I think the first thing to do would be to try to do away with that rule that rushees only have to go to four of the five and make them go to all five. Seriously, there are schools where women have to visit 18-19-20 sororities in under a week. Going from 4 to 5 isn't going to kill anybody.
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Back in the 90's our club was in the same situation and a couple girls who wanted to pledge my club the next year talked up the club to all their other freshman friends (you can't pledge until you're a sophomore here) and they all decided to pledge because they didn't want a club with such an amazing history and legacy on our campus to die away.
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This kind of "pre-rushing" is the absolute best thing you can do. However, as I said, it has to happen organically. If you stand up in the middle of rush and say "tell your friends about us!" then yeah, it will look kind of desperate. The thing is to make sure your members are meeting and befriending those freshmen - you all need to be involved in activities where you meet new people.
Also, if you are allowed to pledge juniors, even seniors, don't be afraid to do so. Often they make the most committed members because they've had a lot of time to think about what they truly want out of a sisterhood.