Sweet U. of Iowa story
 

Hi after reading lots of SEC stories how about a sweet Big 10! I'm a mom writing (with permission from Kid) her recruitment story. I've posted before asking about Iowa so I'm just laying it out there. There are 14 sororities on campus.

Recruitment is divided into two weekends.
Weekend one: Day one and two are Meet The Greeks, day 3 Welcome Back
Weekend two: Day 4 Sisterhood, Day 5 Sisterhood Cont. Day 6 Preference , Day 7 Bid Day.

I will still use code names just to add to the mystery. 749 girls are going through this year. My daughter is very excited (she has recs to 5 houses I won't say which just to see how it plays out. I'll tell later... maybe!)

We start at Day 1 Meet the Greeks (visit 5 houses)

I'll call the sororities:
Junior Mints
Snickers
Reese's
Skittles
Milky Way
Kit Kat
Pay Day
Twix
Hershey
Almond Joy
Mounds
M & M's
Baby Ruth
Butterfinger

On day 1 Meet the Greeks.
Each house sent out two/three executive board members to greet the waiting girls (no cheering) The girls were lined up alphabetically and led into the house and met their "guide". Each house served water. (now I get the SEC Ice water round thing!) Kid said that it wasn't just boring H2O no, no, no each house did something fancy and fun. Fruit, frozen berries, ice cubes with mint etc. Kid thought it was cute and fun!

Visit list:
Kit Kat - First house and a lot of fun. The girls had cute matching outfits. Kid felt she had lots in common with these girls.
Almond Joy - Loved the t-shirts the girls had on. Liked that many house members were involved in intramurals.
Mounds - Liked the variety of girls in the house. Kid felt like she "totally fit in" Had many activities in common with the girls.
Baby Ruth - Girls were VERY DRESSY! fancy. Felt the girls in the house were very simialr to each other. She felt she was "passed off" quite a bit. But several members liked her involvement in school.
Reese's - Liked the girls matching tops. Didn't feel anything "special or stand-outs" here. House/girls weren't memorable.

More to come on round one as Kid goes through remaining 9 houses today!

PS. Kid is well versed in understanding how the RFM works and anticipates big cuts after this round. She is also not allowing herself to fall hopelessly in love with one house and really likes the entire greek system.

Hungry for more?:D

I'm going to root for Twix. Just cus. I don't know which is my chapter. Yet! Maybe I'll figure it out as the week progresses.;)

Woo for Big Ten! I had a lots of classmates who chose Iowa, although only 1 went Greek. Also excited because I have a second cousin who is an active there AND my sorority is there! Yay!

I'm hoping Reese's the chapter I want it to be :)

good luck to your daughter, scrapcat!

You sucked me in with your first sentence. Can not wait to read the rest!

Yay Big 10 Story! Reese's all the way!

Skittles!

I agree! Big 10 and Reese's! Although junior mints or butterfingers will do in a pinch for me... hmmm, did I include chocolate in my hurricane supplies? Ooh, I think I did!

There were a lot of withdrawals from recruitment yesterday and today. Cuts started after the parties ended today

Is anyone thinking of that butterfinger minis commercial with the two southern belles? In my head, they're future SEC PNMs.

"My My, I just love butterfingers. Why, I think I'll try one"
"Oh no you won't!"

I'm rooting for my favorite on the list - Mounds. Mmmmm....

Meet the greeks cont....
 

Today kid went through the remaining 9 houses.

Snickers: Really, really liked them. Friendly, great conversation. Could really, really see herself here. (Great house as in physical structure)
Milky Way: Got a "weird" vibe here. Conversation was awkward. Girls didn't seem interested in her.
Pay Day: Loved this house. Nice "real" girls. Talked a lot about her activities. Girls were easy to talk to.
Twix: Liked this house. The girls here seemed to stress academics (which is fine with Kid).
Hershey Bar: Not a great fit. The girls were nice but Kid thought it would require effort to "fit in".
M & M's: Kid felt passed around at this house. Although she did think they were nice. She'd put them toward the top of her list.
Butterfinger: Very nice girls however, Kid felt a bit of sameness to the group. Rated them "ok". Toward the middle of the pack.
Skittles: A big LIKE! Had a fun conversation. Kid talked to the initial girl and had such a good time that the bumper couldn't get girl 1 to leave. Both girls stayed to chat. On her way out of this house Girl 1 grabbed Kid and asked her to please spell her last name! She wanted to "remember her". (good sign? who knows?)
Junior Mints: The real underdog here. Small chapter. No house (big give away). This chapter doesn't usually participate in formal rush but they are giving it a go this year. Kid thought the girls were very nice, but no real estate is a deal breaker for the Kid.


Rankings:
Girls rank 11 with number (1) and then the bottom (2) (3) (4)

Kid's ranking (1) in no particular order
Snickers
Skittles
Pay Day
Twix
Almond Joy
Kit Kat
M & M's
Mounds
Butterfinger
Baby Ruth
Kit Kat

And the bottom:
(2) Reese's
(3) Hershey Bar
(4) Junior Mints

Kid is prepared to get big cuts tomorrow. They can go to a max. of 10 parties. Kid says she'd be happy with 5! Time will tell.
Snack on!

I think it makes sense for AEPhi to give it a shot. Yes, they will do poorly relative to the housed chapters, but this will at least give 700 girls an introduction to the chapter which should make their informal rushing later more successful. And who knows? Maybe getting a house is in the back of their mind if they can get up to 40 or 50 girls. I wish them the best of luck!

They did discuss their lack of house with the girls. They are trying to get a house but many houses have "historical" status and renovations can be tricky if not impossible to achieve the "dorm" style sororities require. They also need a smaller house!

In Iowa City, parking is a key hindrance to new chapter houses. When A Chi O had to rebuild after the tornado destroyed their house, they had to build in parking as well. So now they have this amazing new house with a parking garage! That's a big deal in snow and cold country.