After Several Years: What Do You Think of the New Release Figures?

[KDMafia]

I've had experiences with BOTH PNMS and sororities themselves freaking out over bad recruitment returns. Last year at my Alum they had horrible numbers sign up and bad retention rates. The Greek Director heard a couple girls that dropped out say that they would just go through in the Fall and go where they want (not completely true, but we usually have a pretty successfull fall recruitment. The Director's response, eliminate Fall recruitment, allow COB to total, but also cut total by almost 10 girls.
This hurt certain chapters who graduated a lot of seniors because with total dropped they may be at total but still look smaller than other chapters that did have as many seniors graduate.
My chapter for example lost 17 girls which put them at total but also could hurt them because they had a larger class than others and therefore look smaller now. (Hopefully it doesn't, the first cuts will be made this morning so we'll see the return rates)

[gatordeltapgh]

It is unfortunate that total was reduced. Total should never be increased or decreased without first talking to your NPC Area Advisor who then gets in touch with the NPC Delegates on that campus.

Even still the college Panhellenic delegates must vote to raise or lower total. One person or the CPH Exec should not make those decision on their own.

I hope that your campus has a successful recruitment this year.

[KDMafia]

There was big drama about the total drop. I know our nationals got involved but our panhellenic board was pretty convinced that it was the right thing to do (with pressure from the director). I'm just afraid it's going to hurt in the long run because when it was closer to 60 a chapter could lose 20 seniors and not look decimated. now with total at 41 it's pretty rough.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by KDMafia

There was big drama about the total drop. I know our nationals got involved but our panhellenic board was pretty convinced that it was the right thing to do (with pressure from the director). I'm just afraid it's going to hurt in the long run because when it was closer to 60 a chapter could lose 20 seniors and not look decimated. now with total at 41 it's pretty rough.

I would think that over the long run, all the chapters would be in the same boat, right? Is there a reason that they wouldn't be?

[FSUZeta]

dropping total from 60 to 41 seems pretty dramatic. what was the average chapter size?

[KDMafia]

Total was 57 not 60, sorry. Last year spring enrollment was low and quota was 10. I believe after quota most people were around total but would be below after graduation and would usually use fall recruitmnt to reach total. So Panhell cut it to 41 which was the average when sororities returned in the fall. It was basically a way to make sure that freshman didn't see highly active fall COB events and assumed they could drop out of spring and rush in the fall.

[southernsugar]

At baylor this year, quota ended up being 58. Which some groups got, and one group (possibly) below.
On the other hand, one sorority, which was already a good percentage over total (they were the fourth largest beforehand), took 75 girls. It was a quota addition of 17 girls, simply because nearly everyone in their parties preffed them. Great for them, but it will be interesting. Total is at 120, and they now stand over 210.

Another group got 67, one took 65, and one too 63.
The only group under total gave out 66 bids, but no word on how many accepted yet. Edited: They took 60, which is an amazing number!
It's been common in years past for the quota additions to be even, everyone taking between 2 or 3, or only up to 5%. I know the 5% cap isn't there anymore, so that may have caused the disparity. But 17 on top of a quota of 58 is a 30% addition.
But with groups who only took quota, they actually look like the failures here.
I don't know why quota was so low considering most groups were expecting it to be in between 60 or 70, but maybe uneven preference lists?
The group that took the most is (apparently) an up and coming chapter, and blew numbers out of the water all week long, which messed with the formula considering three years ago was the first year they hit total.



only four girls who suicided got regrets though, and that's a record low.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by southernsugar

At baylor this year, quota ended up being 58. Which some groups got, and one group (possibly) below.
On the other hand, one sorority, which was already a good percentage over total (they were the fourth largest beforehand), took 75 girls. It was a quota addition of 17 girls, simply because nearly everyone in their parties preffed them. Great for them, but it will be interesting. Total is at 120, and they now stand over 210.

Another group got 67, one took 65, and one too 63.
The only group under total gave out 66 bids, but no word on how many accepted yet.
It's been common in years past for the quota additions to be even, everyone taking between 2 or 3, or only up to 5%. I know the 5% cap isn't there anymore, so that may have caused the disparity. But 17 on top of a quota of 58 is a 30% addition.
But with groups who only took quota, they actually look like the failures here.
I don't know why quota was so low considering most groups were expecting it to be in between 60 or 70, but maybe uneven preference lists?
The group that took the most is (apparently) an up and coming chapter, and blew numbers out of the water all week long, which messed with the formula considering three years ago was the first year they hit total.



only four girls who suicided got regrets though, and that's a record low.

I'm no release figure expert but it seems that your campus needs a new method of placing quota additions.

Do you all have guaranteed placement for all PNMs who maximize options? Is there a big discrepancy in that some chapters pref girls who were online invited to pref that chapter, meaning that if they list that one, they've "maximized" and must be placed there?

[southernsugar]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I'm no release figure expert but it seems that your campus needs a new method of placing quota additions.

Do you all have guaranteed placement for all PNMs who maximize options? Is there a big discrepancy in that some chapters pref girls who were online invited to pref that chapter, meaning that if they list that one, they've "maximized" and must be placed there?

It's my cousin's university. Every girl who maximizes their options gets a bid including single parties, and they started that last year. However, the group with the most apparently only had five single party girls (knowing them, not surprising), and one was a legacy anyways. Before that at baylor, I knew a lot of girls who didn't get matched from our high school.
They way she described quota additions was that they placed women like normal, and then every girl who was left over was then given their first choice, which generally gives the stronger chapters the most girls.
Because of the new release figures, it seems like some groups did invite nearly 100% every day. The stronger groups are still getting stronger actually, but it's allowed most of the groups that had problems in the past to become strong in recruitment. Seven of the nine were within 15 members of each other before pledging, and now eight of the nine are within 25 of each other. Most groups are well over total even before recruitment.
One sorority has always struggled and no longer participates in formal recruitment.
The ones that posted those big numbers are strongest at that school, and my cousin said their minus lists are huge as well, with one exception. The chapter that handed out 66 bids ended up with 60 girls, which is still over quota and an amazing number for them, because they were not at total beforehand.

The thing they don't do there that is at my campus is the idea of decline with regret, so maybe that might help even things out. (?) i have no idea why it was so many.

[carnation]

I have heard from numerous acquaintances that the new member dropout rates are shocking at some of the competitive schools that brag that all of their sororities reached quota. Does anyone think that it's due to pressure to take unwanted bids?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by carnation

I have heard from numerous acquaintances that the new member dropout rates are shocking at some of the competitive schools that brag that all of their sororities reached quota. Does anyone think that it's due to pressure to take unwanted bids?

No, I think it's a healthy weeding out of women who went into rush for the wrong reason - wanting to join a sorority just to be popular and not giving a crap about sisterhood.

There's always been pressure to take "unwanted bids." It's usually been on girls without a lot of choices in rush, and on their sorority counterpart - misguided "let's help poor XYZ and throw them the leftovers." Well now it's happening to the girls who thought they would always get what they want and would never be anywhere in the "leftover" category. Pardon me if I don't cry in my Cheerios.

[Barbie's_Rush]

Originally Posted by carnation

I have heard from numerous acquaintances that the new member dropout rates are shocking at some of the competitive schools that brag that all of their sororities reached quota. Does anyone think that it's due to pressure to take unwanted bids?

I can only speak for my school. The historically struggling chapter made quota this year for the first time in forever. Apparently only about 2/3 of those new members showed up on bid day and only about half of those lasted until initiation. I'm not sure what the real reason is or have any idea what the solution could be.

[BadCat25]

Originally Posted by Barbie's_Rush

I can only speak for my school. The historically struggling chapter made quota this year for the first time in forever. Apparently only about 2/3 of those new members showed up on bid day and only about half of those lasted until initiation. I'm not sure what the real reason is or have any idea what the solution could be.

The real reason is that when you put on that new member pin on bid day you are advertising your social status to everyone and not a lot of girls want to advertise that they are at the bottom of the social food chain. They would rather just opt out of the greek system entirely. The sad thing is that if all these girls stayed in and worked to build up the chapter they would end up with the reputation as a chapter on the rise but that's not how girls think.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by Barbie's_Rush

I can only speak for my school. The historically struggling chapter made quota this year for the first time in forever. Apparently only about 2/3 of those new members showed up on bid day and only about half of those lasted until initiation. I'm not sure what the real reason is or have any idea what the solution could be.

This sounds like what happens regularly at a friend's school. The chapter would make quota on paper, but only a fraction would show up on bid day. Personally, I think Panhellenic and the Rho Gammas are forcing PNMs to rank chapters on their MRAA. So, PNMs rank the "low" chapter that they don't really want, either because they think they have to, or because they think it helps their chances for getting their first choice. This drives up quota, and the large chapters get the larger quota as a ressult of more women getting matched to the "low" chapter. PNMs who rank a chapter where they would not attend bid day aren't helping the chapter at all.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by carnation

I have heard from numerous acquaintances that the new member dropout rates are shocking at some of the competitive schools that brag that all of their sororities reached quota. Does anyone think that it's due to pressure to take unwanted bids?

It may also be tied in with the economy in the last few years.

If a girl wasn't just in love with her group immediately, she may feel less comfortable spending money on the group if it's a campus with housed chapters and the expenses that go along with that. I think this is especially true if she has the perception that her family is facing some economic pressure.

I've also noticed that high school kids may be more accustomed to superficial involvement with many groups rather than a deep commitment to any one thing. I think this trend has increased in the last 10 years.

Again, if a girl wasn't immediately amazed with her group, she may feel like the time required isn't "worth it."

I wonder if anyone keeps data of initiation rates and involvement through graduation in GLOs, as well as bid day stats. It would be interested to know if they've increased, stayed the same or decreased over time and how they track with the general economy.