2007 UGA Recruitment

[NUBlue&Blue]

I think we've discussed this conflicting information before--wasn't the conclusion that perhaps they have to say "recommendations aren't necessary" because that's what they are supposed to say (per NPC? I don't know).

We could put a giant sticky on here that says for SEC recruitment, you must have recs, you must have recs, you must have recs....but unfortunately, most people stumble on this site after things have gone south and at that point it's much too late.

I handed out info about the Atlanta Panhellenic info session to all my daughter's friends' mothers and only one took me up on it and went to the session. They broke the girls up into groups for their prospective schools, but we left so I don't know what the girls were told in those sessions. During the large group session, I wanted to scream when they answered one mother's question "panhellenically" rather than with what most of us with experience know is the truth.....NO, it is NOT better to wait until you get used to school and rush as a sophomore at Alabama! In the craziness that is SEC rush, you need every advantage, and being a sophomore is not an advantage. I really don't know how this can be improved until we can tell the truth without sounding like harpies, gossip mongers or scaring every girl out of even attempting recruitment, but somehow it needs to happen.

I really didn't have a lot of perspective on the numbers until Sunday night when my daughter was corresponding with one of her friends at UGA. They have to cut 1,000 girls for the next day--that's why open house is done at noon. Those girls have to go to work, fight for the hometown girl, try to remember who they met, etc. Then in the next three days, they somehow have to whittle it down to a pledge class. Deserving, smart, nice and wonderful girls are going to get cut and that's just the reality of working with those kinds of numbers.

Last year when so many sweet girls from our HS were disappointed, I wondered what the heck they were looking for in sisters at UGA, too. It's a tough situation, and it seems like a heartless process, but we have to remember it's tough on both sides...and we're talking about 18, 19 and 20 year old girls having to make these kinds of decisions under extreme pressure.

It's no consolation when it's your daughter in pain, but it really isn't personal in most cases, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw on who you talk to when you walk in the door.

[GPhiBLtColonel]

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

I think we've discussed this conflicting information before--wasn't the conclusion that perhaps they have to say "recommendations aren't necessary" because that's what they are supposed to say (per NPC? I don't know).

We could put a giant sticky on here that says for SEC recruitment, you must have recs, you must have recs, you must have recs....but unfortunately, most people stumble on this site after things have gone south and at that point it's much too late.

I handed out info about the Atlanta Panhellenic info session to all my daughter's friends' mothers and only one took me up on it and went to the session. They broke the girls up into groups for their prospective schools, but we left so I don't know what the girls were told in those sessions. During the large group session, I wanted to scream when they answered one mother's question "panhellenically" rather than with what most of us with experience know is the truth.....NO, it is NOT better to wait until you get used to school and rush as a sophomore at Alabama! In the craziness that is SEC rush, you need every advantage, and being a sophomore is not an advantage. I really don't know how this can be improved until we can tell the truth without sounding like harpies, gossip mongers or scaring every girl out of even attempting recruitment, but somehow it needs to happen.

I really didn't have a lot of perspective on the numbers until Sunday night when my daughter was corresponding with one of her friends at UGA. They have to cut 1,000 girls for the next day--that's why open house is done at noon. Those girls have to go to work, fight for the hometown girl, try to remember who they met, etc. Then in the next three days, they somehow have to whittle it down to a pledge class. Deserving, smart, nice and wonderful girls are going to get cut and that's just the reality of working with those kinds of numbers.

Last year when so many sweet girls from our HS were disappointed, I wondered what the heck they were looking for in sisters at UGA, too. It's a tough situation, and it seems like a heartless process, but we have to remember it's tough on both sides...and we're talking about 18, 19 and 20 year old girls having to make these kinds of decisions under extreme pressure.

It's no consolation when it's your daughter in pain, but it really isn't personal in most cases, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw on who you talk to when you walk in the door.

Our ASCAPA info session does "tell it like it is" and makes sure all the girls who attend "get it" and we encourage them to spread the word to their friends. We want them going in with their eyes wide open - their moms too! So far of the nearly 40 rec requests we processed this summer, none of the girls have dropped out: at GaSouthern we had 2 Kappas, 2 AOPis and 1 Zeta; at Auburn, we had 1 TriDelta, 1 Kappa, 1 DG, 1 AChiO, 1 ChiO, 1 KD, 1 Gamma Phi and six DZs. Waiting to hear how the four we did recs for at Valdosta (2 girls) and Bama (2 Girls) do and esp the 13 we did for UGA girls!

One of the other past ASCAPA presidents and I plan to appeal to the new UGA Greek Life director to include our website address and that of Atlanta Panhel in their recruitment guide and mention us on their website - similar to what they do in Texas...wish us luck!

[NUBlue&Blue]

Originally Posted by GPhiBLtColonel

Our ASCAPA info session does "tell it like it is" and makes sure all the girls who attend "get it" and we encourage them to spread the word to their friends. We want them going in with their eyes wide open - their moms too! So far of the nearly 40 rec requests we processed this summer, none of the girls have dropped out: at GaSouthern we had 2 Kappas, 2 AOPis and 1 Zeta; at Auburn, we had 1 TriDelta, 1 Kappa, 1 DG, 1 AChiO, 1 ChiO, 1 KD, 1 Gamma Phi and six DZs. Waiting to hear how the four we did recs for at Valdosta (2 girls) and Bama (2 Girls) do and esp the 13 we did for UGA girls!

One of the other past ASCAPA presidents and I plan to appeal to the new UGA Greek Life director to include our website address and that of Atlanta Panhel in their recruitment guide and mention us on their website - similar to what they do in Texas...wish us luck!

I'm glad you're having good success with your group on the south side--my daughter has lots of friends from Fayette county in her sorority at an "undisclosed location".

One mother did mention at the Atlanta session that you should be aware that legacy doesn't mean anything anymore, but other than that, most of the questions were answered with....how shall I say this....a lot of sugar-coating. But I'm not good at that, being a midwesterner, dontcha know!

[clueless also]

Got an e-mail. She did get invited back to the one today. She liked them well enough but isn't sure if the whole sorority thing is for her now. She'll go to the pref party if she gets invited but will only pledge if she really feels a bond - in other words she's not desperate to simply be in a sorority. She said she decided to participate in rush to get to know people, and she has met several nice girls. She knows or has heard of several that got no ivites back today, so she doesn't feel so bad. I'm better despite little sleep last night. Still mad that they didn't look deep enough to get to know her at all. The girl who called didn't even get her name right!, but my experience was totally different (Small mid-atlantic school, early 80's). She will find her niche and be fine.

[violetpretty]

Mods, can this thread be moved to Recruitment stories?

[anxious uga mom]

My daughter is getting very confused. She is very sick. Found out her roommate has cats and she's allergic. Hasn't been sleeping at all due to wheezing at night. I think lack of sleep is really confusing her along with all the daily decision makiing. She sent me a text this morning and said she is considering the suicide thing. Picking only one sorority and if she doesn't get that she's done. I told her I thought it was a bad idea but would like help from people who know better. She got 12 houses round two and six for today. She likes all of them. I think it's crazy to do the suicide. Help. I need it before she gets done today. I think it's her exhaustion talking.

[minDyG]

Originally Posted by anxious uga mom

My daughter is getting very confused. She is very sick. Found out her roommate has cats and she's allergic. Hasn't been sleeping at all due to wheezing at night. I think lack of sleep is really confusing her along with all the daily decision makiing. She sent me a text this morning and said she is considering the suicide thing. Picking only one sorority and if she doesn't get that she's done. I told her I thought it was a bad idea but would like help from people who know better. She got 12 houses round two and six for today. She likes all of them. I think it's crazy to do the suicide. Help. I need it before she gets done today. I think it's her exhaustion talking.

If she likes them all, then why would she even consider suiciding? If she really would be happy at any of the houses she has left, especially having a full slate of invitations, then I would agree with you that it is crazy to do suicide. Of course, I personally think it's crazy for anyone to suicide unless they would honestly be MISERABLE at any house besides their preference. But that's just my humble opinion.

[cuteASAbug]

Suiciding should really be done only when you only like one sorority and would never under a million years accept a bid from any of the other sororities on campus. If your daughter likes all of the sororities that invited her back, I strongly don't recommend suiciding.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by anxious uga mom

My daughter is getting very confused. She is very sick. Found out her roommate has cats and she's allergic. Hasn't been sleeping at all due to wheezing at night. I think lack of sleep is really confusing her along with all the daily decision makiing. She sent me a text this morning and said she is considering the suicide thing. Picking only one sorority and if she doesn't get that she's done. I told her I thought it was a bad idea but would like help from people who know better. She got 12 houses round two and six for today. She likes all of them. I think it's crazy to do the suicide. Help. I need it before she gets done today. I think it's her exhaustion talking.

Your instincts are good. As others have said, at a school like UGA, this may very well be her only opportunity to join a sorority. She should only suicide if she is willing to accept not being Greek at all rather than accepting a bid from the other chapters. The fact that you mentioned that she likes all of them indicates that this is probably not the case. Please encourage her to reconsider this since her current exhaustion may have important long-term consequences for her.

[kathyc]

MamaDawg and UGA Dad,
We are all thinking of you tonight as your baby dawgs wait for their pref parties. I hope both girl are invited back to the house they want most. And Mama Dawg, I've got both fingers crossed and a red carnation on my pillow.

[UGAalum94]

Are the Rho Chis (or whatever they are called these days) really pushing COB as an option for girls who don't like their results? (or talking it up more than usual?)

I keep kind of hearing it in the context of girls dropping out, but it doesn't make much sense to drop with hopes of COB if you still have the groups who usually COB on your party list.

And at UGA COB isn't likely to involve that many groups most years. Snap bids, maybe, but COB, not so much or at least any kind of open COB that PNMs are likely to know about.

[UGADad]

On top of everything else, there was a fire alarm in Brumby tonight -- somebody burned some bagels. So these tired girls, especially the ones on the top floors, had to walk down all those stairs and stand outside for most of an hour.

As for the tent talk -- who can blame the pnms? Especially the ones with no prior knowledge of reputations and few friends or even acquuaintances among the actives. They have had a grand total of 70 minutes with each of the sororities that are still alive for them. They are starving for information. They think they know who they like, but how can they be even remotely confident that they have a true sense of what each sorority is really like?

[UGAalum94]

The only real problem with tent talk is that the PNMs don't just get talked into one group instead of another, sometimes they get talked out of groups that otherwise they might have liked. And often times the information isn't actually true.

For instance, at some campuses, although not UGA that I know of, some groups are plagued by persistent tent talk that they are in danger of closing when they aren't, and this year at UGA, a group may or may not be on social probation. If they are, it's good for the PNMs to know it, if if they aren't, some PNM may shy away from a great experience for bad reasons.

While wanting to know all you can is understandable, it's not really helpful if you are using bad information to make your decisions.

[cluelessUGAmom]

Originally Posted by UGADad

On top of everything else, there was a fire alarm in Brumby tonight -- somebody burned some bagels. So these tired girls, especially the ones on the top floors, had to walk down all those stairs and stand outside for most of an hour.

As for the tent talk -- who can blame the pnms? Especially the ones with no prior knowledge of reputations and few friends or even acquuaintances among the actives. They have had a grand total of 70 minutes with each of the sororities that are still alive for them. They are starving for information. They think they know who they like, but how can they be even remotely confident that they have a true sense of what each sorority is really like?

UGADad,

I just got off the phone with my daughter and she told me about the fire as well. I'm laughing because she told me that someone burnt popcorn in a microwave and they had to check every room!!!!!!!! So bagels, popcorn mmm.... why would they have to check every room if the person who burnt whatever knew "where" they burnt it!!!!!

As for the Red and Black link -- I was not nearly as upset with the article as I was with the posts. I was very shocked to read what I read in regard to all the slander of the greeks and specifically the sorority identified. But what was really sad was what some of the responses from the girls were! If I was a recruit I would certainly take that into consideration as representation of some in that house.

Looking forward to posts in the morning after the schedules are out. At least they don't have to be there until 7:40 tomorrow!