missing rush

bamagirl · #1 06-14-2003, 12:29 AM

Okay I'm going to the University of Alabama in the fall. However I will be in Mexico for half of rush week. I'm devistated, but there's no way I can change my plans. I'm slighlty angry because I called and tried to check with the university before making plans. They informed me I wouldn't miss anything. I was told at orientation that my absense wouldn't be a big deal. However I find that hard to believe and was wondering if anyone out there had an honest opinion about my situation. Wether you have positive or negative news please tell me something because I don't really know what to do.

carnation · #2 06-14-2003, 12:34 AM

Y'know, it just occurred to me that changing the rush dates to before the start of school at a late date could've affected a lot of people. I wonder if many people have called them.

All you Bama alums?

chideltjen · #3 06-14-2003, 12:38 AM

i don't know anything about bama... but what about COB? or gosh forbid... spring recruitment?

ladybug1116 · #4 06-14-2003, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chideltjen
i don't know anything about bama... but what about COB? or gosh forbid... spring recruitment?

Not at the University of Alabama...I don't know of groups that participate in either.

In regards to your dilemma, I am not a Bama alum or a current student...however I know many people who go/went there, including my sister. If you're going to rush, it is imperative that you are there for all rounds. Rush is extremely competitive as I'm sure you are aware. I'm sorry that this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I am being honest.

carnation · #5 06-14-2003, 03:47 PM

Ooooo, I thought that's what people would say. Bamagirl is a camp counselor with one of my daughters this summer and asked me this question yesterday so I directed her to GC.

Does anybody have any words of advice for her? I'm so afraid that nobody will be COBing.

ladybug1116 · #6 06-14-2003, 04:02 PM

I really think this is a tough situation with no good answer. Groups at UA really don't COB....so many go bidless as it is. And even being a sophomore you don't go through with the same advantage as a freshman. There are some houses that will automatically cut people if they aren't a first year student. Carnation, you went to Auburn and you know the atmosphere of Greek Life there....the views are extremely similar at 'Bama. If you want to be serious about Greek Life you do it as a freshman. This is not to say that if Bamagirl decides to rush as a sophomore she will be cut from every house. This is not the case...but options will be more limited...how much I can't say..I'm not there...but freshman get the advantage.

Bamagirl if you decide to go to Mexico I would recommend just enjoying your first year and getting a feel for UA campus life and getting to know girls in sororities. Get to know the people in your dorm, get involved with SGA, etc. You *may* hear of a group COBing but it might just be one group..maybe two. Go through rush as a sophomore and make the best of your situation.

Again, I'm sorry there is no "pretty" answer here but UA is a southern school with a large and prominent Greek system. Is the process or the situation always fair? Certainly not...but it's the reality that we are dealing with at this point in time. Best of luck with your decision and feel free to PM me with any questions.

Bama_Alumna · #7 06-14-2003, 04:17 PM

My .02...

Quote:

Groups at UA really don't COB....so many go bidless as it is.

That isn't necessarily true. Of the women who don't drop out and attend the pref parties they are invited to, there are only a very few who do not get matched. Last year, I believe there were less than a dozen girls who did not get bids and many of them suicided. The problem is that many PNMs become disappointed or disillusioned and end up dropping out of rush before attending serious/pref night.

And there ARE groups at UA that participate in informal recruitment...just not ALL of them participate. Some of the houses are at total and can't accept more than quota. Your choices might be more limited if you decide to COB, but if you can't go through formal recruitment, I would definitely check into COB in the fall or spring. If you can do that, you won't miss out on the football games, fall swaps, etc.

It is definitely preferable to go through rush as a freshman, whether it is formal or COB. Even the houses that participate in COB aren't likely to accept sophomores or juniors unless they are outstanding.

I'm about to leave to go to an event tonight, but if you have any questions, PM me! I'd be happy to help if I can.

Angels&Arrows · #8 06-14-2003, 10:00 PM

I am sure my answer will need to come from someone close to Bama.. but who is COBing?

There was only two chapters below campus total 2001-2002 and I think only one this past school year.

Are chapters not making quota during formal the one's COBing? Or chapters that have several December graduates, that COB in the Spring?

IheartAphi · #9 06-15-2003, 10:18 AM

I don't know if they do this at Bama, I imagine they organize the rush schedule better than at NCSU, but here a lot of the rush parties interfere with classes. A sorority can not drop someone who missed a rush party because she had class. (but she can be dropped for grades, ete) It carries a lot of girls through the process to skit night. A lot of chapters drop girls they are kinda interested in to see about the girls they are missing. Then they figure they can snap bid the girls they dropped in the beginning if they don't fill their bid list with girls that had class

Bama_Alumna · #10 06-15-2003, 10:19 AM

Quote:

I am sure my answer will need to come from someone close to Bama.. but who is COBing?

I don't want to name names, but...

Anyone who doesn't make quota can offer snap bids or COB. Several chapters did not *quite* make quota last year (and a couple of them would surprise you!), so they did COB on or right after bid day to bump themselves up to quota.

Sometimes new members drop out during the first semester--they find that sorority or college life is not for them, or the financial commitment is too great, or they get bad grades and their parents make them drop out, or they party waaaay too much and end up getting asked to leave. There are almost always a few of these in any house. Then, there are the older members who become inactive or leave the house or leave school, graduating seniors, etc.

So the houses who are only at total AFTER pledging quota in the fall are under total when people drop out, etc. They can then COB or participate in Spring Rush.

I believe that there were 4 or 5 houses last year that participated in Spring Rush. My old chapter was not one of them, but since I'm an advisor and I live in Tuscaloosa, I hear a lot of what's going on. There may be other chapters that COB during the semester... even when I was a freshman (many years ago...ha ha) there was COB and snap bidding from very strong chapters. It's just done rather quietly.

Things have changed a lot in the past 10 years at 'Bama. I don't think that any of the chapters on campus now are weak or bad chapters. Even the "newest" ones... and our "newest" chapters have been on campus for close to 20 years or so... are doing quite well. But the rush numbers have been declining and quota is usually set before pref/serious night (which is when the most women drop out), so it's often set too high for all the houses to reach. NPC sororitites have also received a lot of bad press courtesy of Melody Twilley, and some girls take that into consideration when signing up for rush. As you can see even by what's written here, UA's rush has a pretty bad rep.

Here are some websites for NPC sororities at Alabama. Bamagirl, please PM me if you have any questions or want advice on rush at 'Bama. I'm sorry that this is happening, but I'm sure that you will be able to go on your trip and will still find a place where you'll be happy!

And you won't have to miss out on all the fun!

(Note: These are the only NPC sites that are listed on the University of Alabama website... there may be others, but I couldn't find them. My own chapter has been lazy and doesn't have their own website up yet!!! But I'm working on them!)

http://www.deltazetabama.org/ (Delta Zeta)
http://www.uagammaphibeta.com/ (Gamma Phi Beta)
http://bama.ua.edu/~piphi/ (Pi Beta Phi)
http://www.cba.ua.edu/~rking1/ (Zeta Tau Alpha)

Here is the panhellenic website: http://ua1vm.ua.edu/~npc/

I hope this helps!

Bama_Alumna · #11 06-15-2003, 10:22 AM

Quote:

here a lot of the rush parties interfere with classes

UA has rearranged the rush schedule this year so that it takes place during the week before classes begin.

houstonchica · #12 06-15-2003, 03:39 PM

My sorority's UGA chapter COB'd a very small number of girls this past spring semester even though they took quota last fall. This was due to graduation and a couple other reasons. So yes, even the big chapters that you think don't COB may very well do it.
Good luck!

Andrea

GammaPhiBabe · #13 06-15-2003, 10:06 PM

Quote:

My sorority's UGA chapter COB'd a very small number of girls this past spring semester even though they took quota last fall.

Gamma Phi Beta, in general, encourages year round recruitment. Even at convention last summer, it was talked about quite a bit. Of course, many chapters are over total and so it isn't possible, but I think that as a whole, it is greatly encouraged by internationals.

AchtungBaby80 · #14 06-16-2003, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tibi
lots of sororities do not advertise the fact that they did not make quota or need to add to their numbers.

This is definitely true.

GeekyPenguin · #15 06-17-2003, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GammaPhiBabe
Gamma Phi Beta, in general, encourages year round recruitment. Even at convention last summer, it was talked about quite a bit. Of course, many chapters are over total and so it isn't possible, but I think that as a whole, it is greatly encouraged by internationals.

Yes it is! I come from a very small chapter and we were encouraged to do it, but never really did - last year we took a key from SigEp, who has been very successful with it, and we picked up one girl about two weeks before school ended! It was a big motivator for us, since numbers have been down lately. I think for larger chapters, it's also going to be a nice thing - if you have 30 girls graduating, you can pick up new members whenever you feel ready.