Reversing the numbers snowball

[stargirl725]

I'm sure many of you SEC'ers and those from other schools with highly competitive rush know what I mean. One year, a usually successful (in terms of numbers) chapter fails to make quota for whatever reason. The next year, because of the smaller pledge class, they are smaller than the other sororities. Rushees pick up on this, assume there is something wrong with the chapter if they can't get as many girls as the others, and drop the chapter in fear that they are joining a house that is "dying out." As a result, the chapter fails to make quota again. As the larger pledge classes graduate, the chapter gets smaller and smaller, and therefore falls lower and lower on the totem pole in the eyes of rushees. It's like a snowball.

My chapter is currently dealing with this. This year was the first year in recent memory that we did not make quota. We will be graduating lots of seniors this year, and have lost about 5 to deactivation over the course of the year, due to financial issues unrelated to rush. During next fall's rush, we will have fewer members than any other sorority, save for one other chapter that's further along in the "snowball" than we are.

My question is: how can this effect be reversed? The immediate solution, to me, is to be less selective during rush next year (one of our pitfalls this year was that we cut too many girls, in my opinion.) But, do we really want to go for quantity over quality? How can we get numbers back up?

I want to clarify that I don't judge my sorority by its size. I would love my chapter whether there were 150, 70, or 20 of us. But, financially, if we want to exist five years from now, we need more members. Our dues are already high and our house has a low capacity, preventing us from taking in a lot of money in room and board.

Let's face it: rushees can be and often are shallow when it comes to picking houses. I know that when I rushed, my greatest fear was getting a bid from the "small" house on campus. We will be facing a disadvantage during rush due to our size. I guess my question is: have any of you entered into the "snowball" with your chapter, and if so, how do you get out of it?

[Aphigal]

A few things:
1. due to not making quota and deactivations are you currently under ceiling?

2. even if you are not under ceiling you have the right to pledge quota through COB for the entire calendar year after FR.

I suggest you pledge up to quota immediatly. I undertstand that the chapter may be worried about looking bad doing COB but do it quietly. Don't plaster flyers on the quad, identify super freshman or steller sophomores (maybe those in leadership positions, on a sports team, or a highly sought after campus activity) and get thsoe handful of women to pledge. Yes their new member experience will not be the same as those who went through formal recruitment but these women can huge assets to the chapter!

3. contact your National immediately! They will help you out, just be prepared to be flexible and make some changes to your recruitment program.

Don't worry too much. I helped a chapter that missed quota by a large amount last year not only end up making quota this year but moved up 3 spots in rushing strength. It can be done and it sounds like you want to be successful so I think things are going to turn out OK.

[stargirl725]

Those are great suggestions, and I should have mentioned that we did in fact just recently get some girls through COB. That was great, but it wasn't as many as we needed -- we hoped for ten, i think we got 3 or 4. It's hard to COB multiple times, due to the fact that my campus has VERY strict new member period rules, and if we were to get a second group at this point, it would probably involve scheduling two initiations -- something we do NOT want to do if we don't have to

[PinkRose1098]

I think I know were you'r comming from. Last year when I pledged, my sorority didn't make quota and we're one the smaller sororities on campus. We had a really awesome rush chair and she made us work like crazy. Being smaller is an advatage sometimes. During rush workshop almost every sister was able to name every other sister. Lower numbers can make you closer. Also, you have to prepare comming in knowing you're going to the smallest. We had everything down for every day. we spent on day of pre-rush for every day of rush. We knew exactly what was happening on what day, where every line was going to be, and what every line was going to be doing. End result was the best rush on campus. We went over quota because we didn't sacrifice quality for quantity and we got women who were impressed with our sisterhood and wanted to be part of it. If you have any questions pm me.

[SLOTheta]

Stargirl,
I know what you are going through. 4 years ago, this happened to my chapter, and we almost went down the tubes...house totals were around 90, and we had barely 60. Our house 3 years ago graduated over 30 seniors, which brought us way down, making the next 3 rushes just horrible. We continued to work hard, having both a Fall and Spring rush. This past Fall, with only 60 actives, we made house total, we got over 34 pledges!! We will continue having rush this Winter and even spring to keep our numbers up. Even though we are rushing often, we NEVER compromise our Theta standards. We had a pledge class of 4 year because we only wanted those 4 girls. Having quality girls that will bring up your house is so much more helpful in the long run, than just having bodies to pay dues. Keep your head up, the harder you all work, the more you will see the results.

If you need any help, please feel free to private message me.

[33girl]

Originally posted by stargirl725
It's hard to COB multiple times, due to the fact that my campus has VERY strict new member period rules, and if we were to get a second group at this point, it would probably involve scheduling two initiations -- something we do NOT want to do if we don't have to

Let me guess, they have to begin pledging 24/48/72 hours after accepting a bid, right? Our campus put this into place and it is such bs. It is NOT an NPC rule. You can bid someone now and she can wait to pledge till next fall - it's not illegal as far as NPC is concerned. Try and get it changed and explain that if they continue to enforce it, they are violating dictates of the NPC. Failing that, bid the girls, one week later say "Oops! They all quit pledging!" and guess what, they all have a change of heart in the fall and (since they are all still bound for a year) start to pledge again. I hate to say something so shady, but if the school persists in making rules that hurt the groups, I have very little respect for them.

[BrianMUDU]

Originally posted by PinkRose1098
During rush workshop almost every sister was able to name every other sister.

Maybe it is just me, but the sizes of sororities that I know of around here just baffle me. My fraternity has about 60-70 brothers, and we all know each other after about 2 or 3 weeks of pledging. I can't imagine not knowing someone in my fraternity, it just doesn't make sense. Don't you all in large chapters find it odd that you don't even know your own sisters? I'm not trying to sound mean or anything, I just think it's weird.

Brian

[stargirl725]

Originally posted by BrianMUDU


Maybe it is just me, but the sizes of sororities that I know of around here just baffle me. My fraternity has about 60-70 brothers, and we all know each other after about 2 or 3 weeks of pledging. I can't imagine not knowing someone in my fraternity, it just doesn't make sense. Don't you all in large chapters find it odd that you don't even know your own sisters? I'm not trying to sound mean or anything, I just think it's weird.

Brian

I think the main issue here is not so much to do with size, but rather a fundamental difference between fraternities and sororities. Thanks to those wonderful NPC anti-hazing rules we all love so much, new members of sororities aren't required to come to the house all that much. And a lot of them don't. All the guys I know in fraternities are expected to be at the house much more than in sororities -- and that's true for both new members and sisters/brothers. When someone isn't around much, you're less likely to know their name.

[aephi alum]

Brian, I'm with you - I've heard of chapters with 200+ sisters, and I just don't get how you can know all of their names. I joined a local sorority that had 7 sisters at the time (newly founded), and before I even received a bid, I knew not only all their names, their interests, etc. but also those of my pledge sisters. How many folks in big chapters can say that?

As for the "numbers snowball" my chapter has always been on the downside of that - being relatively new and small on a campus where total is 80. It doesn't matter. We take quality over quantity, and so what if we don't make quota or reach total. Rushees, I think, come into our rush room and see fewer bodies in the room and think "hmmm, they're weak", and some of them cut us early on - but those who come back to later parties get to see our strong sisterhood, and a lot of them end up listing us first on their pref cards. And, of course, we do informal rush - being the only chapter not at total can be an advantage

stargirl, can you invite alums or women from other chapters to help you with rush? That may help you get your "body count" up... Even if they're not allowed to actually rush, they can do things like serve refreshments, freeing the actives up to do the actual rushing. Just an idea

[AchtungBaby80]

When I joined my chapter, there were about 60 or 70 members. I liked the fact that it was small, and that was a major factor in my decision to cut other sororities which were much larger--I wanted a smaller group because I knew I would feel much closer to the members. But my chapter was fairly new and national headquarters wanted us to get and keep our numbers up, so...we eventually got to 100, and now we're over that. The chapter has definitely changed with the size--I'm still trying to learn the names of last fall's pledges (they're not around the house much), and I don't feel the "sisterly bond" that everyone talks about. Now that we're larger we can go for quality members only, but there for a while, I have to admit that we were concerned with the whole "body count" thing...that's a good way of describing it! I really think it's a shame that sororities are pushed to get numbers up when there's nothing wrong with the way things are, but I guess it has to do with the economics of running a chapter. Economics or not, though, I still think it's sad.

[PinkRose1098]

It's a big accomplishment in my chapter to know everyones names. There are 150+ sisters. Plus, it's harder for the quieter, more reserved sisters who aren't involved alot in things the sorority does to know every single persons name, especially the newest girls.

[shadokat]

Star--

I deal with chapters like this sometimes, and my own chapter has gone through this.

#1) Don't sacrifice quality for quantity. It will end up destroying you from within.

#2) Having fewer members, while it looks different from the larger groups, can have its advantages. As someone else said, you can put together the best recruitment through hard work. Set realistic goals for your chapter, and then follow through on them. If you don't make quota, then COB to total. Try to target areas on campus where you may not have tapped into for members. You'd be surprised the number of women who would join a sorority if they knew more about it and didn't have to "come to the sorority".

#3) Make sure you emphasize the benefit of your national organization. Have alumnae or women from other chapters come for recruitment. They needn't be involved in say a skit or such. They can just be there to meet women, talk you up, and maybe serve food and drinks. Make sure you distinguish them.

#4) Take every opportunity to get your name out in a positive light on campus. Send notes to students on campus wishing them luck on finals. Sponsor a coffee break during mid term study periods. It only takes a chance meeting to find your next sister if you're looking for them.

Hope this helps you...I feel for you

If you'd like to talk, feel free to PM me.

Heather

[ZetaLuvBunny]

Before my new member class joined this past fall, our chapter was fairly small, but it has nearly doubled since then. With some people lacking in the participation department, however, one of our sisters commented that she believes we should be more choosy in who we offer bids to. It all goes back to what people wrote above about quality vs. quantity. Sure it would be nice if we had 100+ members like a couple of other sororities on this campus, but I have been told by some of those girls that they don't even know all their sisters' names, let alone recognize them on campus! Even with approx. 70 of us, we make it a point to know EVERYONE's first and last name, as well as celebrating everyone's birthdays (although we do the "birthdays of the month" towards the end of the month for all of those with birthdays in the given month). We're all going to Chucky Cheese's for the February birthdays! Yaay, my birthday's in two weeks! Okay, I've gone off topic again, but my point is really, do whatever you can within reason (call Nationals, etc) to help your numbers as long as you're not letting in any random Jane Doe just to raise numbers.

[Betarulz!]

From my own experience I understand what you mean by the snowball. It's happening to several frats here at Nebraska. Phi Delt is almost dead - they only have like 10 guys and they didn't get anyone to sign with them during rush. Same thing with Chi Phi.

At one point my chapter was down to 23 guys after a reorganization. I would say that if youre down to such a small number get the help of nationals, and also look at what you can offer. I think that for Beta here, we got a lot of help of from national, plus they made sure to try to get guys who may not have been fabulous, but they were solid and dedicated. They were told from the beginning that they were part of the rebuilding process and that they were the beginning. And from the hard work they put in, we've gone from what was known as the pothead house with the "mattress room" in the basement before the reorganization, to this past semester winning homecoming lawn display, homecoming overall, DG anchor splash, AZD Kareoke Kraze, and Grades for first semester with a 3.403 house GPA.

My point is that more than anything you don't necessarily need the cream of the crop of rushees, but you need people who will work hard, who will try their hardest to meet expectations. I think that everyone can agree that GLO's can improve people and that the sum is almost always greater than the parts. So if you have quality girls in the house now, you can go through and make solid showings in things throughout the year in which you can show rushees that size isn't everything.

[SigkapAlumWSU]

Like most people have said, do not sacrifice quality. No matter how many or how few members you have, with strong, dedicated women to Rush, it will show to all the PNM. Put that extra effort in, and even after rush, wear your letters, be active on campus, and get your name out there by doing whatever it takes. Become a visible part of campus and you will be pleasantly suprised with the result.