Deferred recruitment questions

[Cookiez17]

Tons of schools in the north take this approach and I do understand where they're coming from with it. It lets a freshman adjust to college and get a feel for the different sororities on their campus before rush. I just wish they didn't host it during a full week of school, which can get busy! If they did rush the week before school came into session after Christmas break I'd be all for it.

[VioletsAreBlue]

My school rushed in the spring. Then rush moved to fall of sophomore year. Northeast liberal arts college with a surprisingly strong and intense greek system.

I always viewed deferred recruitment as a positive. For one, life at the start of your freshman year hardly resembles life at the end of that first year. And I knew plenty of people freshman year who, even with deferred recruitment, made poor decisions rushing as a freshman and would have done it differently. It is very easy as a freshman to get caught up in what you think you are supposed to do and like, versus having the confidence and better understanding of your decisions. And I would argue that when rush moved to sophomore year, it made that specific system even stronger. And it has grown. One chapter sadly closed due to low numbers and 2 new ones came on and everybody is reaching quota.

But that worked at my school. That doesn't mean it would work at all schools.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by Cookiez17

If they did rush the week before school came into session after Christmas break I'd be all for it.

This is what Washington and Lee switched to my daughter's senior year (2016), and they've stuck with it. Previously, they had recruitment the first week of class in January, and with 75% of the student body involved in Greek life, it was a bad way to start the semester at a highly academic school. They also went from 4 rounds to 3 at the same time...I think both changes have been an improvement. There was no need for 4 rounds with only 6 chapters at a small school where everyone had gotten to know people first semester. So now everyone comes back a little early for fewer rounds, and they're done by the day before classes start.

Also, this for fraternities and sororities - the fraternities have a semi-structured recruitment with invitations at the same time.

[Ace23]

Most of my daughter’s friends that have deferred recruitment are bummed about it. They feel they have to really carefully mind their p’s and q’s all the time. At smu the girls have rush dates all semester. Also, most are finding it difficult to find “their people”. They like their roommates and have met a few people in clubs and dorms but it is not the same feeling that you belong to an organization with a new pledge class of potential Friends almost immediately.