"No Frills" Recruitment - Need advice

[PeppyGPhiB]

Things like hometowns of members meant nothing at my school, since students came from all over the country to attend. With 7 sororities for about 300 PNMs, women will use all kinds of things to label each chapter, but I never heard geography mentioned as a consideration.

[SoCalGirl]

Hometowns meant nothing at my school either. Plus, combine my lack of geography skills with my lack of knowledge of cities/towns outside of SD and I didn't really care where the girl was from. I usually just asked to see if I could tie in info about other sisters. The good ole "You're from Calabassas? Megan is from Calabassas too!" I'd quickly switch to a lovely sisterhood story and avoid discussing Calabassas again.

[UGAalum94]

It's not the towns themselves so much, as it is the type of people that you knew already who are in certain groups: did you go to the same private school, do your parents know each other, are you from the "right kind" of family.

If your school does have a national draw, it might break this down, but I get the feeling that even when kids go out of state in the south, it's still a pretty small network.

It's a little weird for 18 years olds, I admit.

[SoCalGirl]

I understand what you mean. Especially considering my first year as an alum I was helping with recruitment at the other chapter in the area. Megan's biological sister was going through rush and when the VPM saw Calabassas on the rush app she immediately made a comment about money.

[UGAalum94]

I was thinking more about this, and I don't want to give the impression your whole experience rushing is based on family background or being from a small town. It's just that in the rushes that I know about, if a snap or superficial decision is going to be made by either a PNM or a group, it seems to me that it's going to based more on information or lack of information from before rush began. Not what did they wear first round, but what did you hear from your friend's cousin.

I think that at my school, the old hometown network is probably a lot less important than it used to be since more kids attend from big metropolitan areas.

[tunatartare]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Hometowns meant nothing at my school either. Plus, combine my lack of geography skills with my lack of knowledge of cities/towns outside of SD and I didn't really care where the girl was from. I usually just asked to see if I could tie in info about other sisters. The good ole "You're from Calabassas? Megan is from Calabassas too!" I'd quickly switch to a lovely sisterhood story and avoid discussing Calabassas again.

Hijack- one of my friends lives in Calabassas.

[EGAOPi]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Things like hometowns of members meant nothing at my school, since students came from all over the country to attend. With 7 sororities for about 300 PNMs, women will use all kinds of things to label each chapter, but I never heard geography mentioned as a consideration.

Agreeed. They mean nothing at my school, either. Almost everyone is from south Florida (either coast). There are some people from out-of-state, which is exciting for us (as oppossed to counting against PNMs, as it does in many Southern schools).
There will always be rumors and reputations but each chapter here is constantly changing and evolving. People have good years and they have bad years and oftentimes, the PNMs can see that.
They definitely wouldn't rank a chapter that wore pajamas and didn't put forth an effort #1 here.

[UGAalum94]

Well, I mean, deliberately showing a bad attitude during rush would be a problem, sure. But I meant that as long as the girls were themselves in their interactions with the PNMs, it wouldn't matter very much what they were wearing or how they decorated.

[jadis96]

We had a mix of frills and no frills at my school. We were told it was "no frills" but looking back it was more of a combo. Round 1 was always a Panhellenic shirt, every sorority got the same one, only difference was your color and letters (same logo on back and style of letters). Round 2 was a frills party, but the cap on money spending was low and there was no "matching" outfits, it was the basic "wear white deck shoes, kakhi shorts and a white fitted T type of thing. Round 3 was always "business casual". Pref night was black dresses for everyone.

Round 1 and round 3 you could have your sorority stuff around the suite and you could have fresh flowers, but no food besides finger foods and water. Round 2 you could have food and a drink, but no "meals" and the decoration budget was 500$ and had to be submitted by the end of that night's voting. Pref was a 500$ budget and you could have any food or drinks you wanted.

[tunatartare]

Originally Posted by jadis96

We had a mix of frills and no frills at my school. We were told it was "no frills" but looking back it was more of a combo. Round 1 was always a Panhellenic shirt, every sorority got the same one, only difference was your color and letters (same logo on back and style of letters). Round 2 was a frills party, but the cap on money spending was low and there was no "matching" outfits, it was the basic "wear white deck shoes, kakhi shorts and a white fitted T type of thing. Round 3 was always "business casual". Pref night was black dresses for everyone.

Round 1 and round 3 you could have your sorority stuff around the suite and you could have fresh flowers, but no food besides finger foods and water. Round 2 you could have food and a drink, but no "meals" and the decoration budget was 500$ and had to be submitted by the end of that night's voting. Pref was a 500$ budget and you could have any food or drinks you wanted.

That's generous. At my school it was a $450 maximum budget for all of recruitment- including food for pref!

[jadis96]

Originally Posted by KLPDaisy

That's generous. At my school it was a $450 maximum budget for all of recruitment- including food for pref!

I honestly think that at the time it was a way for the school to say "we are no frills" but still have some frills so no one could complain too much. They kept taking things away as time went on. They took away food at Round 1 by my senior year and they also took away door songs to welcome PNMs my junior year. The whole time I was there we were not allowed to give the PNMs ANYTHING. I remember one sister chasing down a PNM before she left to get her used tissue because we were told even that would have been a fine. I have a feeling there is a LOT less allowed now.

[SigKapSweetie]

Originally Posted by KLPDaisy

That's generous. At my school it was a $450 maximum budget for all of recruitment- including food for pref!

When I read that number, I almost died. Florida's budget for their 'no-frills' recruitment is substantially (think thousands and thousands of dollars) higher.

[tunatartare]

Yes, you end up having to get very creative with a number like that.