BabyP, you'll probably get a wide range of opinions on this. I'm not a big fan of deferred recruitment, but I come from a "formal recruitment the week before classes start" background.
On the one hand, having a semester under your belt can be beneficial from an academic standpoint. It doesn't always mean that a girl will maintain the same grades once she pledges, but it can give chapters a better indicator of academics using a college GPA vs. High School. On the other hand, almost every other campus organization and dorm already have been recruiting new (freshman) students and promoting activities and involvement. Girls may already have a full calendar of extracurriculars by the time recruitment rolls around, and decide not to participate because of that. But even though all those other activities can take new freshman members, the sororities have to wait a semester/quarter to recruit their new (freshman) members. I have a big problem with that happening. Why discriminate against sororities and make them wait, when you don't have to wait to join the drama club or dorm intramurals team?
I also think fall has the potential to promote academics more than deferred, especially when deferred is fit in after classes and over weekends. You've got the entire summer to prep, and can really intensely focus on recruitment those days and not worry about going to class and doing homework. Of course, not having to balance class and recruitment is good for the PNMs, also
Then you have the whole 'campus image' situation. Say you have a sorority or three who may be a bit smaller than the others, very strong and solvent and a great group of girls, but for whatever reason they aren't considered a "name" chapter on that campus. In a fall recruitment situation, the PNMs may be able to judge each chapter more on how they present themselves during the recruitment events (yes, I said
may there, because we know plenty of girls come in focused on one or two chapters regardless of when recruitment is held.)
In a deferred recruitment, rumors and reputation can get around, even if they aren't based in any form or fact whatsoever. You also may have more potential for "I only want to be an ABC or nothing!" with deferred, because the girls have seen the sororities on campus for a semester they may think they know what they want. It may be the best fit for them, but it may not.
Again, this is all opinion and one could probably use each of my points against deferred recruitment to argue fall recruitment.