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Yes she did; I'm mom and promise not helicopter- just concerned and curious. The fall semester and FR was quite a positive experience for her- up until preference day.
She had lots of positive reinforcement from one particular chapter throughout the fall semester, and she really liked the girls- they certainly semed to like her since she was invited to multiple informal small meetings. In our discussions she said she planned to keep an open mind throughout the process. She believed it all would work out the way it should- but she consistently liked the girls from one particular chapter best. As FR progressed, she felt she could be happy in all the chapters but one. She had the maximum invites back every day, and it always included her favorites from the top down and that one least favorite. We were all shocked on Preference day when she was cut from all but the only one she really did not want. She couldn't even understand why they had chosen her. She decided not to continue but we are stupified. She was shocked and disappointed, shock and awe comes to mind, but not completely crushed. She says a few girls left the school permanantly, after not getting into the chapter of their choice.
Apparently it is quite competitive at SMU. When I say I am not a helicopter mom, I mean it, (even though I am on this site). When she got back to school in January for rush, she called to inform me the place was swarming with mothers! I wondered for a split second if maybe I goofed and was supposed to be there, doing what- I don't know, and the thought of leaving my business for a week, flying to Dallas, checking into a hotel and waiting around while my daughter was visiting houses seemed pretty pointless. When I asked if she thought I should be there she emphatically said no. She was shocked that mothers would actually fly in.(Maybe she is not sorority material after all, lol).
In any event, she is thinking about whether to try again next year, but at SMU I understand there are something like 45 spots per chapter for freshmen and 5 for upperclassmen and transfers can take some of the 5 spots. I saw this note about COB on the SMU website, so I thought I'd ask here, since our experience with the powers that be at SMU is that we think we get lots of bad information. For instance at the recruitment meeting during parents weekend they said do not--absolutely do not get recs. Yet everyone else we talked with from all walks of life said we were crazy to listen to that advice. She got recs, but one per chapter, not the 2-3 the masses advised her to get. It was suggested that the reason for the big rejection is that her first semester grades, while over the minimun to rush, were substantially lower than the high school grades that were on her applications. But I think people are just trying to make her feel better. So, in conclusion...anyone have any real idea of what goes on there??
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