The Differences in Sorority & Fraternity Rush: Why?

[LaneSig]

One negative aspect of fraternity recruitment: A guy will focus on one or two chapters that he doesn't stand a chance of getting. He doesn't get the polite hints and move on and give other chapters a chance. He ends up with no bid, wondering why the chapters "led him on".

[ebdelt]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

One negative aspect of fraternity recruitment: A guy will focus on one or two chapters that he doesn't stand a chance of getting. He doesn't get the polite hints and move on and give other chapters a chance. He ends up with no bid, wondering why the chapters "led him on".

Very true!

And my school does have a formal tour of all the fraternity houses. That being said, half of them don't give a rat's ass about it and don't seriously consider talking to these guys in hopes of adding a few more to their pledge class. They usually have who they want from summer rush. Other fraternities act like they are really interested in guys during formal rush but end up only taking about anywhere from 1-5 through the formal process (again in addition to those they already have locked down through summer rush), and end up leaving a lot of guys feeling like they got ripped off and as LaneSig said "led on". It ends up that no one really likes formal rush, the rushees nor the actives, because it's not taken seriously and the whole process comes across as very fake by some fraternities. Still...it helps a select few find a house, so I guess it's not all bad.

What I've always wondered is why don't fraternities have a quota? They place a cap on how big a sorority gets but different fraternities can range from 15 members to 150 at the same school. I guess fraternities are more capitalistic and sororities are more egalitarian in that way then.

[Lafayette79]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

One negative aspect of fraternity recruitment: A guy will focus on one or two chapters that he doesn't stand a chance of getting. He doesn't get the polite hints and move on and give other chapters a chance. He ends up with no bid, wondering why the chapters "led him on".

This kind of thing can happen when a guy knows a lot about the houses. But another negative aspect can occur when a guy knows too little and can be swayed by random things.

When I went through, one house had a wall around the front of their house with a big entrance to a patio where they held their event. My friends and I went in and had a great time.

The next house had their wall and patio in the back, so the front entrance was just one small door which was crowded. We took one look at the line and skipped that house.

The Sororities work hard to eliminate that kind of crazy. "The door was too small."

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by agzg

Actually, I'd be interested in seeing the drop rates of campuses that do a more fraternity-style COR period in one semester versus the drop rates in pledge classes that go through formal recruitment in the other... not that there's a correlation but it might be interesting. That could totally be a pipe dream.

In my 20+ years experience as a volunteer, using just my own observations, I've seen no difference in drop rates over the years or based on the varying levels of structure with recruitment. In fact, our drop rates are really very, very low. In my experience, the rare times that more than 1 or 2 women drop before Initiation, it's generally due to other issues such as hazing or major sisterhood problems in the chapter.

[DubaiSis]

Originally Posted by AGDee

In fact, our drop rates are really very, very low. In my experience, the rare times that more than 1 or 2 women drop before Initiation, it's generally due to other issues such as hazing or major sisterhood problems in the chapter.

This is why we say pledge, you can always drop. We know they won't. They just need a little nudge to make the leap.