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Okay, I have held my tongue for a long time on this thread, because it is obviously at my alma mater, but I am posting now, and if I am out of line, PT and Carnation, feel free to delete.
U of I is a huge, wonderful greek system. Even the smallest chapters are 80 women strong. And let me tell you, the difference between 80 women in your chapter and 150 women is not much. You are going to make friends and find opportunities in both, and they all have gorgeous chapter houses.
In addition, the strong chapters CHANGE every few years, on both the sorority and the fraternity sides. I have seen a half a dozen dedicated men or women turn a chapter around more than once. I have also seen large chapters get lazy in their rushing or risk management or scholarship or sisterhood/brotherhood and fall in the ranks.
The big awards -- chapter of the year, greek woman of the year, chapter president of the year, etc. rotate pretty evenly among the chapters as well.
Women in my chapter had friends and dated men in every chapter on campus, as well as many independents. In fact, many of my friends would come by my chapter house and comment on how sweet all my sisters were and how much fun they had at my house, and there is no greater compliment.
With so many chapters, not every one is going to shine during FR. In recent years, my own chapter has become COB pros, and we love the idea of getting a more diverse group of women by looking outside the group that knows the second week of school that they want to be in a sorority. Of course, in prepping and budgeting for COB alongside FR, we have fewer resources for FR.
So all that said, I would never encourage you to accept a bid from a chapter at which you are not comfortable. I will, however, encourage you to:
1. Go to prefs tonight no matter who is on your list. You don't get that list until you are all dressed up anyway, so at that point you have little to lose. If you don't walk out of one of those chapters wanting to be a sister, don't sign a bid card.
2. If FR does not work out, attend COB at some of the chapters that didn't impress you during FR. Some of them are just simply much better in the informal setting, and you will get to meet far more women.
3. Stop and think about what your sorority experience means. I admit, I was not in the most popular chapter on campus, but I love my sisters and there is something special between us that goes beyond friendship.
Two weeks ago I watched a pledge sister give a toast through tears and a goofy smile at the wedding of another pledge sister who was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. With the perspective of age and maturity, I would never trade that or those women for a better social calendar second semester of sophomore year.
I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you find what I did.
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