Rushing at UofI at Champaign
 

I'm going to be a freshman at U of I in the fall and I'm interested to see if someone knows anything about Recruitment there. I'm not even sure if I want to join a sorority or what Recruitment is really going to entail at such a big school. Is it very formal at UofI? Very competitive? Any information would be great.

Thanks so much :)

I was in a sorority at UIUC. Recruitment is very tedious because there are so many chapters. However, if you think you might be interested in Greek life, I would highly recommend giving recruitment a try. Greek life is VERY dominant at UIUC and formal recruitment is your best bet and the only way to see every sorority.

It is competitive by midwestern standards. It is uncompetitive in that most girls get bids, you don't have to be a freshman to get a bid, and recs aren't an absolute necessity at some chapters. It is competitive because most chapters reach quota/total during formal recruitment and then do not do any type of informal recruiting (a few do though). Also, most chapters have legions of legacies and no one is really cut for grades since the entrance requirements for the University are very high.

My suggestions would be to give it a try if you are at all curious about it. Your best shot will always be as a freshman. Get recs for as many chapters as possible, and have an open mind because really most of the chapters there are really great.

I recently posted my recruitment story, so you can search on "DBB's Retro" or something like that and it will come up. Granted, my story is almost 10 years old, but not much has changed. If you go in with an open mind, and really honestly give every chapter a chance, you are likely to get a bid.

Feel free to PM me with anything you don't feel comfortable asking here.

Thanks to both of you for your willingness to help and especially pointing me to the recruitment story. I don't think I have any specific questions right now, I have just always wanted to rush but the negative stereotypes are kind of holding me back so I'm just looking for some more information and such. I'm almost positive that I'm going to rush in the fall no matter what though.

Oh, and I posted my rush story as well - but it is even older than DBB's so read it just for what it's worth - the entertainment value.

As for negative stereotypes being a factor for you - unless things have changed dramatically at UIUC, the greeks there have a very positive image on campus. Of course there are plenty of GDIs who hate how dominant greek life is, but trust me it is way more difficult to NOT be greek there. I cannot tell you how many people I knew at UIUC who felt left out of a lot of campus life because of the negative image associated with NOT being greek (the networking available through greek life seemed to be important in getting involved in some non-greek activities). Greek life is WAY big there! Plus, it is the absolute most incredible greek system in the country, not to mention the largest, and to be able to be a part of it is such a great opportunity. I would certainly encourage most UIUC students to give it a try.

I know that it's not horribly competitive for freshmen (I've heard nothing but good things), but what about transfer students? My best friend from high school is transferring there from a 2 year community college. She would be a great sorority member; high grades, involvement in the community, etc. but I didnt know what to tell her about her chances, per say. Will she be totally fine or heavily cut, or somewhere in between?

Mel -
It isn't unheard of for juniors to get bids. Being a transfer may be a bit harder if she doesn't know a lot of people on campus. BUT, if she is open to all of the groups, she would fare better than a junior transfer at some other schools. She could beef up her chances by getting recs and making sure the chapters know about her good grades and such. I would think her chances would be much less than a freshman or sophomore, but still not an impossibility. She'll just need to work harder (recs and such) and accept more cuts.

See KiwiJuice's recruitment thread from last year. She was a junior transfer. And this thread as well.

Delurking to say that last year at U of I, they experimented with some kind of a junior quota so that chapters could bid upperclassmen and it wouldn't count against regular quota. If I remember correctly, every house had about 2-3 free upperclassmen spots, which covered a large percentage the juniors going through recruitment.

I have no idea if they're doing it again this year, but it seemed to work out very well last year, so I can't imagine why they wouldn't.

And you can PM me if you have any questions; I just graduated from U of I, so my info is pretty fresh.

You can do it as a junior. Even before junior quota, there were at least 5 chapters that regularly took a few in their pledge class. Grades will be the biggest issue, and willingness to live in the chapter house.

I'm glad to hear that! I would love to see more campuses go that route to open up sorority life to more upper classmen who for whatever reason didn't go Greek in their early years. We started an upperclassmen quota at Alabama a few years back and it's been very successful.

To the op, I'm a UofI grad as well. I strongly advise you to give Recruitment a try. Never let stereotypes interfere with your decisions in life. Always investigate for yourself! Best of luck!

So for what's it's worth: I ended up going through recruitment at UofI and today was bid day and I recieved a bid (and pledged) at a chapter I fell in love with almost immediately. I'm so excited!!

Where did you end up?!??!?!

Spill it. You can't just leave us hanging like that! Congrats tho!

Can't hold back, we are excited for you