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1. Part of the fascination with SEC and SEC - style rush is, I think, a fascination with the unusual. The huge number of women going through, the number and size of the chapters, and the size of new member classes is not at all typical. Some GCers recall the data that the NPC presented a year or so ago when introducing the new options for recruitment; it went something like this:
"Campuses are different:
63% have four NPC groups or less
28% have 5 - 9 NPC groups
9% have 10 - 21 NPC groups
Quotas vary:
17% have Quotas less than 10
24% have Quotas of 10 - 19
18% have Quotas of 20 - 29
19% have Quotas over 30
22% have unknown Quotas
Sixty percent of campuses have Greek communities considered small or very small, with no more than four NPC groups. . . ."
So some of the "pride" may come from being part of, or knowledgeable about, recruitments that are highly unusual.
2. About "competitive": I'm not always sure what is being talked about when "competitive" creeps into the conversation. Often, though, I get the feeling that what's meant is a combination of "it's really hard to get into a top-tier sorority" and "lots of women going through recruitment are fixated on just a few chapters." (The Big Six, Top Three, Big Four, or whatever it is on a given campus.) Could it be that the culture of SEC and SEC-type schools is just more attuned to social distinctions, and maybe more willing to talk about them -- at least in contrast to some other kinds of schools?
Which brings up a question: if you ignore the 'top" houses, just as a thought experiment, how "competitive" is recruitment at some of the SEC or SEC-type schools? If women who are cut early from, say, ABC, DE, FGH, and IJK stay in recruitment, is it pretty likely that almost all of them can find a sorority that likes them and where they can feel comfortable and have a good experience?
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