Retro Recruitment.....with a different ending

[Hopeful_Bubbles]

Originally Posted by CZAXOTerp

(like Cliff from cheers)

This cracks me up.

[AlwaysSAI]

It's Tuesday night & Meet and Greet! One of the girls in my Pi Chi group asked the Greek Life Coordinator what would happen if a no sorority wanted us. She responded by saying that if we showed up every night and did what we were supposed to do she would make sure we went somewhere. That made me feel a little better. Gaurenteed an org....I can deal with that.

I was thrilled for rush to actually be starting although I was a little upset about having to wear the rush shirts. I had the entire week of outfits picked for a month or so before recruitment, so it messed up my schedule. Either way, I wore the shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

First I went to see Alpha Delta Pi. I was really excited about meeting this chapter. I had seen them around campus and they seemed like really classy ladies and were always really nice. I was a music minor my freshman year and one of thier sisters worked in the music library so I saw her pretty often. But, I didn't really click with these girls. They were all very nice and VERY BEAUTIFUL but, I just didn't click with them. The conversation with these girls didn't flow really well, but they were still a great group of ladies.

Second was Chi Omega. I attended interest parties for this organization the previous semester and was anxious to see them in "full recruitment" action. I loved their chant about a Chi-O being a doctor, a lawyer, a professional woman. The first girl that rushed me and I had a great conversation about her love of broadway and how I had seen Hiarspray the year before on Broadway and had orchestra seats. I remembered the second girl that rushed me from the previous semester. She asked me how everything was going and what I thought of recruitment so far. I told her that I was really excited and having a lot of fun, but I was scared that wouldn't get a bid anywhere. Probably not the best choice, looking back. But, I was a nervous PNM! I had fun with these girls. They were a really diverse group and involved in a lot of other activities.

Third was Phi Mu. The girls seemed really nice overrall, but the girl rushing just nodded her head to everything I said. She didn't seem to know what she was supposed to be doing. I felt like I was having a conversation with a wall. The second girl that rushed me was fun. We talked about why I was interested a in joining a sorority and what other things I had been involved in. Overall, I wasn't sure how I felt about this chapter, but I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

Fourth, I visited Alpha Chi Omega. I was excited to meet these girls because I knew they started as a music sorority in 1885 and I was studying music. I also loved their philanthropy, domestic violence. It held a special place in my heart because of some family situations. I had a lot of fun with these girls! They were all so nice and the girl rushing me seemed really impressed that I knew some of Alpha Chi's history. We talked about scrapbooking which is a chapter tradition and I also love scrapbooking, so I loved that aspect of the chapter.

Last, but not least, I visited Sigma Sigma Sigma. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about visiting this chapter. At the time I rushed, they were a struggling chapter, far below quota and unpopular with most of the girls in my rush group. The girl that rushed me was super sweet! Her name was Dana and we spent a lot of time talking about the Robbie Paige Foundation and how Tri Sigma was unique in that the Foundation was started by Tri Sigma. I LOVE this philanthropy! I was a patient of play therapy as a young child and still recieved many of my medical serivices at UNC-Chapel Hill. I told her how excited I was to get involved in that and how close it was to my heart. My RA from freshman year was a member of this org and when she saw me, she winked. It put me at ease, for sure. I was starting to really like Tri Sigma, regardless of what the other girls said.

At the end of the night we had to meet with our Pi Chis to rank the groups.

My card read as follows:

Alpha Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Tri Sigma
Alpha Delta Pi
Phi Mu

I walked out, proud of my decision. Of course, my sister had called me 12 times, so I called her back. She couldn't wait to hear how the night went. I think she was more nervous than I was.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

She responded by saying that if we showed up every night and did what we were supposed to do she would make sure we went somewhere.

Wow I'm sorry somebody told you this. This isn't the best answer to that question (no one can guarantee you a bid).

Also it's pretty awesome to see how the Sigma chapter there has changed. One of our LC's was from there and at her last visit, she shared that they were at total and doing wonderfully.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Wow I'm sorry somebody told you this. This isn't the best answer to that question (no one can guarantee you a bid).

No kidding...unless you went to Tufts or Creighton...which we know you didn't. (Weren't those the 2 schools that have been documented on GC as having "guaranteed bidding" at one time?)

[violetpretty]

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

"Guaranteed bidding" has more to do with bid matching. Chapters make their cuts, and if a PNM is released by all of the chapters, well obviously she doesn't get a bid. I think that when a bid is guaranteed, it refers to a PNM maximizing her options throughout recruitment and ranking all of her remaining chapters on her bid card. Even if a PNM was only invited to one chapter's preference, and say she is near the bottom of their list, some "guaranteed bid" schools will guarantee her a bid (regularly or through quota additions if necessary). A College Panhellenic can NOT guarantee that you will not be released by every chapter, but they CAN guarantee you a bid if you are somewhere on somebody's bidlist come preference and you maximize your options. Again, not all campuses do this.

[susan314]

Originally Posted by JessSigKap

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

A College Panhellenic can NOT guarantee that you will not be released by every chapter, but they CAN guarantee you a bid if you are somewhere on somebody's bidlist come preference and you maximize your options.

There are a couple of schools which have even guaranteed PNMs that they will not be released by every chapter - even if all the chapters cut them, they will receive a bid from somewhere.

One poster on here described being an advisor at bid matching with the chapters arguing over which chapter got "stuck" taking each girl released from the other chapters.

(I'm too tired/lazy to search for the threads now , but 33girl recently linked them in another thread. If you do a search for Tufts or Creighton recruitment, you'll probably find them. I think at least one of those schools changed to the "normal" way now, but in the very recent past they were actually guaranteeing bids to PNMs.)

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by susan314

There are a couple of schools which have even guaranteed PNMs that they will not be released by every chapter - even if all the chapters cut them, they will receive a bid from somewhere.

One poster on here described being an advisor at bid matching with the chapters arguing over which chapter got "stuck" taking each girl released from the other chapters.

(I'm too tired/lazy to search for the threads now , but 33girl recently linked them in another thread. If you do a search for Tufts or Creighton recruitment, you'll probably find them. I think at least one of those schools changed to the "normal" way now, but in the very recent past they were actually guaranteeing bids to PNMs.)

I seem to recall my alma mater having that policy when I went through Rush. I don't believe it's that way now but I remember my Rho Chi saying that if you attend all parties and rank all chapters where you attend parties that you are guaranteed to place somewhere. The problem was, if at pref you had two you liked and one you didn't (or two you didn't like and one you did) you HAD to put all of them on your bid card. A few girls in my group were very nervous on bid day because of that.

Who knows though, my Rho Chi also told me you have a better chance of matching with your first choice if you rank all chapters where you attend preference...which we all know is not true.

[33girl]

I believe Tufts & Creighton went a step beyond "guaranteed bidding" and had "guaranteed placement." Guar bidding means you will get a bid from somewhere if you go the whole way through pref, even if it's a sorority you detest. Obviously you don't have to take the bid, but once it's given to you, Panhel says "not our problem." Guar placement, on the other hand, I think when it gets down to it the rushees can basically pick who they want to join and if the sorority doesn't like it, tough beans.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I believe Tufts & Creighton went a step beyond "guaranteed bidding" and had "guaranteed placement." Guar bidding means you will get a bid from somewhere if you go the whole way through pref, even if it's a sorority you detest. Obviously you don't have to take the bid, but once it's given to you, Panhel says "not our problem." Guar placement, on the other hand, I think when it gets down to it the rushees can basically pick who they want to join and if the sorority doesn't like it, tough beans.

Weird. So it would benefit the PNM to get dropped from every house but her favorite because she'd have to be placed there?

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Wow I'm sorry somebody told you this. This isn't the best answer to that question (no one can guarantee you a bid).

It wasn't just anybody that told us that, it was the head of Greek Life at UNCG. And, I wasn't the only person she told it to. I was walking behind a group of PMNs after meet and greet and one of them was on the phone telling someone that everyone was gaurenteed placement.

Maybe she was just saying it so that girls that were'nt happy with their invites would stick it out. I'm not really sure, but I think it should be an honest process for the women going through it.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

Maybe she was just saying it so that girls that were'nt happy with their invites would stick it out.

Probably. We've had this happen with Rho Chi's (of all people) when girls ask "What if I don't get a bid?" They say things like "Oh everybody gets one, don't worry" without thinking, just to keep girls from getting scared and dropping out.

I mean most girls at my school do get bids, so they mistakenly think that means everybody gets matched. Placing 99% of PNMs is excellent, but unfortunately, that's not everybody. The Rho Chi trainer actually had to have a meeting with the Rho Chi's & tell them not to say that anymore unless they wanted to be removed from their Rho Chi position.

[violetpretty]

So at these guaranteed placement schools, if a PNM is released by all chapters, say, after round 2 or 3, she wouldn't have parties to attend, right? So how would she be matched without knowing what happened? Or would she know?

[susan314]

Originally Posted by JessSigKap

So at these guaranteed placement schools, if a PNM is released by all chapters, say, after round 2 or 3, she wouldn't have parties to attend, right? So how would she be matched without knowing what happened? Or would she know?

At the guaranteed placement schools, she can't be released by all chapters.

Here's a quote from another thread (and I'm putting the link to the thread too, I know it sounds unbelieveable but its there...I swear!):

I know Tufts Univerity does it. Its called General Assured Bidding. If a woman is released from all three groups she is automatically invited back to them all. This happens all the way through pref. Then if she still doesn't match the advisors sit around and discuss (umm argue) about how gets placed where. Its a university thing and rather unpleasant when there are only three groups involved.

The quote is post #11 from this thread: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=57088

(note that the post is from 2004 - I do not know if Tufts has changed their policy since then, but at the very least it was their policy in recent past)

There have been a few other examples (I believe lauralaylin mentioned once about advisors discussing who gets stuck with which PNM that they all tried to cut) - I'm just too lazy to pull up more examples. lol

[AlwaysSAI]

It's day two of rush and I am THRILLED to say the least. I had prior arrangements with my boss to get off work early the entire week so I had time to get ready. I went over to my group's meeting place in the great outfit I had orginally planned for day 1. I was feeling super confident.

I was really excited. I wasn't worried about my invites because I felt like they were all great chapters and I would love to see them all agian.

I happily accepted my invite list. I had been invited back to:

Phi Mu
Sigma Sigma Sigm
Alpha Chi Omega

I was pleased to have been invited back to Tri Sigma and Alpha Chi Omega. I was wondering why Phi Mu had invited me back. They were great girls, but I just hadn't fealt a connection with them. Either way, I wasn't suprised to have been dropped by Chi Omega and Alpha Delta Pi. I figured if Chi Omega had really wanted me they would have taken me the previous spring and I hadn't really felt comfortable in with Alpha Delta Pi. Really, I was happy just to be going through the whole process.

I'll mention though, my group was standing outside of Alpha Chi Omega waiting to go in and I overheard my Pi Chi's talking. (We'll call them Jess and Amanda) Jess was telling Amanda that she couldn't believe I had been dropped by her group on the first night. I, of course, later found out that she was a Chi Omega. It made me feel good, though, to know that someone who was already initiated into a group thought I was doing a good job.

My first party of the night was Phi Mu. Tonight at Phi Mu, I actually had a good time. I was paired with a sister who was a non-traditional student. She was married to someone in the armed forces and was pregnant at the time! I really admired them for having a non traditional student in their sisterhood. I liked her, she was nice. I wasn't sure how to respond to the second sister I talked to. She started talking about her boyfriend....but I remember being told that we weren't supposed to talk about boys. But, I didn't want to be a sore thumb, so I told her what my boyfriend did and how long we had been together that kind of stuff. I felt uncomfortable about it, but I figured she knew what she was doing and wouldn't intentionally break the rules...

Second, I visited Alpha Chi Omega. I was really, really excited about seeing exactly what they did for Domestic Violence. They made gifts baskets full of daily need items for the women and children. I liked it! I was paired with a girl who talked about how she wanted to go overseas. I told her about my trip overseas in high school. I saved on $3,000 and spent 12 days in London, Paris, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. We talked about how differnt it is over there and where my favorite place was. When the next sister came over, she filled her in on our converstation and as she walked away she said that she was very impressed by me. WoW! Now, I was really beginning to feel more confident. I really did like these girls. They were down to earth and just plain fun to be around.

Third, I visited Sigma Sigma Sigma. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM TONIGHT!!! A girl linked arms with me at the door and when we sat down I told her my name. She said she had heard a lot of great things about me. I was ECSTATIC! I had done something right. A sister of the chapter who had medical problems told us a whole story about how she had been ill and her sisters were always visiting her in the hospital and how they become more like a family to her. WoW. Then we got up and went to the table to make picture frames for the kids at UNC. We talked about how she got involved in Sigma and what kinds of things they did at UNC. I'm not sure if we were supposed to talk to another sister, but she and I talked the entire time. THIS PARTY WENT BY ENTIRELY TOO FAST! She told me that if I was looking for an organization of strong women, that Sigma was the place to be.

I walked out of that room and knew I had found my home. I didn't care what the other girls said-a few were still backing away from Sigma, I LOVED THEM AND THAT'S WHERE I WANTED TO BE.

I couldn't wait to rank the groups that night. I knew, just knew where I belonged.

Sigma Sigma Sigma
Alpha Chi Omega
Phi Mu

It felt like things were going right. By the end of the week, I was going to have a new home.

[lauralaylin]

I'm sorry to hijack your thread, but in regard to Tufts, if a pnm is dropped by all three sororities, she goes back to her top two unless she had been dropped by one in a previous round, then by the others in later rounds. So this can cause an interesting dynamic because the chapters drop quickly so they don't potentially get stuck with someone. And for the pnm that is dropped by every group each round, she just keeps going back to the ones she likes the most.