Ideas on Recruitment?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

See that seems weird to me. What the hell is in anyone's past that they just want to start over completely in college? It's higher education, not witness protection. I'm not like great friends with a whole lot of people from my high school anymore aside from some guys I played football with, but that is how fraternities get the regional pull and stock up on guys is that people who have already pledged bring their buddies by for rush. You're always going to have trouble with numbers (and finding normal kids since they will all have friends trying to get them to other houses) if you are just hoping enough guys that no one knows but seem cool show up for rush.

True. I remember reading here somewhere that some high schools in certain towns are known as "feeders" to some fraternity chapters because guys just happen to pledge there and invite the younger guys who graduate from there to come to events.

You definitely don't have to pledge them all, but it seems to provide a good PNM pool from which you can choose.

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

True. I remember reading here somewhere that some high schools in certain towns are known as "feeders" to some fraternity chapters because guys just happen to pledge there and invite the younger guys who graduate from there to come to events.

You definitely don't have to pledge them all, but it seems to provide a good PNM pool from which you can choose.

It's absolutely true. In fact, if you rush a certain school pretty hard you're guaranteed to keep pulling them. Rush in the SEC is very town/school based. All the SAE's are from Catholic/Episcopal in Little Rock, Jesuit in Dallas, and the Hot Springs area. Sigma Chi tends to pull them from some elite Dallas private schools as well as all of Southeastern Arkansas. It goes on. Rush hard on a couple specific schools that y'all have guys from. Those guys will give your fraternity identity (hopefully a good one) and y'all will have a solid base to come from.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

It's absolutely true. In fact, if you rush a certain school pretty hard you're guaranteed to keep pulling them. Rush in the SEC is very town/school based.

That's the thing though, he isn't in the SEC. At some colleges keeping too much of any kind of connection with high school is looked at as lame. I mean one or two guys from the same hometown yeah, a whole fraternity of guys from the same town, either really lame or part of the Mafia.

[CrackerBarrel]

It doesn't have to be the whole fraternity. But if numbers are the problem that is the easiest/most obvious solution, assuming everyone has at least some friends from high school, have everybody bring one or two of them by.

Plus it's Iowa, there's only like 3 towns to start with so it's going to end up like that anyways haha.

[KappaSigISU]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

Plus it's Iowa, there's only like 3 towns to start with so it's going to end up like that anyways haha.

First of all that was pretty ignorant.

In Iowa Fraternities are not as appealing to everyone, most people hate fraternities and the guys in it. Just a really different environment and its hard to recruit people here.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by KappaSigISU

First of all that was pretty ignorant.

In Iowa Fraternities are not as appealing to everyone, most people hate fraternities and the guys in it. Just a really different environment and its hard to recruit people here.

Chill. He's just being facetious.

I think it's easier to recruit at Iowa State than it is at Iowa. At least some of the houses are still wet and they can have parties at Iowa State; they can't at Iowa due to University regulations.

It's not that guys hate fraternities (at least not when I was in school) it's that most of them are uninformed. The percentage of students in Greek Life has hovered around 10-12% for the past 10 years, but almost ALL of the leadership roles on campus (Homecoming Exec, VEISHEA, even some of GSB) are held by members in Fraternities and Sororities.

If you go into it with the attitude that everyone hates you and no one wants to join, you're going to have a hard time recruiting. Again, you have to show guys what your fraternity can offer them that they can't get elsewhere. Why did you join Kappa Sig?

[KappaSigISU]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

I think it's easier to recruit at Iowa State than it is at Iowa. At least some of the houses are still wet and they can have parties at Iowa State; they can't at Iowa due to University regulations.

In Iowa City they can go to the bars at 19 and don't say that you cant drink in there because you can haha.. i have done it. So they dont really need to be wet. Plus their are house parties haha..trust me kids are not having trouble getting alcohol or finding parties

[ScarletBlueGold]

Originally Posted by KappaSigISU

First of all that was pretty ignorant.

In Iowa Fraternities are not as appealing to everyone, most people hate fraternities and the guys in it. Just a really different environment and its hard to recruit people here.

I hate this excuse so much

I have never really been that big of a fan of excuses to begin with. I don't want to seem like I'm picking on you, but man, it really upsets me when people in my own chapter make this excuse

If you operate under the mentality that you are somehow disadvantaged from the very beginning, then you are going to end up writing your own destiny.

I go to a school where 80% of the school commutes, the University itself is less than 50 years old, about 30% of the school's male population is international (the type that almost never joins a Fraternity) and the leading major is in the school of engineering and computer science.

The perfect recipe for failure in Fraternity recruitment, and there are still chapters that get 20 man pledge classes

The reason why we are successful is because we try and learn everything we can. We read books, we go to conferences, and we analyze our mistakes.

The first step to fixing your recruitment problem is to stop thinking the way you are. Start fresh, and motivate your brothers to recruit.

Kill the negativity, and I guarantee you will start seeing success

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

See that seems weird to me. What the hell is in anyone's past that they just want to start over completely in college? It's higher education, not witness protection. I'm not like great friends with a whole lot of people from my high school anymore aside from some guys I played football with, but that is how fraternities get the regional pull and stock up on guys is that people who have already pledged bring their buddies by for rush.

Originally Posted by 33girl

That's the thing though, he isn't in the SEC. At some colleges keeping too much of any kind of connection with high school is looked at as lame. I mean one or two guys from the same hometown yeah, a whole fraternity of guys from the same town, either really lame or part of the Mafia.

You'd be surprised at how many people don't want to be associated with high school at all once they graduate. I'm one of them. I went to college 600 miles away from home for a reason. It's not that I didn't like high school, or that I had an awful time there. In fact, I had a lot of friends and it was one of the best times of my life. But at the same time, that part of my life was over, and I knew it was time to move on to the next big thing. I didn't want to go to Keene State or UNH (referred to in southern New Hampshire as the University of Nashua High), because I wanted to meet new people outside of that high school.

At the same time, some people like that familiarity. They like bringing in their best friends, whom they've known since they were 3 years old, and that's fine. Allow those guys to bring their friends along. You don't know them anyway, so what's the difference? It's probably one of the best ways to recruit.

On the other hand... if you have too many people coming in from the same high school, then yes, it might make it seem like you're back where you were before graduation. For some, that might be less than appealing. It's one thing to have a good buddy, or an acquaintance, there with you. It's another to have half of your graduating class pledging with you.