of luck to your daughter! :)

Good luck to your daughter vol mom. I was an anxious mom few years ago (not at UTK) and I sure understand your position. I do not not much about Tenn rush so won't comment but just wanted to say, welcome.

Vol Mom, the heaviest cuts will come for Philanthropy Round. Under the current system, chapters are each given a number they must cut down to after each round. It is based on things like past return rate, chapter size, etc. I talked to some UT advisors today and frankly, I was shocked at how many girls some of the chapters were required to cut. However, the system does seem to be working as there seem to be fewer girls falling through the cracks, and all of the chapters are making quota every year.
Tell your daughter to maximize her options and keep an open mind. Every chapter at UT is strong. I know very happy girls in all of them. Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions. Good luck to your daughter -can't wait to read her story and see where she ends up. Go Vols!

FormerLurker is right. Heaviest cuts came after Philanthropy. Some chapters have already had to release two-thirds of the women who initially signed up for recruitment. While women aren't technically "released early" for the things you asked about, it is definitely a starting point after open house when some chapters have to release half or more of the PNMs after those short parties.

I'm not a UTK alum, but I assume that they use RFM down in K-town, and I don't see how it'd be any different than other school in that every chapter has to release a different number of women after each round, so you can't really say that the heaviest cuts come after any particular round. Some chapters release the most after round 1, some after round 2, and some after round 3. Perhaps the posters' chapters made/make the heaviest cuts after philanthropy round, but that can't be the case with every chapter.

As far as early cuts for "obvious" things like low GPA, not having a rec...I'm sure those things will get you cut early at many chapters, especially GPA depending on how low it is. However, don't think that if you were cut after round 1 that there was something "obviously" wrong with you. For chapters who must cut half of the PNMs after round 1, it becomes a game of "who MUST we keep?" If a chapter has 150 members, and quota is usually around 50, and every member has 2-3 favorite PNMs, with some overlap, many of those favorites will be cut.

YES

[QUOTE=vol_mom;1971686]Thank you for the feedback everyone! I have faith that it will all work out. Now, whether "work out" means getting a bid... :).

I am guessing that most of the girls -- correction: WOMEN -- going through recruitment there are comparable in that they got recs and have decent GPA's. I know that standards for admission have risen considerably at UT and I read that over 45% of incoming freshman this year have above a 4.0. My guess is that many of these women fall into this category.

I know this is a lot of rambling, sorry! I'm driving my hubby crazy :). As a former frat boy he does understand, he just doesn't see the point in worrying since it is out of our control. Because I have nothing better to do than wait until tonight...here is what I've been wondering about. My daughter secured recs for all but two of thirteen chapters. Ironically, both of these chapters invited her back to Philanthropy, yet one that she DID have a rec for released her. One of the two that did invite her back (without a rec) was a favorite of both her roommate and a suitemate. Can you guess?? They both had recs and both were released."

In my experince recs only help so much, they help the chapter know the PNM better but cannot guarantee that the PNM will be given an invite past the first round. At some schools recs may mean more, but if most of the women have a rec then it just makes the playing field even. The best was to expect an invite past the first round is to be a leg.

Recs are not a guarantee of an invitation or lack thereof an automatic cut. They just help the chapters prepare, and the more prepared they are the better they can get to know the gals. Plus, the chapters can get a rec on your behalf if they wanted/needed to. The huge campuses need them because there's no realistic way of cutting, what, 300 women in 1 night without them or without throwing darts at a wall. I'm glad her recruitment is going well!

I completely understand how worried you are. Mine isn't at UT-K but went into an SEC school pretty much cold turkey. I didn't have the opportunity to rush when I was in college so I was basically worthless for help/advice. I wish I had known about Greek Chat before she started! It's been a God-send for understanding what she's involved in.

But, hang in there, no matter what happens, she'll grow, mature and learn, which is what college is all about. I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Just to chime in on violetpretty's post- All 3 chapters I am in touch with had to make very heavy cuts after Open House- and then again after Philanthropy. Since those chapters have already had to cut down so far-(if they have to cut many more they will be preffing less than quota x2- is this normal under RFM?)- those chapters SHOULD be nearly done with their heaviest cutting. The chapters whose advisors I talk to all had to do it that way, and post-philanthropy is when you always hear about big cuts at UT, so I have always assumed all chapters made their big cuts at the same time- obviously incorrectly. It does make sense that some chapters are still carrying more girls right now but may have to cut more before preference.
To address the other part of Vol Mom's question about grades and recs- if chapters have to release girls after Open House (without really meeting them because at UT only a small group of actives is allowed to be at Open House), grades, recs and resume are about the only thing they have to go on, so those releases are probably all done early. It has become like a job interview process, where the interviews are scheduled for those whose resumes look good.
RFM is an interesting process but it does seem to work better for the pmn's than the old way did.
And yes, VolMom, a nice bottle of wine would be a good idea for the next few nights! I hope your daughter continues to have a good experience.

best of luck to her!!!!

Best of luck and although I'm not at UTK I am in state and also used dog breeds for my recruitment story :)

I'm a UT alumna (Class of 1989), and I've thought several times this week how glad I am that I'm not having to go through recruitment! It's just very stressfull for everybody.

Back in the day, we got our invites in the morning, so we knew where we were going that night. I have to say, I like this way much better.