Indiana University Recruitment 2019

[BBH]

Those are some pretty solid numbers. Looking at some of the pic's it looks like most of the houses did pretty well. I did see on another site about some girls asking how they drop a bid because they didn't get the house they wanted and didn't want to SIP but I would imagine that is also a small number as well.

I would hope people give the houses a chance before dropping. In a week or two they may feel a lot different.

[80sHoosier]

Congratulations to all the new members and their families! It is a tough process, but hopefully they find happiness in their new sororities. It is hard for the young women who end up somewhere they weren't expecting, whether that is because of losing a legacy chapter or just having an unpredictable recruitment. But like others, I admire their resilience!

Also, I think this message board is generally filled with women who had very positive sorority experiences. I enjoyed mine as well and am very active as an alum. But from stories I hear from parents with daughters in sororities at various schools, not everyone takes to it right away; some who even get a "top house" end up thinking the grass is greener elsewhere. Encourage them to give it some time. Best wishes to all!

[BBH]

Amen ForeverRoses, seeing comments about people not getting bids knowing that there are plenty out there for the perceived "Bottom" houses is frustrating. Knowing how hard those women had to work and not get the results they deserve is hard to see.

[FSUZeta]

One thing I have learned thru the years as an advisor is how important it is for alums to stay up-to-date on sorority policies. Today's rush is not what is was when these moms were in school. The number of legacies per chapter( for a middle aged or old chapter) sometimes exceeds the quota the chapter can pledge. Legacy policies also change. What was considered a legacy back in the day may have changed. It "may" increase th PNM's chance if the legacy connection has remained active as an alum.

[Rod D]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

One thing I have learned thru the years as an advisor is how important it is for alums to stay up-to-date on sorority policies. Today's rush is not what is was when these moms were in school. The number of legacies per chapter( for a middle aged or old chapter) sometimes exceeds the quota the chapter can pledge. Legacy policies also change. What was considered a legacy back in the day may have changed. It "may" increase th PNM's chance if the legacy connection has remained active as an alum.

So I am going to throw this out there. I was very hesitant to steer my kid to my former house. He's had enough of "when I was there" -- actually both mom and dad. I wanted it to be his college experience. It's hard, but he's finding his way.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by Rod D

So I am going to throw this out there. I was very hesitant to steer my kid to my former house. He's had enough of "when I was there" -- actually both mom and dad. I wanted it to be his college experience. It's hard, but he's finding his way.

Fraternities are a whole different animal, and one I have little knowledge to speak on. I was speaking of sororities.

[Midwestmom]

I’m probably stepping on many toes in saying this since I was not part of a sorority and am just going by my daughter’s experiences, but - I think we are expecting a lot from 18 year olds who are already making a major life change by heading off to college. Perhaps this isn’t true for schools like Indiana with recruitment happening after a full semester, but my daughter - despite her level-headed initial approach (open mind! trust the process! don’t listen to tent talk!) - was swayed by the other girls going through recruitment, the stress and the uncertainty. As has been said on this site a million times, the PNMs have so little control, and when added to all the other changes in their lives, it all combines to send them scrambling back to what they “know” - which is that it’s better to be popular than not. In the end, my kiddo ended up in exactly the right sorority for her and this year, on the other side, found herself talking to the young lady who would eventually become her little about this exact same thing. She told her little that it is easy to be swayed by popularity and rankings and the things that mattered in high school, but that it was time to make decisions based on other factors, such as sisterhood and involvement and such. But, as an 18 year old freshman? She did not have that maturity, which was earned through a year of experience.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that expecting the recruiting class to “rise above” might not be 100% reasonable. As a side note, my daughter ended up in her “second choice” and it was more than a little stressful for the first week or so for this mama before she declared all would be well. Thank goodness for wine. ��

[robinseggblue]

Originally Posted by Midwestmom

I’m probably stepping on many toes in saying this since I was not part of a sorority and am just going by my daughter’s experiences, but - I think we are expecting a lot from 18 year olds who are already making a major life change by heading off to college. Perhaps this isn’t true for schools like Indiana with recruitment happening after a full semester, but my daughter - despite her level-headed initial approach (open mind! trust the process! don’t listen to tent talk!) - was swayed by the other girls going through recruitment, the stress and the uncertainty. As has been said on this site a million times, the PNMs have so little control, and when added to all the other changes in their lives, it all combines to send them scrambling back to what they “know” - which is that it’s better to be popular than not. In the end, my kiddo ended up in exactly the right sorority for her and this year, on the other side, found herself talking to the young lady who would eventually become her little about this exact same thing. She told her little that it is easy to be swayed by popularity and rankings and the things that mattered in high school, but that it was time to make decisions based on other factors, such as sisterhood and involvement and such. But, as an 18 year old freshman? She did not have that maturity, which was earned through a year of experience.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that expecting the recruiting class to “rise above” might not be 100% reasonable. As a side note, my daughter ended up in her “second choice” and it was more than a little stressful for the first week or so for this mama before she declared all would be well. Thank goodness for wine. ��

You're not stepping on toes (IMO at least), and I agree with you. I think it's more that we as more mature and seasoned sorority women realize that our experiences are more similar than anything else and *hope* that 18/19 year old women will "rise above" the tent talk and "popularity" BS, even though we also realize that this is hard for 18/19 year olds to do.

I think that maturity is part of it, for example I would guess that sophomores may be more sure of who they are, and that that can make a difference. However, the thing with IU is that the tent talk is just so bad, and it's hard to avoid. It's not a surprise to me that people fall victim to it. When someone tells you "XYZ isn't social and doesn't go out," a lot of girls don't know what to think and just take it at face value.

[FSUZeta]

Most of us found our "home" at 18. There were some girls "in the know" about the most popular chapters, but for most of us? We just went with the flow. As a teacher I have seen an upsurge in parents wanting to make it all right, rather than letting it be a learning and potential growth experience. Not all parents, but many. Life has many joys, but there are also disappointments. We need to be able to accept that and deal with both.

[robinseggblue]

To any parents whose daughter may have been released from recruitment or dropped recruitment and still wants to give Greek Life a chance--at least one chapter will be doing informal recruitment. I say this because at least one chapter already has some stuff up related to informal recruitment. If your daughter is serious, she should contact Panhellenic and/or the Greek Life office, and also keep an eye out on social media.

Originally Posted by pinkmama

Adpi took 57 , 6 of them legacies

Congrats to all the new babies at each house!

This makes me so happy! I'm a few years out from graduation but it always feels good to hear about your chapter doing great!

I'm also such a huge advocate of Greek Life based on my overall positive experience. I truly think that if more IU women were open-minded, they would reap the benefits of being in a sorority, and Greek Life as a whole would be stronger.

Plus, my best friends at IU were in some of the "less desirable" chapters, and I got to know their sisters pretty well and they were some of the sweetest and most genuine girls. Don't get me wrong, I loved my sisters as well, but I could have fit in at multiple chapters and the experience is truly what you make of it. Especially with the majority of chapters having houses now, the experience at any chapter should be pretty similar across the board.

And even though one chapter may not have a house, that doesn't mean that the experience is any less worth it--a house doesn't define who people are, the friendships they'll make, the leadership positions they'll take on, the service they'll provide the community, the challenges they'll tackle together, teamwork they will learn and bonds they'll create through being sisters, or the alumni connections and friendships they'll have throughout their lives as part of a GLO and a sisterhood.

Truly, all of the chapters at IU are amazing. /rant

[phoenix16]

Originally Posted by robinseggblue

To any parents whose daughter may have been released from recruitment or dropped recruitment and still wants to give Greek Life a chance--at least one chapter will be doing informal recruitment. I say this because at least one chapter already has some stuff up related to informal recruitment. If your daughter is serious, she should contact Panhellenic and/or the Greek Life office, and also keep an eye out on social media.

I confirmed with the chapter that we are doing informal, but the dates and information have not been provided on social media yet. If it's anything like past years, the exact schedule will be posted on all of our social media platforms within the next few days.

I joined through formal recruitment, but my little joined through informal. It's a really great way to get to know the chapters in a less structured format and with more time. I would highly suggest considering it!

[33girl]

I was going to say the same thing as Phil - that “tiers” don’t just affect women negatively. One of the fraternities we were close with had a “nerd” image (which was ridiculous because they were some of the hardest partiers I knew) and they were always trying to get a mixer with the “top” sorority. One time they finally did, only to have no one other than the sorority pledges show up and stay for less than an hour. So naturally they hated them after that.

On the other side of the coin, all was better for us once we got rid of the social chair who only wanted to mix with the “safe” fraternities, and had one who reached out to all the groups, even ones who’d been considered “out of our reach.” None of the guys ever complained that we weren’t all models - they were always surprised at what a good time they had.

I say, if a group of fraternities and a group of sororities want to get together and set up a round robin sort of schedule, just do it and leave NPC and IFC out of it. Let the snobs keep their snobbing to themselves.

[Sister Havana]

Originally Posted by robinseggblue

To any parents whose daughter may have been released from recruitment or dropped recruitment and still wants to give Greek Life a chance--at least one chapter will be doing informal recruitment. I say this because at least one chapter already has some stuff up related to informal recruitment. If your daughter is serious, she should contact Panhellenic and/or the Greek Life office, and also keep an eye out on social media.

And those chapters that may not be the strongest during formal recruitment may really shine during informal recruitment.

[sigmagirl2000]

I've seen that SEVERAL groups that made quota along with SEVERAL groups that didn't make quota will be doing informal recruitment. Looks like almost half the chapters will be as far as I can tell.....

[pinkmama]

Originally Posted by sigmagirl2000

I've seen that SEVERAL groups that made quota along with SEVERAL groups that didn't make quota will be doing informal recruitment. Looks like almost half the chapters will be as far as I can tell.....

No way 11 chapters are holding informal? Truely find that hard to believe