How do I interpret these numbers?
 

Hi! I am a PNM looking to do COB this fall at my university. Right now I am looking at the official size numbers released by my schools' office of Greek life. It looks like most sororities got X amount of members last year (sorry, but I am not sure how much information about my school I'm supposed to reveal) while one sorority ABC got about half that even though according to their quota thread on this forum, their quota was about X.

Also because of this, sorority ABC is now the second smallest one on campus, besides one sorority that opened quite recently.

Does this mean anything in particular? Is something going on like stated in this thread here? I'm just curious.

You should try looking up your school in this thread.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=130389

And you're doing COB in the fall? Does you school usually have formal recruitment in the spring?


Edit: I just looked through your old posts, you school did formal in the spring, look at this thread for numbers instead.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=125397

Yes, my school has formal recruitment in the spring.

And this is what my school says:

The quota spot is blank.

However, it looks like most sororities had about 160-180 members, while sorority ABC and the new sorority both have about 150.

Wow, you're such a stalker! No, I'm totally kidding. :p Thanks for the correct link. This is what it says there for my school:

Also, it says that sorority ABC got 40 members during spring recruitment, but the official number says 25.

So what is your question? I'm guessing you're trying to figure out if anyone is doing COB this fall. Your best bet is to register with the Greek life office who will forward your information to the chapters. You should also talk to your sorority member friends who should be able to answer some of these questions.
And one final question, you're not a freshman, right (I'm not willing to dig through previous emails)? At schools were formal recruitment is in the spring, they don't allow freshmen to rush in the fall.

One more clarification for you. If a chapter is off of total by 1 or 2, they very well may be doing a COB, but it will probably be only for close friends of girls in the chapter. I wouldn't plan on that chapter being a possibility for you, unless you have friends who are willing to go to bat for you.

Thanks for the tip!

I'm just wondering what the numbers might mean, if anything.

And I'm a sophomore.

Not having seen the link you are talking about, and I don't have time to scroll thru the links, if quota for this year is blank it's because there isn't one yet. Quota is set after all bid cards are signed and turned in. Is that what you are asking?

I still don't get what you mean by "what they numbers might mean." Why don't you just ask your question? I think I'm pretty good with numbers, quota, total, RFM, the mathy stuff. But I still haven't figured out your point.

Ok, I guess so.

1. Would sorority ABC be considered a "weak recruiting chapter"?
2. What might explain the discrepancy between the numbers given out here and the listed numbers from the school?

I just realized, the numbers could have changed. That could have been the real number, but girls could have dropped/depledged or have been depledged in that time. It seems far fetched since it was a large discrepancy with numbers, but it is possible.

1) With just 10-20 fewer members, no.
2) Not everyone here has official numbers.

And what difference does it really make anyway?

I don't know. That's why I made a thread, to see if it meant anything.

1-too hard to say, but probably. However, and I'm glad you worded it carefully, weak recruiting chapter doesn't mean bad chapter, closing chapter, weirdos, whatever. Some chapters can never quite figure it out about formal rush, but do great with informal. But that usually doesn't show in the numbers. If they are willing to give you a bid, you should consider it an honor.

2-chapter total doesn't necessarily reflect real life. Total SHOULD be adjusted every year after formal rush by averaging the totals of all the chapters, but some (a lot of) schools don't do it. So they have high quotas, good campus retention and the actual total is much higher than the official number. They could also set chapter total in the fall instead of after formal rush, which would mean it's based only on their sophomores, juniors and seniors. HOWEVER, regardless of how accurate the chapter total number is, the chapters still have to adhere to it where COB applies.

I think there is a common misconception that a weak recruiting chapter is a less than desirable chapter. WRC does not equal less desirable chapter. Some chapters just shine during informal recruitment. The more informal format allows the chapter to show you a different side. Sometimes girls are more comfortable with the more laid back format and allows them to open up and have much better conversations.

No, I don't think there is anything bad about the chapter at all.

Do you think it is likely that they will do COB? It's not going to be revealed until next week which houses are doing it this year, but I want to go ahead and get my recommendation ASAP if it's likely. I probably should have done it earlier, but I was told that who would be participating would not be known until September, and I didn't find the membership numbers until today.

Yes, they should be. And the new chapter is definitely a strong NPC that will undoubtedly succeed over the next couple years, so don't count them out either.