Negative Impact of Formal Rush?
 

Might it be fair to say that . . .

Going by these threads it seems that NPC's, and sororities' in generals, emphasis on Formal Rush can really hurt chapters that are either hurting for numbers at a really strong Greek School or exist at Schools with less strong systems?

It seems that enormous resources have been provided both educationally for doing Formal correctly and by the chapters in executing Rush.

I know chapters at schools where quota is 10 or less that exhaust themselves putting on the requisite displays.

I was wondering if this took away from truly teaching chapters good recruitment methods when the New Members aren't lining out of nowhere.

Lets face it, in schools with huge systems, the girls don't have to recruit. In the schools with lacking systems, or when the chapter is small, are the ones in need of very good recruitment skills.

I know we have touched on this before, but it still seems like its a topic that has not been adequately developed.

James,

You're right. The sororities are finally starting to put more emphasis on different ways of rushing. But if your entire national rush team consists of members from schools that always made quota and total, it's hard to shift that way of thinking.

Not only that, it's a circular thing....if you are known as the group that always makes quota, you probably have a better chance of making quota again.

As I've stated before, I wish the focus would be taken away from rewarding quota/total and instead reward member RETENTION - both from pledgeship to initiation and throughout the years. I was amazed the first time I saw awards for % of pledge class initiation...just because we always initiated 100% of our pledges.

What's the point of getting them in the front door, if half of them will go out the back?

I remember that half of the rushees had their hearts set on three out of seven sororities. When many of them were dropped from the there sororities that they wanted, they would drop out of rush. Meanwhile there were four pefectly good sororities where they could have potentially become sisters. Dozens of women would be disappointed because they had closed their minds and limited their options. The sororities would be disappointed because they didn't make quota when all was said and done. I was/ am not really sure how to combat this.

Do the big Greek Schools like the SEC really lose a lot of their NM before initiation?


I was under the impression they hd good retention also, otherwise they wouldn't be making total.

I can't speak with any authority on the matter, but if you look through the rush threads, you will see a lot of threads where quota is 60 but campus total is only 150, which makes it seem like a lot of groups are having members drop out/transfer/go alum either before they finish pledging or before they graduate.

Total and quota aren't necessarily correlated. It's not like total = quota x 4. So to say that they must have good new member retention or they wouldn't be making total isn't necessarily true.

I'm a recent alum of the Beta Kappa chapter of ASA that just closed... thus the name... and I have to agree with the focus on retention... in the year since I was a part of that group I saw many deaffiliate or depledge... I think that may have been a major problem for us... I think along with the focus placed on formal rush there should also be a focus on how to retain new members and actives alike... I believe this would have helped us a lot with numbers... I'm at a school where only 7% of the population is Greek so we don't exactly have girls lining up to go greek...

I'm hopeful that the NPC might finally be catching on to the fact the "one style" fits all model of recruitment doesn't work everywhere. I recently was asked to complete an evaluation on recruitment for NPC that specifically asked if the "Formal" recruitment model really worked for your campus. It was the first time I have ever received anything from NPC asking for my opinion on recruitment. On a campus that is 4% Greek with only 3 NPC chapters, and only two who make quota, "Formal" turns off more people than not.

Last night we had a guest speaker come speak to the Greeks as part of Greek Week. The guest speaker is a Sigma Phi Epsilon brother, and said even though the campus he came from had a lot of Greeks, when non-greek women were asked in a survey Why they Didn't want to 'go greek' the #1 reason given was not the costs, was not the time commitments.... the #1 reason for them NOT going greek was the Formal Recruitment process for sororities.

Just some random extra info.

That's really interesting. What campus was he from?

Honestly, coming from a southern campus where many people are groomed for recruitment, I think formal recruitment mainly appeals only to those who have been told about it/prepped for it their entire lives... On my campus it's a bit different because 95% of students come here planning to rush... But it is still intimidating, and we still lose women who would be great candidates because of it.

He was from a university in Pennsylvania although I cannot remember which exact one.

Retention is definitely the key!
 

My chapter never had an issue with retention. I don't recall more than 2 new members depledging and the number of girls who deactivated or were expelled was within what National statistically expected.

I think that's the reason why my chapter was able to go from low numbers and constant campus rumors that we were getting shut down to campus total in four years. There was another chapter who I believe had the same number when I pledged. But a lot of their sisters bailed instead of fighting it out. Their charter was pulled the next quarter.

While I was in the chapter Formal rush was this huge thing because if you make quota during formal, even if your under total, you get less heat from National. But our National has learned this is not the best mind set. I will always remember when our National VPM said "Bid Day is not your recruitment report card. It's the kickoff to recruitment." It just showed that she understood that some chapters can kick ass at COB while blowing at Formal. But of course making quota and total at the same time is still the goal. Chapters can't function with constant recruiting year round. You get way too burnt out.

Re: Retention is definitely the key!
 

Couldn't agree more. We struggle with quota, but have a low deactivation rate compared to the other groups on campus.

For example--when our current seniors rushed, quota with 35 or 36, I can't remember. We only got 20 that year I think. We built the house and several went early alum because they couldn't afford the hike in dues, and a few transferred. Our major rival sorority got quota--35 girls.

Today, we have 15 seniors. They have 12.:eek: