That is good to hear. Only one percent of PIKES are ever colony and chapter members, so joining that group puts you in with a select few. One of the first things you guys should do, I believe, is to put in place a "business" aka recruiting plan. Focus on our four cornerstones of SLAG. Appoint one or two guys for each.
For example, find two of your smartest guys, and appoint them in charge of Scholars. This means these guys are out talking to professors about people in their classes that are academic standouts or even going around and speaking to honor societies/clubs. I am fairly sure that they can also get a list of the incoming freshmen GPA. After getting that, go through, and pick out every guy with atleast a 3.0. Email each one of them and tell them what we're about.
Next, you want to take the opportunity to do a SWOT evaluation. Our consultants do this when they make recruiting and expansion visits. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. In doing this, it gives you a very strong idea of where your colony stands. This also helps establish your target market and shows you the guys that you should be going after.
I did this for our IU Colony over the summer, and thus far, 2 and a half weeks into rush, we have recruited 21 guys. To give you an idea of how successful those strategies have been so far, we signed 15 guys TOTAL (fall and spring) of last year. Granted, I think we have the second largest Greek System in the US, only behind Illinois, however every other chapter on campus has been established for quite sometime. Most of their pledge class numbers right now are at 17 or 18, so we're even AHEAD of them.
If you take these ideas and roll with them, it will guarantee you a successful rush and successful chartering. Feel free to email me at
kablessi@indiana.edu. You can also call my cell @ 812-325-4948 if you have any other questions.
Fraternally,
Kyle Blessinger