Retro Recruitment.....with a different ending

[violetpretty]

So at these guaranteed placement schools, if a PNM is released by all chapters, say, after round 2 or 3, she wouldn't have parties to attend, right? So how would she be matched without knowing what happened? Or would she know?

[susan314]

Originally Posted by JessSigKap

So at these guaranteed placement schools, if a PNM is released by all chapters, say, after round 2 or 3, she wouldn't have parties to attend, right? So how would she be matched without knowing what happened? Or would she know?

At the guaranteed placement schools, she can't be released by all chapters.

Here's a quote from another thread (and I'm putting the link to the thread too, I know it sounds unbelieveable but its there...I swear!):

I know Tufts Univerity does it. Its called General Assured Bidding. If a woman is released from all three groups she is automatically invited back to them all. This happens all the way through pref. Then if she still doesn't match the advisors sit around and discuss (umm argue) about how gets placed where. Its a university thing and rather unpleasant when there are only three groups involved.

The quote is post #11 from this thread: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=57088

(note that the post is from 2004 - I do not know if Tufts has changed their policy since then, but at the very least it was their policy in recent past)

There have been a few other examples (I believe lauralaylin mentioned once about advisors discussing who gets stuck with which PNM that they all tried to cut) - I'm just too lazy to pull up more examples. lol

[AlwaysSAI]

It's day two of rush and I am THRILLED to say the least. I had prior arrangements with my boss to get off work early the entire week so I had time to get ready. I went over to my group's meeting place in the great outfit I had orginally planned for day 1. I was feeling super confident.

I was really excited. I wasn't worried about my invites because I felt like they were all great chapters and I would love to see them all agian.

I happily accepted my invite list. I had been invited back to:

Phi Mu
Sigma Sigma Sigm
Alpha Chi Omega

I was pleased to have been invited back to Tri Sigma and Alpha Chi Omega. I was wondering why Phi Mu had invited me back. They were great girls, but I just hadn't fealt a connection with them. Either way, I wasn't suprised to have been dropped by Chi Omega and Alpha Delta Pi. I figured if Chi Omega had really wanted me they would have taken me the previous spring and I hadn't really felt comfortable in with Alpha Delta Pi. Really, I was happy just to be going through the whole process.

I'll mention though, my group was standing outside of Alpha Chi Omega waiting to go in and I overheard my Pi Chi's talking. (We'll call them Jess and Amanda) Jess was telling Amanda that she couldn't believe I had been dropped by her group on the first night. I, of course, later found out that she was a Chi Omega. It made me feel good, though, to know that someone who was already initiated into a group thought I was doing a good job.

My first party of the night was Phi Mu. Tonight at Phi Mu, I actually had a good time. I was paired with a sister who was a non-traditional student. She was married to someone in the armed forces and was pregnant at the time! I really admired them for having a non traditional student in their sisterhood. I liked her, she was nice. I wasn't sure how to respond to the second sister I talked to. She started talking about her boyfriend....but I remember being told that we weren't supposed to talk about boys. But, I didn't want to be a sore thumb, so I told her what my boyfriend did and how long we had been together that kind of stuff. I felt uncomfortable about it, but I figured she knew what she was doing and wouldn't intentionally break the rules...

Second, I visited Alpha Chi Omega. I was really, really excited about seeing exactly what they did for Domestic Violence. They made gifts baskets full of daily need items for the women and children. I liked it! I was paired with a girl who talked about how she wanted to go overseas. I told her about my trip overseas in high school. I saved on $3,000 and spent 12 days in London, Paris, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. We talked about how differnt it is over there and where my favorite place was. When the next sister came over, she filled her in on our converstation and as she walked away she said that she was very impressed by me. WoW! Now, I was really beginning to feel more confident. I really did like these girls. They were down to earth and just plain fun to be around.

Third, I visited Sigma Sigma Sigma. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM TONIGHT!!! A girl linked arms with me at the door and when we sat down I told her my name. She said she had heard a lot of great things about me. I was ECSTATIC! I had done something right. A sister of the chapter who had medical problems told us a whole story about how she had been ill and her sisters were always visiting her in the hospital and how they become more like a family to her. WoW. Then we got up and went to the table to make picture frames for the kids at UNC. We talked about how she got involved in Sigma and what kinds of things they did at UNC. I'm not sure if we were supposed to talk to another sister, but she and I talked the entire time. THIS PARTY WENT BY ENTIRELY TOO FAST! She told me that if I was looking for an organization of strong women, that Sigma was the place to be.

I walked out of that room and knew I had found my home. I didn't care what the other girls said-a few were still backing away from Sigma, I LOVED THEM AND THAT'S WHERE I WANTED TO BE.

I couldn't wait to rank the groups that night. I knew, just knew where I belonged.

Sigma Sigma Sigma
Alpha Chi Omega
Phi Mu

It felt like things were going right. By the end of the week, I was going to have a new home.

[lauralaylin]

I'm sorry to hijack your thread, but in regard to Tufts, if a pnm is dropped by all three sororities, she goes back to her top two unless she had been dropped by one in a previous round, then by the others in later rounds. So this can cause an interesting dynamic because the chapters drop quickly so they don't potentially get stuck with someone. And for the pnm that is dropped by every group each round, she just keeps going back to the ones she likes the most.

[Low C Sharp]

for the pnm that is dropped by every group each round, she just keeps going back to the ones she likes the most.

Do the chapters ever take matters into their own hands? "Suzie, we voted unanimously not to invite you back, and you are here because Panhellenic requires it. Due to the rules, we can't keep you out, but we want you to know that all of us agreed that you are not right for this house."

I would never darken their door again if I heard something like that! On the other hand, I wonder if the PNMs who are dropped by all three groups tend to be the ones who are so socially tone-deaf that this kind of warning wouldn't faze them.
________

[AlwaysSAI]

I would have to disagree that women dropped by all groups are all socially tone deaf. There are probably some of them out there....but, I think it is unfair to lump those of us that were dropped by all orgs into an umbrella judgement.

If you read my post, you will see that I did everything I could to present the best side of myself to orgs and show my dedication to greek life.

But, about the "We voted...." I know that in the orgs I'm in now, we are NOT allowed to share anything that takes place in voting. Even if Sally Rushee sees me on campus and bursts into tears asking me what happened, I am obligated by the vows I took in each org to keep that confidential. Even if I personally thought she would be a great fit, it doesn't matter because it is a decision made by the entire group. I would just have to advise Sally Rushee to come out next semester and try again. (ending with a smile, of course)

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

I know that in the orgs I'm in now, we are NOT allowed to share anything that takes place in voting. Even if Sally Rushee sees me on campus and bursts into tears asking me what happened, I am obligated by the vows I took in each org to keep that confidential.

This is the same in all Panhellenic sororities that I know of. Membership selection is very private and not to be discussed with anyone who is not an initiated member.

Sidenote: I heart Epsilon Nu (the Sigma chapter at UNCG). My favorite Leadership Consultant is from that chapter and she tells me some fun stories about those girls.

[UGAalum94]

Continuing the guaranteed placement discussion:

I think mutual selection is probably best: however, it had occurred to me, particularly when I was reading about say Sig Ep's new(ish) membership program, if maybe groups shouldn't approach the process believing that the strengths of their organization could turn anyone into a good member?

I wouldn't want the whole new member class to be randomly matched or anything like that, but really if you got 5 to 10% new members that picked you instead of your picking them (which let's face it: we can describe traditional matching as mutual selection, but the groups hold most of the cards. The PNM may not even get to cut a group if she's not invited back to the max. parties. Sure she can decline her bid in the end, but is that really mutual selection in anything other than a technical sense?)

If you got to choose 90% of your nm class, and got a few strays, couldn't your org. handle it?

(I'll confess that I'm thinking more girls who might be cut for superficial reasons rather than girls who are released because they were morals or risk management problems.)

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

If you got to choose 90% of your nm class, and got a few strays, couldn't your org. handle it?

Probably. I think it happens at places that aren't guaranteed placement. I'm going to be honest. Every sister doesn't love love love every new member from day one.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Continuing the guaranteed placement discussion:

I think mutual selection is probably best: however, it had occurred to me, particularly when I was reading about say Sig Ep's new(ish) membership program, if maybe groups shouldn't approach the process believing that the strengths of their organization could turn anyone into a good member?

I wouldn't want the whole new member class to be randomly matched or anything like that, but really if you got 5 to 10% new members that picked you instead of your picking them (which let's face it: we can describe traditional matching as mutual selection, but the groups hold most of the cards. The PNM may not even get to cut a group if she's not invited back to the max. parties. Sure she can decline her bid in the end, but is that really mutual selection in anything other than a technical sense?)

If you got to choose 90% of your nm class, and got a few strays, couldn't your org. handle it?

(I'll confess that I'm thinking more girls who might be cut for superficial reasons rather than girls who are released because they were morals or risk management problems.)

I actually disagree with both of those ideas. First, a PNM can always cut a chapter. There is no rule that you have to rank all the chapters you visit or that you have to visit all the houses you're invited to. If a PNM is upset with receiving a bid from a chapter, she should not have ranked the chapter on her bid card.

Second, I've seen chapters at my alma mater take "strays" for the purpose of meeting quota or being at total. I don't think it's good for a chapter to be forced to take members they don't want...whether it's by the policies at the school or advisors/national HQ. I don't think it's good for the chapter OR the new member who will probably subconsciously know she wasn't at the top of the bid list. On the flip side I don't think a PNM should be forced to accept a bid to a chapter she doesn't want either.....I think mutual selection is the only way both the chapters and PNMs are happy (hopefully!).

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by lauralaylin

I'm sorry to hijack your thread,

It's quite all right.

We're all here to learn and exchange info.