Iowa Recruitment
 

The University of Iowa's recruitment starts today. Woo hoo!

Here's the manual: http://uiowagreeks.com/uploads/files...ation_2010.pdf
I think they've done a good job with this and there are no surprises about cost since they've spelled it out in black and white!

So Iowa has had some issues over the last couple years, culminating in 50% of the PNMs dropping out last year, quota only being 23, and only 4 houses being at total. They changed recruitment this year to more closely follow the University of Illinois' method (RFM, recruitment spread over 2 weekends at the beginning of the fall semester), and we all have our fingers crossed!

The University of Iowa has one of the oldest Greek systems in the US, with 7 single letter sororities of 14 total. The houses are mostly the big beautiful traditional homes like you'd expect on a big old campus, and it's a shame any chapter there is struggling, to say nothing of HALF of them.

Here's the schedule:
Formal Recruitment will take place over the first two weekends of school (August 26-29 & September 2-6).
Check-In Orientation/Late Registration: Thursday, August 26
Meet The Chapters: Friday, August 27 & Saturday, August 28
Welcome Back: Sunday, August 29
Sisterhood:Thursday, September 2 & Friday, September 3
Preference Round: Sunday, September 5
Bid Day: Monday, September 6

Any of you Hawkeyes lurking out there, please please provide more details! :)

I'm told 722 women signed up for recruitment which is a great number! If RFM can do it's magic and the PNMs can give every house a chance to do THEIR magic, membership could jump back where it should be. Hopefully some of those girls are lurkers on here so they've learned not to drop out at the first taste of bad news.

I'm still waiting for news on what percentage of these gals are sophomores. I'm wondering how many realized they made a huge mistake last year and are giving it another go with fresh eyes and a new perspective.

RFM is a wonderful tool and really helps build a greek system, it allows all houses to make quota and maximize the number of women receiving bids.... can't get better than that!!! Good luck IOWA!!! GO GREEK!

What number was quota this year? Anybody hear anything else?

Iowa's recruitment has just started. They do it over 2 weekends, so the last 2 days were Welcome. I believe they have Welcome Back today (Sunday) and then a break until next weekend. I need a little clarification on that schedule, but will fill you in when I know something! I see no reason why quota can't be 40, but it all depends on the PNMs.

Recruitment just started this weekend and won't finish until next weekend. Haven't heard from any of my advisor friends how the first two nights went.

Granted, it's been a few years since I was an advisor there, but girls not keeping an open mind was a big issue during the five years I was an advisor. If they were released from the 2-3 chapters they thought they "deserved" to be in, then they didn't want to bother with the rest.

The marketing for Greek Life has done a huge 180 since that time though - from practically nothing to a lovely website and informational brochure. Hopefully the administration has become more supportive as well.

I can't imagine Kappa ever having girls drop out if they got STUCK with them. But it shows you how, um, (what's a polite word for STUPID) some of these girls can be. I was, however, horrified at the member numbers for all the houses I saw. I couldn't believe there were only 4 houses or so that were over 100. There also seems to be a big problem with retention, and I don't know what that's about. Maybe I just didn't see it 25 years ago because I lived in a bubble, but I don't think the girls were quitting like they do now.

So here's hoping for 15 houses at quota of 40+ and a quick turn around in this awesome campus and Greek system. Now that the fraternities are slowly re-emerging on campus, the social schedule should get fun again, even if they do have to be dry, and of course by now they will have learned their lesson.

Then we can think ahead to some of the houses doing a tear-down and re-build. The A Chi O house has to have some of the houses on campus yearning for new digs. When I saw their parking garage I turned a shade of green I didn't think I had in me.