University of Alabama Recruitment

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

One figure was how many were originally issued bids, not how many accepted them. A few decline, a few just don't show up, a few get through some of the NM period and decide it's not for them.

No, it wasn't -- the figures I used to arrive at 62 girls came from the actual totals on the semester-end grade reports.

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

Personally, I think that once the three sorority houses are vacated by the groups moving into new houses, a new group might be interested. The cost would be much less than building.

I hope so -- but I don't think all the houses will be vacant. I understand that some of the chapters may be renovating their existing houses -- I heard that the Chi Os will be moving into one of the vacated houses while renovating their house, for instance.

[greekdee]

Okay, okay, okay, let me rephrase the statement for the benefit of any PNMs reading this:

A colonizing chapter may be another path to a sorority home for both freshmen and upperclassmen. Because colonizing chapters do often look for a mix of both, this might be a good opportunity for an upperclassman. At schools like Bama, though, the competition for colonizing chapters is usually competitive and there are no guarantees that you will be extended an invitation to become a member. And yes, in the SEC, it is advised to get recs for those colonizing chapters.

[Titchou]

You are the one who said "I know the last two colonizations at Alabama have been great opportunities for upperclassmen."

I said that 1) if I had the information I would post it and 2) that I am not/was not involved on the recruitment side.

Hence the question to you - do you have the upperclass numbers breakdown. Obviously you don't. Why is that so hard to say?

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Titchou

You are the one who said "I know the last two colonizations at Alabama have been great opportunities for upperclassmen."

I said that 1) if I had the information I would post it and 2) that I am not/was not involved on the recruitment side.

Hence the question to you - do you have the upperclass numbers breakdown. Obviously you don't. Why is that so hard to say?

lol, I said it. I also said I was extrapolating from the numbers on the reports I linked. You said that my numbers were off, but you are not able to point out how or where my numbers are off. Check the reports I linked earlier.

What exactly are you disagreeing with? That colonization is a great opportunity for upperclassmen? That colonizing chapters take more upperclassmen than existing chapters in FR?

I was originally responding to 33girl's misinformation:

Originally Posted by 33girl

And the last time one did colonize, colonization was probably 3x harder than normal rush.

Originally Posted by 33girl

Those upperclassmen selected were probably also head and shoulders above the average Bama female student and vetted back and forth and upside down. Greekdee's post didn't really convey that.

[Titchou]

From what I understand, Gamma Phi Beta is going to take one of the next new lots. ZTA will expand on the Gamma Phi side and AXO will expand on the DDD lot. That leaves the ADPi and AGD houses - both of which are great lots.

[Titchou]

You inidcated that colonization was a great opportunity for upperclassmen at Alabama. I asked if you had stats to back that up. It's that simple. The possible answers are 1) no or 2) yes I do and here they are.

I don't see what all the rest of this has been about. As I said, if I had them I would have posted them.

I don't know how to make this any plainer. End of story.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Titchou

You inidcated that colonization was a great opportunity for upperclassmen at Alabama.

Yes, I did. And yes, it is. It really is that simple.

Originally Posted by Titchou

I asked if you had stats to back that up. It's that simple. The possible answers are 1) no or 2) yes I do and here they are.

I don't think your calling out my posts is really motivated by your data-driven concern over stats. You didn't even look at the numbers that I did link.

Originally Posted by Titchou

I don't know how to make this any plainer. End of story.

Neither do I. Sorry I couldn't help you understand the math.

[adpiucf]

You guys are making my head hurt. Please stop.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Titchou

You inidcated that colonization was a great opportunity for upperclassmen at Alabama. I asked if you had stats to back that up. It's that simple. The possible answers are 1) no or 2) yes I do and here they are.

Actually, you said that juniors and seniors would pretty easily find a place in a colonizing chapter. That is quite a bit stronger than my indicating that colonization is a great opportunity for upperclassmen.

Originally Posted by Titchou

Keep in mind that both groups will want members from all classes so seniors and juniors who might otherwise not even go out for recruitment would find a place pretty easily with one of the new ones.

Got stats for that?

Originally Posted by Titchou

I was addressing the fact that at Arkansas - as at Alabama - juniors and seniors who pretty much otherwise wouldn't have much of a chance would have much better odds in this scenario. If upperclass quota is say 5, you know with a colonization there will be far more total upperclassmen taken than that....as many more would be signing up than usual.

Got stats?

Sounds like colonization is a great opportunity for upperclassmen, to say the very least, as per you. You knew all 'bout it last June -- what happened?

[AZTheta]

did you do all that on your iPad mini?

did you use Google? The doodle today is pretty cool.

[DubaiSis]

To dwell on the numbers a bit more, I think the thing is we'd all like to see the exact numbers of how many of each class, how many they offer bids to, how many accept, how many make it through to initiation and how many are there 1 year later. But we all know our nationals would NEVER allow this. As logical, practical women, we know there is a large attrition rate for colonies. Many of the girls are just not prepared for what's going to be involved and/or don't get the hearts and flowers rainbows and unicorns experience they're expecting.

My guess is they would love to have approximately 25% of each grade, but in reality it's probably more like 75% freshmen and sophomores and the other 25% for the juniors and seniors. I would also guess that while there are more opportunities for the juniors and seniors than regular rush, those positions have been recruited heavily by the sorority leadership who are on campus weeks to months prior to colony recruitment. Those juniors and seniors had opportunities to rush in the past and didn't, so they have to be found and convinced. I would bet (this is my last one) that a big percentage of the juniors and seniors who go through a colony recruitment were talked into it by someone else. How much of this can I back up with first hand knowledge or stats? None.

[Hartofsec]

@DubaiSis -- That would be interesting to know -- I would be surprised if it worked out evenly between classes. Far more freshmen would probably be interested, especially following FR. There are probably fewer juniors and seniors interested, since they may already be involved with other campus activities (and have sort of found their campus niche).

When a sorority colonized on my daughter's campus, all the other chapters on campus helped advertise it to non-Greeks they knew. A girl my daughter knew from high school never went through FR, but did pledge as a junior during the colonization.

[greekdee]

This article in the July 2011 edition of The Crimson White is about the Delta Gamma colonization at Bama. It does not give any number breakdowns, but was certainly encouraging to upperclassmen. You can read the entire article, but the person being referenced in the except I posted was Shaun Young, vice president of membership for Delta Gamma.

http://cw.ua.edu/2011/07/27/delta-ga...eek-community/

Delta Gamma is looking to start a well-balanced chapter, so they will be looking for women of all class ranks and ages to join throughout their colonization process.

“What’s really cool about adding a new sorority to a campus, it really opens up the opportunity to women of all class ranks who may not have pledged as freshmen,” she said. “This is the perfect time for upperclassmen who have a lot to contribute to a new sorority in the form of maturity and leadership, as well as those who want the opportunity of lifetime membership in a sorority, to get in.”

Young encouraged every interested girl to at least come and ask any questions she might have about joining. Many upperclassmen already have responsibilities, but Young said she hopes to assure them that Delta Gamma will fit into their already busy lives.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by greekdee

This article in the July 2011 edition of The Crimson White is about the Delta Gamma colonization at Bama. It does not give any number breakdowns, but was certainly encouraging to upperclassmen. You can read the entire article, but the person being referenced in the except I posted was Shaun Young, vice president of membership for Delta Gamma.

http://cw.ua.edu/2011/07/27/delta-ga...eek-community/

Delta Gamma is looking to start a well-balanced chapter, so they will be looking for women of all class ranks and ages to join throughout their colonization process.

“What’s really cool about adding a new sorority to a campus, it really opens up the opportunity to women of all class ranks who may not have pledged as freshmen,” she said. “This is the perfect time for upperclassmen who have a lot to contribute to a new sorority in the form of maturity and leadership, as well as those who want the opportunity of lifetime membership in a sorority, to get in.”

Young encouraged every interested girl to at least come and ask any questions she might have about joining. Many upperclassmen already have responsibilities, but Young said she hopes to assure them that Delta Gamma will fit into their already busy lives.

Thanks for finding and posting, greekdee. That certainly is encouraging to upperclassmen at Bama.

[DubaiSis]

But it's all moot because as far as I know, no sorority has stepped up. I hope someone does , and I'm sure the news will hit here lightning fast, but there's not a whole lot of point in speculation until something solid happens. How long were we kvetching about needing chapters at Arkansas? It could easily be two more years! I mean, if someone stepped up tomorrow, it probably would NOT be for rush fall 2013 because of the importance of doing it exactly right there and getting the background work up to snuff.