How Moms Should Treat Their Legacy Daughters

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Interesting statistic from the Auburn recruitment online handbook:

In 2009, 714 of our 1114 potential members were legacies. But, only 220 joined a sorority they are a legacy to. The rest joined other groups or did not join at all. Legacies do not have any particular advantage when it comes to receiving bids.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by AZ-AlphaXi

Interesting statistic from the Auburn recruitment online handbook:

In 2009, 714 of our 1114 potential members were legacies. But, only 220 joined a sorority they are a legacy to. The rest joined other groups or did not join at all. Legacies do not have any particular advantage when it comes to receiving bids.

One needs to be careful in interpreting these statistics. All that we really know from the above statistics is that 30.81% of the legacies joined their legacy chapter.

1. It is unknown how many of the legacies that did not join their legacy group were released by the legacy chapter or if they - the PNM - released their legacy chapter.

2. It is unknown how many of the 220 legacies that did join their legacy sorority would not have been extended a bid to any other chapter. In other words, had they not been legacies, they may not have received *any* bid. To be crude about it, being a legacy was the main reason behind their receiving their bid.

3. It is unknown how many of the legacies that joined a different sorority were extend a bid simply because they were a legacy to any sorority. In other words, XYZ chapter might feel that an ABC legacy is better than a PNM that is not a legacy to any group.

4. It is unknown how many in-house legacies were extended a bid to their legacy versus those legacies that were not in-house. As has been noted, not all legacies may be equal, so being in-house might have been an advantage. Or not.

Again, these are all hypothetical, but the bottom line is that we really don't really know how a PNM's legacy effected there recruitment.

So perhaps the likelihood that legacies may not have a particular advantage to receive/accept a bid to their legacy chapter, just being a NPC legacy may still have been an advantage overall. Or not.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by TSteven

One needs to be careful in interpreting these statistics. All that we really know from the above statistics is that 30.81% of the legacies joined their legacy chapter.

1. It is unknown how many of the legacies that did not join their legacy group were released by the legacy chapter or if they - the PNM - released their legacy chapter.

2. It is unknown how many of the 220 legacies that did join their legacy sorority would not have been extended a bid to any other chapter. In other words, had they not been legacies, they may not have received *any* bid. To be crude about it, being a legacy was the main reason behind their receiving their bid.

3. It is unknown how many of the legacies that joined a different sorority were extend a bid simply because they were a legacy to any sorority. In other words, XYZ chapter might feel that an ABC legacy is better than a PNM that is not a legacy to any group.

4. It is unknown how many in-house legacies were extended a bid to their legacy versus those legacies that were not in-house. As has been noted, not all legacies may be equal, so being in-house might have been an advantage. Or not.

Again, these are all hypothetical, but the bottom line is that we really don't really know how a PNM's legacy effected there recruitment.

So perhaps the likelihood that legacies may not have a particular advantage to receive/accept a bid to their legacy chapter, just being a NPC legacy may still have been an advantage overall. Or not.

Not to mention there is no mention of PNMs with multiple legacies, which also skews the numbers.

[BAMA2]

Carnation--

Perhaps you can give her this statistic. The year my daughter went through rush at Alabama (2008) there were over 200 legacies to the chapter she pledged. Obviously, there was no way the chapter could take all the legacies in a pledge class even if they wanted to! I believe around 50 of the legacies actually ended up in her pledge class. This left a lot of unhappy alums but the members were in a no win situation.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by Titchou

#3: In my 47 years of membership in an NPC GLO I have never heard of such!

That may be true, but unless you (general you) are at all the other GLOs' membership selection vote, you won't know why or how *they* voted.

Perhaps it is a Southern fraternity thing, but knowing that a rushee is a legacy ("His Daddy is a Bama XYZ while his Momma is an Ole Miss ABC") may carry some weight in membership selection. Whether it is right or wrong, some members may feel that the legacy rushee should understand the responsibilities of what it means to be Greek better - i.e. good grades, financial and time obligations etc. Thus while not being a legacy to the particular fraternity, his legacy status may have a positive influence.

For what it is worth, I have heard of NPC sorority members saying that they love getting other sororities' legacies. Some have said they like legacies in general for the reasons similar to what I wrote above - i.e. "what it means to be Greek". While others have given silly reasons like "We love to steal other chapters' legacies."

Originally Posted by Just interested

TSteven

Thanks for the headache!

I am to please.

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Not to mention there is no mention of PNMs with multiple legacies, which also skews the numbers.

And this!

Again, the bottom line is just because 30.81 % of the legacies were extended a bid to their legacy chapter, does not mean that the other legacies did not have some sort of advantage over those PNMs who were not legacies. Unless you are at every chapter's membership selection vote, you won't know.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by TSteven

2. It is unknown how many of the 220 legacies that did join their legacy sorority would not have been extended a bid to any other chapter. In other words, had they not been legacies, they may not have received *any* bid. To be crude about it, being a legacy was the main reason behind their receiving their bid.

Not necessarily true. Situations like this could have been a case of other chapters cutting said legacy because they assumed she was going to join her legacy chapter. Perhaps if the PNM didn't mention she was a legacy, she'd have pledged elsewhere.

[dgdramadawg]

I know that we've since gotten off on other topics pertaining to legacies, but I wanted to keep y'all posted on the girl and her mom from the original post.

I spoke to the mom and basically just played dumb and said "Oh, is Suzie Q going through recruitment? I would love to write her a rec for DG." Her mom told me that it would be very nice of me to write her one, but that her daughter would not be considering any chapters other than her legacy chapter. We had a nice little chat about the fact that some very nice/pretty/smart/involved girls that we mutually know have not had a great deal of success with that particular chapter, and maybe it might be best to allow Suzie Q to look at all options.

I get the idea that this mom will not allow Suzie Q to pursue any other chapter unless her legacy chapter cuts her. She didn't say precisely that, but that's just the vibe I got by the end of our conversation. At least now I think she understands that it might be important to get recs for other chapters because her dd might not necessarily be a shoo-in for her legacy house. However, with this campus' recruitment coming up VERY soon, it might be too late for her to secure recs for every house.

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by dgdramadawg

I know that we've since gotten off on other topics pertaining to legacies, but I wanted to keep y'all posted on the girl and her mom from the original post.

I spoke to the mom and basically just played dumb and said "Oh, is Suzie Q going through recruitment? I would love to write her a rec for DG." Her mom told me that it would be very nice of me to write her one, but that her daughter would not be considering any chapters other than her legacy chapter. We had a nice little chat about the fact that some very nice/pretty/smart/involved girls that we mutually know have not had a great deal of success with that particular chapter, and maybe it might be best to allow Suzie Q to look at all options.

I get the idea that this mom will not allow Suzie Q to pursue any other chapter unless her legacy chapter cuts her. She didn't say precisely that, but that's just the vibe I got by the end of our conversation. At least now I think she understands that it might be important to get recs for other chapters because her dd might not necessarily be a shoo-in for her legacy house. However, with this campus' recruitment coming up VERY soon, it might be too late for her to secure recs for every house.

If you see Suzie Q in the next few weeks, you should pull her aside, give her your phone number and tell her that you would be happy to chat with her if she has any rush questions or concerns as she heads off to school. It is a nice, "innocent" thing to do and also lets her know she has an impartial friend she may call on if needed.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

If you see Suzie Q in the next few weeks, you should pull her aside, give her your phone number and tell her that you would be happy to chat with her if she has any rush questions or concerns as she heads off to school. It is a nice, "innocent" thing to do and also lets her know she has an impartial friend she may call on if needed.

excellent suggestion!

[Amicus]

A woman that I am friends with pledged ABC sorority back in the day. She had hoped her daughters would follow in her footsteps. But just because she had a positive experience as an ABC, it didn't mean that her daughters would

The oldest daughter went off to college, not her mother's alma mater. While she was going through rush, her mother called to get an update. The mother asked her daughter if she had been to the ABC house yet. The daughter said yes, but without enthusiasm. The mother asked what was wrong with the ABC house. Her daugher said that the ABCs had the reputation, deserved or undeserved, as the campus sluts. The young woman pledged DEF sorority.

Second daughter goes off another college. During rush her mother calls for an update. The mother asks about ABC sorority. Her daughter said that she visited the house but had a miserable time. She said that she was treated well since she was a legacy, but noticed how poorly the non-legacies in her rush group was treated. She added that the ABC on her campus had a reputation of being the most uptight, most prim and proper (prissy even), most conservative sorority on campus. The young woman had wished there was a DEF chapter on campus, but there wasn't one. She ended up joining XYZ.

My friend's youngest daughter did go to her parents' alma mater and pledged ABC. She had a superlative experience as an ABC.

Go figure

[carnation]

Originally Posted by AZ-AlphaXi

Interesting statistic from the Auburn recruitment online handbook:In 2009, 714 of our 1114 potential members were legacies. But, only 220 joined a sorority they are a legacy to. The rest joined other groups or did not join at all. Legacies do not have any particular advantage when it comes to receiving bids.

Argghh. A pledge sister's daughter is rushing there this year. Several of us are trying to figure a way to let her know about what AU rush is like these days without hurting her feelings and making her think that we think her daughter's not outstanding. She is outstanding. So are hundreds of others. However, our sister has lived far from AU for many years and doesn't know about the changes. I know what we need to do but selecting the right words is hard.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by carnation

Argghh. A pledge sister's daughter is rushing there this year. Several of us are trying to figure a way to let her know about what AU rush is like these days without hurting her feelings and making her think that we think her daughter's not outstanding. She is outstanding. So are hundreds of others. However, our sister has lived far from AU for many years and doesn't know about the changes. I know what we need to do but selecting the right words is hard.

Yeah, there is no nice way to say that. You just have to be honest, in a nice way.

Even if she is slightly offended by it or doesn't believe you, at least she can't say she never heard it could happen (if it happens that she is cut from Pi Phi).

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by AZ-AlphaXi

Interesting statistic from the Auburn recruitment online handbook:

In 2009, 714 of our 1114 potential members were legacies. But, only 220 joined a sorority they are a legacy to. The rest joined other groups or did not join at all. Legacies do not have any particular advantage when it comes to receiving bids.

The important part of this statistic is that 64% of PNMs these days at Auburn are legacies. This no longer makes you special. It makes you average.

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

The important part of this statistic is that 64% of PNMs these days at Auburn are legacies. This no longer makes you special. It makes you average.

That's exactly what I thought when I saw it.

[DTD Alum]

Originally Posted by AZ-AlphaXi

Interesting statistic from the Auburn recruitment online handbook:

In 2009, 714 of our 1114 potential members were legacies. But, only 220 joined a sorority they are a legacy to. The rest joined other groups or did not join at all. Legacies do not have any particular advantage when it comes to receiving bids.

What was a recent quota at Auburn? With 16 sororities, that means on average each sorority had 44-45 legacies coming through. However, I'd be willing to bet that some of the sororities that are not as omnipresent in the south (Alpha Xi Delta or Sigma Kappa, for example) had less, which probably means that some of the sororities that are highly concentrated in the south (Kappa Delta, Chi Omega or Phi Mu) had significantly more than 45ish.