Northern Woman Getting Bids at an SEC School

[PenguinTrax]

Originally Posted by FloridaTish

Where was the Alabama Pledge list link that Carnation posted? I would love to see it!

Actually, I posted it and it is in the top-level Recruitment forum.

[tunatartare]

I don't know if Vanderbilt is considered SEC or not, but the daughter of a woman that I work with is a Tri Delt there.

[AUDeltaGam]

Originally Posted by KLPDaisy

I don't know if Vanderbilt is considered SEC or not, but the daughter of a woman that I work with is a Tri Delt there.

It is

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by KLPDaisy

I don't know if Vanderbilt is considered SEC or not...

(Except during football season!)

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

I know we don't get the publicity that the SEC gets, but there are a lot of the midwestern schools where rush is very competitive....just not so "openly competitive". You know how we are, we don't like to attract attention to ourselves !!

I said this in a different thread that sometimes being from out of state is a big advantage....it's a big feather in your hat to have an out of state girl in your pledge class in some areas where everybody is from the same place. I remember one girl in our house who was from Chicago......oooh aaaah, very cool!

So while sometimes you could be a fish out of water, a lot of times just being different is a good thing. And I do agree that the internet and cable tv has made the world very, very small, so we're really not so different as we used to be.

And a lot of times it gives you something unique that helps them remember you......(as one of 2 girls from the state of WA when I went through recruitment)

[KillarneyRose]

Originally Posted by PenguinTrax

Actually, I posted it and it is in the top-level Recruitment forum.

Oops, sorry Barb!!! You know, you Recruitment Mods all look alike

[BamaDad]

The U of Alabama website lists the names by sorority for all 1,024. That is quite an impressive number. I understand there were over 1,400 who registered for recruitment. The site shows the hometown and state of each young lady.

[BamaDad]

The U. of Alabama had 1,024 new members (UA website). I heard there were over 1,400 young ladies that were registered by the first Open House. The site lists each by sorority, name, hometown and state.

[Zillini]

Here's a little explanation about Bama as I've seen in over the past decade or so. When I first started working with my Chapter there were very few out of state members. Those that we did have were usually "transplants" that had lived in Bama but their families moved. The others were from surrounding states of GA, MS, LA, FLA and TN. Usually they had some sorto of Bama ties as well such as maybe Mom or Dad were from here or went to school here, etc. But on the whole, it was a very small percentage of members that didn't live in Bama.

Seeing as I wasn't born and raised in Bama or even from the South yet was welcomed with open arms, of course I asked why? The answer was simple enough and had nothing to do with prejudice or anti-Yankee/non-Bama feelings. It was simply that the actives didn't know the girls. They were hesitant to take a chance on an "unknown" girl especially when there were so many "known" girls they already loved.

Then a few women from other states came through with spectacular resumes, sparkling personalities and had some friends that were able to vouch for them. It was like these women were able to break down the barrier. The actives started realizing that they had probably been missing out on amazing women by not looking beyond their own backyard. Things started to slowly open up.

Add to the mix that the University Admin has been steadily increasing the size of the student population over the past few years. Much of their recruiting efforts have been out of state, so obviously that has translated in more out of state women going through NPC recruitment. All of this combined has really started to open the Chapters up to members from all states.

I'll admit it's still harder on out of state women going through recruitment, but as we've all seen it's no longer impossible to get into a fabulous Chapter. Just keep in mind that at the same time it's also hard on a girl from Smalltown, AL who is the first person in her family to go to college, that doesn't know anyone who is Greek, etc.

[AnchorAlumna]

Re: out of state new members at Bama (and any other school)
We have a wonderful Mississippi member in her...I guess 70s now, or maybe 80s, who has been a recruitment consultant for many, many chapters. She really stresses pledging in-state girls, especially from small towns. That doesn't mean she throws out ALL the out-of-state girls, but she really pushes for 75% of the new member class to be in-state girls. Her reasoning is that these girls will more than likely marry their hometown sweetheart, go back to that area and can send more new members. Another aspect is that it gives you more local alumnae to draw from for advisors. I have seen her theories proved right in many locales.

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

Re: out of state new members at Bama (and any other school)
We have a wonderful Mississippi member in her...I guess 70s now, or maybe 80s, who has been a recruitment consultant for many, many chapters. She really stresses pledging in-state girls, especially from small towns. That doesn't mean she throws out ALL the out-of-state girls, but she really pushes for 75% of the new member class to be in-state girls. Her reasoning is that these girls will more than likely marry their hometown sweetheart, go back to that area and can send more new members. Another aspect is that it gives you more local alumnae to draw from for advisors. I have seen her theories proved right in many locales.

I can see why this theory makes sense, but what about the counterpoint of it.. I've found in my experience that many in-state girls rushing are the ones who go home frequently on the weekends (to see that high school love) and who sometimes ultimately drop out of school to return home. In fact, we kind of mark it as a negative when a girl talks about her boyfriend who is still at home, because we figure she'll be going home a lot on the weekends and won't be involved in the sorority.

[Zillini]

Here's something to throw in the mix. The Georgia Hope scholarship has made it harder on GA girls going through Recruitment at Bama and probably elsewhere as well. Chapters have been "burned" by pledging GA girls who: 1) Only attend long enough to get their grades up enough to transfer back home for the free tuition. 2) After a year of paying out of state tuition Mom and Dad tell her they can't afford it or simply don't want to pay it anymore and she must move back home because it's free.

For the record I'm not saying GA girls won't be extended bids on Bama's campus. Just look at the UA Panhellenic pledge list and you'll see many. We have several that are wonderful members, past and current. All I'm saying is that is that these girls are looked at more closely than in the years prior to the Hope scholarship coming into place.

[CutiePie2000]

BamaDad,
You and your family are a beautiful example of a rushee (and her family) who did not know any alumnae personally, and you got off your behinds, did your research, and DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT and are reaping the rewards from it.

There are way too many rushees who come onto GC and say "wah wah wah, I don't know any alumnae personally...please do the work for me to secure my recommendations for me!"

I LOVE PROACTIVE PEOPLE who create their own opportunities!

*MWAH*

Originally Posted by KillarneyRose

BamaDad, your daughter is probably one of the girls on the list that inspired me to start this thread!

Congratulations to her; she's part of a wonderful sisterhood!

ha ha!! KillarneyRose,
When (not if) your daughter becomes a DG, she'll be part of a wonderful sisterhood also!

[Jill1228]

bama dad, i used to live in alexandria, va....MAN HOW I MISS NORTHERN VA

/end hijack

Originally Posted by BamaDad

Kristen is really into DZ. She is a Northern Virginian looking to quickly make friends with her new (mostly) Alabama sisters at a fine Southern University. From all indications everything is working out perfectly. It may be tougher to win a sorority bid in the South, but the rewards offered by a strong Greek system appear to make the effort worthwhile.

One interesting note. My wife's best friend wrote a rec and asked the Bama chapter "not to hold the fact that Kristen was from the Northern Virginia area against her." Not too diplomatic perhaps, but likely founded on perceptions real or not that recruitment challenges for the Northern-born are more difficult.

[NUBlue&Blue]

"Here's something to throw in the mix. The Georgia Hope scholarship has made it harder on GA girls going through Recruitment at Bama and probably elsewhere as well. Chapters have been "burned" by pledging GA girls who: 1) Only attend long enough to get their grades up enough to transfer back home for the free tuition. 2) After a year of paying out of state tuition Mom and Dad tell her they can't afford it or simply don't want to pay it anymore and she must move back home because it's free".

Auburn and Alabama are also not getting the best girls from Georgia, either, because these are the girls that can't get into UGA and it's their back up school. A lot of the girls going to Bama, Missippippi and Auburn from our HS couldn't qualify for HOPE anyway, and may or may not ever get their grades up. But they definitely aren't getting Georgia's top students.