RFMs and QAs

[DubaiSis]

SECKDLady, there is a lot here, the good the bad and the ugly. I would start by only trying to understand the big picture and not get into the nitty gritty too quickly. The 10,000 foot version is that all the chapters have a set percentage of rushees they are allowed to invite to each round of rush based on prior performance. That number varies by recruitment strength from chapter to chapter. What it means on the ground is that most chapters have to cut far more girls in the early rounds than they used to back in the olden days. The good news is it doesn't give rushees false hope about their chances in the most sought after chapters. The bad news is it doesn't allow much room for those most sought after chapters to give out invitations to very many maybes.

And the 5 or so years later result seems to be dramatically bigger pledge classes with fewer dropouts from rush and expansion going crazy all over the country, particularly on traditional Southern campuses where pre-RFM there were a lot of girls who would get to the late stages of rush before seriously getting cut, then lose their favorites and drop out completely. Obviously that still happens, but I think 200 girls out of 1200 at Bama means a LOT more girls are seeing it through once they get their second round invitations and have time to fall in love with some new chapters.

Quota additions is a hot button issue, but in short, if you attend all of the preference parties to which you were invited, and list all 3 on your preference card, you are guaranteed a bid. Even if you were only invited to 1 preference party, you are still guaranteed a place in that chapter. What that means on the ground is if quota is 40, it is not uncommon for chapters to get 42, 45, even 50.

I hope that helps!