What effect do higher numbers have for rush
 

There's a list for how many girls have signed up for rush this year and it is over a thousand so far. In past years it has only been about 800. I'm curious about how this will affect things, whether it will be alot more comptetive than usual. i know they change quota based on how many people are there so i am not sure if it will matter. anyone know?

What a good problem to have! I think that due to the adaptability of adjusting total and quota to meet the needs, I think that competetiveness shouldn't be that big of deal. However where you will see problems is in dealing with the larger groups coming through for every party throughout the week. It will be more difficult for the sisters to handle the increased numbers and everythign that goes with it (refreshments, brochures, and stuff like that).

The chapters will also probably have a more difficult time keeping track of who was who, and well they liked each person...

We had a lot more girls going through this year: over 400, and only 7 sororities for them to choose from! It was absolute MADNESS! When I went through last yr there were only 200-some, and even that seemed crazy. Our quota was 39, and 6 out of the 7 sororities got quota (including ZTA). Many girls were really upset, because they made the mistake of suiciding, or didn't give all the sororities a fair chance before dropping them, and they either got completely dropped or mismatched.

EDITED FOR A TYPO :P

Thanks--

I'll be working hard to make an impression and get noticed this January! we were told that at the end if we rank 3 sororities on our card we will get a bid, is that right?

Geez, we had a horrible formal recruitment. We had something like 5 girls come out. We had to COB like mad, especially since my class makes up half the sorority, and we graduate in May 2004.

FWIW, an alumna of another sorority (I want to say DPhiE, but I'm not certain) commented at bid matching that, statistically, whenever there is a Republican president, Greek numbers go up, and when there's a Democratic president, they go down. I have no idea where she got that information, but a lot of the other alumnae were agreeing with her.

Please don't read any agenda into that - I just found it interesting.

honeychile

That is interesting, Honeychile.

Meliss, you'll end up where you need to end up. The greek system is weird -- you may be disappointed, you may be thrilled -- but I give you a good 98% guarentee that in 3 months you wouldn't be anywhere else but where you are.

Well, that didn't happen at our school... There were about 300 LESS than the year before. And our panhell VP Recruitment is AWESOME, so I don't know how this happened. On the other hand, fraternity numbers were high because three of the fraternities now have houses. One of the fraternities got a bigger pledge class than there are brothers! And they were a pretty big fraternity to begin with!
I wouldn't worry about going through when numbers are high. It's better all the way around, actually. Yes, sorority women will have problems such as double rushing, food and drinks, etc... but that shouldn't be a problem for you at all. I went through when there were high numbers, and it just meant that I had a big pledge class and we're all very tightly bonded. Just relax and have fun!

What school do you attend, Meliss? Do you know what sororities are there? Will this be your first time through recruitment? (We just LOVE rush threads! :) )

honeychile

I'm at Purdue, I am freshman this year so I've never rushed before. For formal rush the sororities are:

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Gamma Delta
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Zeta
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Phi Mu
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Kappa
Zeta Tau Alpha

Not that I'd be able to name them normally but I just got a card in the mail "advertising" recruitment. I beat them to it, I've been registered for awhile :) .

I'm just a little paranoid... I've had 2 good friends at 2 other schools rush unsuccessfully this year, one dropping out when she got her third choice and one not getting a bid. Both fun, sweet, and very pretty girls:(

Meliss, I hope you keep us posted with your journey through rush! Bear in mind that you're looking for the sorority where YOU will feel most at home - and the sisters are going to be looking for the pnms with whom they feel at home! So, just be yourself, keep your eyes open, your best foot forward, and enjoy!

We will ALL be here to cheer you on (right, GC-ers?)! May you find your sorority home, and love it at least half as much as I love mine!

Panhellenically,
honeychile

meliss, lots of luck - you have some great sororities to choose from. :)

honeychile, interesting observation. The pattern at my school always seemed to be that numbers were higher in odd years than in even years - quota was 31 my year and (I think) 26 the next. I have no idea why.