Northern Woman Getting Bids at an SEC School

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

Re: out of state new members at Bama (and any other school)
We have a wonderful Mississippi member in her...I guess 70s now, or maybe 80s, who has been a recruitment consultant for many, many chapters. She really stresses pledging in-state girls, especially from small towns. That doesn't mean she throws out ALL the out-of-state girls, but she really pushes for 75% of the new member class to be in-state girls. Her reasoning is that these girls will more than likely marry their hometown sweetheart, go back to that area and can send more new members. Another aspect is that it gives you more local alumnae to draw from for advisors. I have seen her theories proved right in many locales.

I can see why this theory makes sense, but what about the counterpoint of it.. I've found in my experience that many in-state girls rushing are the ones who go home frequently on the weekends (to see that high school love) and who sometimes ultimately drop out of school to return home. In fact, we kind of mark it as a negative when a girl talks about her boyfriend who is still at home, because we figure she'll be going home a lot on the weekends and won't be involved in the sorority.

[Zillini]

Here's something to throw in the mix. The Georgia Hope scholarship has made it harder on GA girls going through Recruitment at Bama and probably elsewhere as well. Chapters have been "burned" by pledging GA girls who: 1) Only attend long enough to get their grades up enough to transfer back home for the free tuition. 2) After a year of paying out of state tuition Mom and Dad tell her they can't afford it or simply don't want to pay it anymore and she must move back home because it's free.

For the record I'm not saying GA girls won't be extended bids on Bama's campus. Just look at the UA Panhellenic pledge list and you'll see many. We have several that are wonderful members, past and current. All I'm saying is that is that these girls are looked at more closely than in the years prior to the Hope scholarship coming into place.