Largest Pledge Class

[OleMissGlitter]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

OleMissGlitter is an Ole Miss AOII advisor and from what she has said, the sorority retention rates are excellent. They initiate close to all of the girls they pledge.

Yes all of the chapters are doing a great job with retention I think. As an advisor on campus I know all of the chapters work very hard at this aspect of sorority life. One thing that helps is having lots of sisterhood events and I highly encourage all members to eat at the house. All of the houses have 3 meals a day M-Th and then on Friday there is Breakfast and Lunch. So meals are a great way to meet sisters you might not normally talk to at other events. Also, signing up for classes together is also a great way to get to know your sisters. Having sisterhood events early on in the new member period helps to get new member involved.

The past GPA results from Fall of 2007 have Chi Omega with the most members at 325 then Tri Delta at 321. Tri Delta also had the highest GPA.

Anyway, I think at Ole Miss the 9 NPC sororities are finally learning how to deal with their growing pains.

Also, I've been asked if these high numbers are because groups are "reorganizing" and the answer is no. That is what normal quota is at Ole Miss since Fall of 2000. We lost a sorority in 1999 so that increased quota. If Panhellenic votes to open up for extension I'm sure quota will go down to about 65-75 new members, but that's a whole

[SigPhiSunshine]

Originally Posted by OleMissGlitter

Yes all of the chapters are doing a great job with retention I think. As an advisor on campus I know all of the chapters work very hard at this aspect of sorority life. One thing that helps is having lots of sisterhood events and I highly encourage all members to eat at the house. All of the houses have 3 meals a day M-Th and then on Friday there is Breakfast and Lunch. So meals are a great way to meet sisters you might not normally talk to at other events. Also, signing up for classes together is also a great way to get to know your sisters. Having sisterhood events early on in the new member period helps to get new member involved.

The past GPA results from Fall of 2007 have Chi Omega with the most members at 325 then Tri Delta at 321. Tri Delta also had the highest GPA.

Anyway, I think at Ole Miss the 9 NPC sororities are finally learning how to deal with their growing pains.

Also, I've been asked if these high numbers are because groups are "reorganizing" and the answer is no. That is what normal quota is at Ole Miss since Fall of 2000. We lost a sorority in 1999 so that increased quota. If Panhellenic votes to open up for extension I'm sure quota will go down to about 65-75 new members, but that's a whole

I couldn't imagine "meeting" a sister who you share a house with over dinner. Thats so odd to me. My sorority advisor owns a bar on campus that is a big place for greeks, and greeks from Univeristy of Michigan hold events there too. One of my sisters is a bartender there and during one of the events, she happened to be in there to get her paycheck just as the event was ending. One of the UofM girls told her to hurry up and get on the bus so she wasn't left behind. How do you not know who your sisters are?!? maybe im just crazy, but i couldnt be part of a chapter that is that big and still claim that there is sisterhood.

My sorority is pretty small with only 19 members, ( ceiling set by EMU for all sororities is 55 and right now i dont think anyone is that big) but i like that. I know every single sister and most of their families. There isnt much that i dont know about any of my sisters

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by SigPhiSunshine

I couldn't imagine "meeting" a sister who you share a house with over dinner. Thats so odd to me. Maybe im just crazy, but i couldnt be part of a chapter that is that big and still claim that there is sisterhood.

Larger chapters still have sisterhood. It takes more work to get to know girls and you might not know EVERY SINGLE detail of every girl's personal life, but that does not mean that there isn't sisterhood (which is a very subjective term. I've seen plenty of chapters that have 20-30 girls who don't care to get to know each other beyond surface interaction.

[SigKapCoug]

I wonder where you put 300 people for a chapter meeting?

[paulam]

Originally Posted by SigKapCoug

I wonder where you put 300 people for a chapter meeting?

I have a first cousin who was in a huge sorority at UT many years ago. One of her sisters was an acquaintance of mine whom I had seen in our hometown during Spring Break. I asked Sherry if she knew my cousin and she said she thought so and would tell her I said hello when she saw her.

When Sherry saw my cousin, she gave her my regards and my cousin stared at her and asked, "Who are you?" There were 125 pledges and more than 100 actives in the chapter and few knew each others' names.

I was stunned when I heard this story. We had about 30 actives and 15 pledges in my sorority and that was considered a good size chapter at my school. At least I knew everyones' names!

It is too much of a good thing in numbers that high. Where is the closeness, the sisterhood, the knowledge that you can depend on one another in a group that large?

I wouldn't trade my chapter experiences for those large numbers. I am still in touch with most of my sisters after 42 years!

Paula M.
Sigma Delta Tau
ΣΔTPatriae Multi Spes Una One Hope of Many People

[33girl]

I'm sure you still get the closeness and sisterhood and longlasting friendships. You just don't get it w/ everyone in the chapter and your "group" is probably smaller. A ton of kids from my HS went to Penn State (and AFAIK none of them went Greek) and as odd as it seems, they usually knew less people at their 35,000 student school than I did at my 6,000 student school - because they tended to make a group of friends and stick with them. I'm guessing this is the same way.

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by paulam

It is too much of a good thing in numbers that high. Where is the closeness, the sisterhood, the knowledge that you can depend on one another in a group that large?

My sorority was at campus total of 150 and my pledge class was 48. I knew the names of everyone my sophomore and junior years. I do admit that my senior year I did slack off (plus I was off campus interning at a TV Station for one quarter) but even then I knew everyone's face if not name. It wasn't hard- I just went to the events, date parties, teas, etc. in addition to chapter.

As far as depending on one another, just like any group, I was closer to some than to others. In fact the year I lived in the house, I had roommate issues, however the night I broke up with my boyfriend, guess who stayed up until 1am to make sure I was okay. My roommate. We might not have been best friends, but we were still sisters.

And I have been out of college for 11 years now, but I am still in telephone contact with my 5 closest sisters and I exchange e-mail/Christmas cards with another 10 or so. You can have sisterhood and closeness is a large or small group. You just have to work at it- Friendships aren't instant they require work no matter what the numbers.

[OleMissGlitter]

Originally Posted by SigKapCoug

I wonder where you put 300 people for a chapter meeting?

That was a problem for AOII up until this past year when we finished our addition and renovations to the house. All of the houses have added on new chapter rooms or just added on in general to accomodate for everyone. Theta begins their addition this summer. Phi Mu just finished their house. Now if only the University could help with the parking problem around the sorority houses. During recruitment, chapter meetings, formal meals, the parking is awful sometimes! As an advisor I have just learned to take the first spot I see (which is usually not close to the house) and just walk.