Rushing at UofI at Champaign

[PeppyGPhiB]

Wow, out of nearly 1,400 women that showed up for recruitment, not a single one was released from all chapters. I think that's pretty amazing.

[UofISigKap]

The withdraw numbers are a bit of a bummer though. Of course that happens for many reasons.

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by UofISigKap

The withdraw numbers are a bit of a bummer though. Of course that happens for many reasons.

On the bright side, many girls who dropped out might still be considering Greek life. Since Alpha Xi Delta is recolonizing, they have a seperate recruitment, which is going on now. There could be definitely be a good amount of girls that for whatever reason didn't like formal recruitment and decided to give AXiD a try. And like the last few years, there is also Phi Sigma Sigma who doesn't participate in formal. So at least a large number of withdrawls doesn't necessarily mean that those girls gave up on Greek life all together!

[Football Fan]

In late August an active member of Tri Delta was killed in a tragic hit and run accident. The case in still being investigated. Prayers go out to the family and sisters in the chapter. This occurred before the start of recruitment. Do any of you fellow Greeks at Illinois know how the chapter is doing and if they participated in recruitment?

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

In late August an active member of Tri Delta was killed in a tragic hit and run accident. The case in still being investigated. Prayers go out to the family and sisters in the chapter. This occurred before the start of recruitment. Do any of you fellow Greeks at Illinois know how the chapter is doing and if they participated in recruitment?

Tri Delta is a very strong chapter here at U of I. I've been hearing they had a great recruitment, however I don't know anyway actual numbers.

[lovespink88]

Ok, this is extremely creepy of me but...

I found a picture of the Tri Delts pledge class...I counted 54 girls, and I'm pretty sure quota was 53... if that helps at all...

[barnard1897]

Originally Posted by UofISigKap

The withdraw numbers are a bit of a bummer though. Of course that happens for many reasons.

I think that many girls are just not prepared for the fast and furious rate of decisions (and often, rejections) that are made at U of I, with RFM and so many houses doing this all at the same time. The return rates for some houses were so high this year that they had to make really difficult decisions about who to invite to next round and who could not be brought back.

One NM who did get a bid commented to me that she was shocked that so many wonderful girls didn't get into their top choices. I got the sense that maybe there are still a lot of unrealistic expectations out there, even with RFM in full play. Over and over at U of I, I hear about the same two houses that evvvvveryone from our area seems to want. I mean, with 1400 girls going through, aren't these girls reminding themselves that hey, a few hundred are walking through these doors after they do,with grades that are just as good, and personalities that are just as sparkling? And that maybe, just maybe, there might be 10-15 other houses where they could be (or learn to be) just as happy?

When I went through recruitment (not at Illinois) I felt at pref round that I would have been happy in either house. I figured-both of these sororities have a good national rep and nice people in the chapters, so they must be doing something right, and each one had positive features. It's really such a shame that there's a lot of myopia about the process, despite what panhellenic does to support and educate the PNMs. Is there something in the kool aid that makes certain girls so hellbent on just one or two houses out of 20+? Yes, we all fall "in love" with certain houses, and the hard sell during recruitment makes it easy to fall into the illusion that you're going to be an xyz. But the thing is, you can't be doing this just because you want a sorority to help define your identity.

I have to say, I feel for the chapters that perceived as more "middle of the road" on campus-dealing with rather sulky NMs who are don't really want to smile for bid day pics and are still grappling with the fact that they pictured different letters on their cute new tote bag. Maybe I'm just getting old, but my crabby view is fast becoming-just move out of the way and give it another go next year then, so the chapters can get people who really want to be there, and so you can spend a year maturing a little more.

[UofISigKap]

Originally Posted by barnard1897

I have to say, I feel for the chapters that perceived as more "middle of the road" on campus-dealing with rather sulky NMs who are don't really want to smile for bid day pics and are still grappling with the fact that they pictured different letters on their cute new tote bag. Maybe I'm just getting old, but my crabby view is fast becoming-just move out of the way and give it another go next year then, so the chapters can get people who really want to be there, and so you can spend a year maturing a little more.

I agree! With so many houses at U of I, each one is only going to get about 55-60 women out of the 1,300. (Granted not all 1,300 want the the same ones, but it would be naive to say there aren't some that appear on a lot of lists.) My rush crush during one year's recruitment, chose to drop after a late round because she wasn't ready for the process. She didn't take someone's spot on the final bid lists, and it ended up working for her the next year. Some of the women who dropped are probably pursuing Alpha Xi Delta and will be great members for their new class! Some probably dropped because they decided it's just not for them. Others are probably pursing other opportunities. The "bummer" part is the ones who dropped and will be bitter about the process. However, like you said in different words, chapters want women who want to be there too!

[Football Fan]

Thank you, lovespink88.