Indiana University 2014 Recruitment

[pinksequins]

Since IU does not set total, could (and I understand that the mindset might not be there) one of the four or so houses that did not take more new members issue COB bids? (Just from a technical perspective, excluding the boulders of mindset, awkwardness, etc.)

[pinkmama]

I would have her at least interview with them. She may love it. If not I hope it works out for her next year as a sophomore rush.

I am an Adpi Indiana alum and I am very happy that our house has a live out policy so that they can take large pledge classes (but our house is one of the largest square footage wise so houses a lot of girls since it as a cold and warm Dorm for sleeping). Our house was paid off in October so who hoo!

I wish more houses would consider the live out options so at least more girls would get bids. It's sad

[AOII Angel]

It's also a wealth of riches problem. These chapters have so many wonderful candidates to choose from that they have become so complacent with letting excellent women's go bidless. It's not THEIR problem.

[TennisMom]

Apologies for the long post.

A few days ago I posted an excerpt of an email that I sent to the IU Board of Trustees sharing my disappointment with the IU sorority recruitment process. I thought the forum would be interested in the BOD's reply (excerpt below). Using 1600 as the number of women who made the grade cut, the placement rate for this year is 63%. Still far off the 90% placement stat I've heard about at other schools. So, my advice to prospective IU female students - if sorority life is something you might desire BEWARE. My daughter is a sophomore and has been disappointed twice. I'm encouraging her to explore Delta Phi Epsilon but with reservation - I'm not sure she can take a 3rd rejection.
My daughter did everything advised on this forum - campus involvement (floor philanthropy director, IU Student Foundation member, Conduct Board member), established good friendships with sorority members, has a sky high GPA and yet did not receive a bid even though she was invited to two for the final round. I am very happy for the girls who received bids and my daughter will survive this. I am sharing this post as a warning to prospective IU moms because I wish I knew then what I know now. My daughter is getting a great education at IU but she had options to go to other great schools where the sorority recruitment process would likely have turned out differently.

Increased interest in joining the Indiana University sorority community is a positive moment to celebrate, but not without growing pains. The 2014 formal recruitment process has placed a record number of women (1011) in 21 chapters. However, the number of women wanting to join is outpacing the number of sororities we have here at Indiana University.

To help mitigate this challenge the undergraduate leadership of the PanHellenic Association (PHA) has added a 3 new sorority chapters in the last four years. It is their hope that this will increase the opportunity for all women interested in joining a chapter. The newest sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon, will be starting their recruitment on Wednesday, January 21, 2014. Interested women may contact DPE at www.bedphie.com. PHA will also be having conversations soon about the possibility of adding yet another sorority to campus in the near future.

IU is working towards your suggestion of increasing opportunities for women to participate in Greek life. As PHA does every year, they will continue to assess the outcomes of the 2014 recruitment program in order to improve the process.

[Xidelt]

Originally Posted by TennisMom

Apologies for the long post.

A few days ago I posted an excerpt of an email that I sent to the IU Board of Trustees sharing my disappointment with the IU sorority recruitment process. I thought the forum would be interested in the BOD's reply (excerpt below). Using 1600 as the number of women who made the grade cut, the placement rate for this year is 63%. Still far off the 90% placement stat I've heard about at other schools. So, my advice to prospective IU female students - if sorority life is something you might desire BEWARE. My daughter is a sophomore and has been disappointed twice. I'm encouraging her to explore Delta Phi Epsilon but with reservation - I'm not sure she can take a 3rd rejection.
My daughter did everything advised on this forum - campus involvement (floor philanthropy director, IU Student Foundation member, Conduct Board member), established good friendships with sorority members, has a sky high GPA and yet did not receive a bid even though she was invited to two for the final round. I am very happy for the girls who received bids and my daughter will survive this. I am sharing this post as a warning to prospective IU moms because I wish I knew then what I know now. My daughter is getting a great education at IU but she had options to go to other great schools where the sorority recruitment process would likely have turned out differently.

Increased interest in joining the Indiana University sorority community is a positive moment to celebrate, but not without growing pains. The 2014 formal recruitment process has placed a record number of women (1011) in 21 chapters. However, the number of women wanting to join is outpacing the number of sororities we have here at Indiana University.

To help mitigate this challenge the undergraduate leadership of the PanHellenic Association (PHA) has added a 3 new sorority chapters in the last four years. It is their hope that this will increase the opportunity for all women interested in joining a chapter. The newest sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon, will be starting their recruitment on Wednesday, January 21, 2014. Interested women may contact DPE at www.bedphie.com. PHA will also be having conversations soon about the possibility of adding yet another sorority to campus in the near future.

IU is working towards your suggestion of increasing opportunities for women to participate in Greek life. As PHA does every year, they will continue to assess the outcomes of the 2014 recruitment program in order to improve the process.

No, interest is not outpacing growth. It's the stupid ass recruitment model IU uses. And adding more sororities isn't the answer. While I am super excited for the new chapters and the new DPhiE colony, I really think having a bunch of housed sororities where everyone lives in and having several unhoused sororities may lead to a two-tier Greek system.

[Iu mom]

I agree a other rejection this close to yesterday may be the straw the broke the camels back for my daughter. Need some space maybe - I'll remind her and ask her to at least go to the union (is that where she goes) to check it out. Otherwise we will wait it out til next year.

[FSUZeta]

TennisMom, I commend you for contacting the IU Trustees. In your letter to them, did you give them any suggestions on how changes might be made, i.e., that a campus-wide total be set, that bed rush be replaced with RFM, etc.?

[TennisMom]

FSUZeta - I encouraged them to seek out ways to provide more sorority housing (to minimize the 2-tier system that another poster warned about) and change current recruitment processes. Since I was not in a sorority so I didn't use specific terms because I don't trust myself to use them correctly

However, based on this forum I think IU knows what the elephant in the room is but change is slow to come. Look at the math - 1011 placements divided by 21 sororities equals 48 bids per sorority. We've already read about some taking 70...so that means some are taking much less than 48. Bumping up bids by 15 or 20 per sorority would reduce the heartache but lessen the "selectivity". Based upon what I've read on this forum there are plenty of great schools where sororities thrive with larger pledge classes so it's best to avoid IU if sorority life is something your daughter really wants. Sadly, my daughter and I learned that lesson too late

[Lalucas]

Can someone explain how transfer in works?

I know of several girls who did that at IU and became part of a house as sophomores that probably wouldn't have been chosen into as a freshman. are there policies etc? They probably don't have to take you but maybe they usually do....sisterhood and all.

for any future PNM thinking of IU and wanting to increase the odds of getting into an IU sorority... what about going somewhere else and joining a sorority there

[Lalucas]

paper resume vs personalities

I concur with FSUZETA above... you are all thinking like mom's in a rationale way...thinking that the rush process is about credentials like philanthropic activities instead of social aspects.

“In high school she was Homecoming court and prom princess as well as varsity dance captain and class secretary- and with a friend from home created an foundation that single handedly raised a quarter of a million dollars for a cancer family center after her friends dad passed from a brain tumor... She got a 3.5 gpa first semester at IU and participated at several campus philanthropic events-“
“did not get a bid, she has a very similar past, she was in the honor society , volunteered everyday with special needs all thru high school instead of taking study hall, has done mission work in Africa and The Dominican Republic.”


instead of like girls looking for future roommates and new sisters that will attract the "hot frats" to choose your house for homecoming. When girls are voting/discussing the PNM's would they even know the resume or GPA of your daughter? doubtful. Do you think it is a blind vote? the current members aren't looking at it that way...

What I"m trying to say is that it is unfortunate that the valuable contributitions that your daughters have already or will contribute to an adult society are not what is of value during recruitment. Philo events are not the main focus of IU sorority girls life... but parties and boys and drinking are. School work and intensive career choices like dance majors are not the emphasis for the sorority life that I see from my daughter and her friends who are all in various sororities at IU.

that said.. Dance Marathon is a big event in the fall where contacts and relationships can be made...that said word on the street is that many people join those committees for their resumes and the parties related to it. oh yeah there is that one weekend too.

[Iu mom]

Originally Posted by Lalucas

paper resume vs personalities

I concur with FSUZETA above... you are all thinking like mom's in a rationale way...thinking that the rush process is about credentials like philanthropic activities instead of social aspects.

“In high school she was Homecoming court and prom princess as well as varsity dance captain and class secretary- and with a friend from home created an foundation that single handedly raised a quarter of a million dollars for a cancer family center after her friends dad passed from a brain tumor... She got a 3.5 gpa first semester at IU and participated at several campus philanthropic events-“
“did not get a bid, she has a very similar past, she was in the honor society , volunteered everyday with special needs all thru high school instead of taking study hall, has done mission work in Africa and The Dominican Republic.”


instead of like girls looking for future roommates and new sisters that will attract the "hot frats" to choose your house for homecoming. When girls are voting/discussing the PNM's would they even know the resume or GPA of your daughter? doubtful. Do you think it is a blind vote? the current members aren't looking at it that way...

What I"m trying to say is that it is unfortunate that the valuable contributitions that your daughters have already or will contribute to an adult society are not what is of value during recruitment. Philo events are not the main focus of IU sorority girls life... but parties and boys and drinking are. School work and intensive career choices like dance majors are not the emphasis for the sorority life that I see from my daughter and her friends who are all in various sororities at IU.

that said.. Dance Marathon is a big event in the fall where contacts and relationships can be made...that said word on the street is that many people join those committees for their resumes and the parties related to it. oh yeah there is that one weekend too.

That is kind of sad my daughter was very social this fall not just participating in philanthropic events. Tailgating and such with all her friends who did get bids--- she made all her social media private because her rho gam suggested they do hat - maybe with those traits as ones they were looming for she should have kept them open for actives to see that while dedicated to her career choice of he long others - through kinesiology she still knew how to have a good Hoosier time- and what you are saying makes me hunk that YES in fact the two dance girls my daughter included that didn't get bids were in fact penalized for their chosen path and requirement to put in a conflict sheet for them perform during 12 party and rehearse during 21. It ended up she had a break during 21 when her rehearsal was but that conflict form was still in the hands of the houses prior to choosing for 12.
She will probably return to the process next year and once again attend all the events she did- she will also try to spend as much time as an independent with her friends who are now pledges at little 5... Shame it has come to her displaying her party side to get a bid to a house. So much for demure lol

[Lalucas]

on last word to all listening and especially IU Mom with the dancer daughter, I encourage all that great friendships are all around you. I would think that dancers would be a good example of a core group that will be friends forever much like sorority sisterhood, majors are another avenue for developing those friendship. in fact many on this site could probably tell you that freshman dorm friendships (both male and female) are strong bonds.

I was surprised by how much my daughter's HS friends mixed it up at social events since they all went to dif sororities. also once you become a Junior or over 21 whichever comes first... social life moves from the basement of the frat for free drinks to the bars downtown.

much more mixing of Greek and GDI at the bars so it opens up for all.

It is just easier when you all live together... easier to hang out and easier to become involved in the drama.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by CookiesNCream

No one ever said that those chapters have to bear the burden of taking more members than they can "comfortably accomodate." Why should ASA only have to take 45 girls when other housed chapters are forced to take more than that? They don't need to worry about issues that housed chapters do, such as not having enough beds, parking spots, food, or a comfortable living space (we already sleep in cold dorms and share rooms with 2+ people in order to fit as many people into the houses as possible). HUNDREDS of women are going unmatched this year so that chapters that originally colonized in order to give more women the opportunity to go greek can suddenly drastically reduce their quotas? That doesn't sound right to me.

Also I'm not sure why you put unhoused in quotes when that's what those chapters are. Do you want me to call them "off-campus" like many other people do? Because that's obviously incorrect terminology.

Originally Posted by CookiesNCream

Not once did I imply that Theta Phi and ASA should take all of the "rejects" who don't get bids from other chapters. But, since space to house women isn't an issue for them, I was curious as to why their quotas were lower than expected. They can very well pick and choose who they want; I'm sure that out of the 300 or so girls who went unmatched this year that there are girls who preferenced both chapters and didn't get them back.

Originally Posted by TPAGirlie

Tpan originally had 52. That is the number they have recruited at the last two years. College panhellenic asked all groups to consider a larger number and they increased to 65. Generally speaking they will be somewhere in the 185 range.

I'm sorry but this is BULLSHIT. Just because it's IU with the assy bed rush does not mean the right to membership selection should go out the window. If a chapter decides there are only 3 women coming through rush that meet the standards they have set locally and nationally - THEY ONLY HAVE TO TAKE THREE, they do not have to recruit to quota, if that's ok'ed by their regional/national leadership. That goes for ANY campus. Panhellenic has ZERO right to ask chapters to take women that don't match their standards, or to take more women than the chapter can handle internally. I'm proud as hell of my sisters for not caving to such a ridiculous and obviously discriminatory request.

Originally Posted by Lalucas

Can someone explain how transfer in works?

I know of several girls who did that at IU and became part of a house as sophomores that probably wouldn't have been chosen into as a freshman. are there policies etc? They probably don't have to take you but maybe they usually do....sisterhood and all.

for any future PNM thinking of IU and wanting to increase the odds of getting into an IU sorority... what about going somewhere else and joining a sorority there

No. No. No no no no no. This is awful and terrible and shady and rude and about a zillion other bad things.

[AOIILisa]

Originally Posted by Lalucas

Can someone explain how transfer in works?

I know of several girls who did that at IU and became part of a house as sophomores that probably wouldn't have been chosen into as a freshman. are there policies etc? They probably don't have to take you but maybe they usually do....sisterhood and all.

for any future PNM thinking of IU and wanting to increase the odds of getting into an IU sorority... what about going somewhere else and joining a sorority there

Originally Posted by 33girl

No. No. No no no no no. This is awful and terrible and shady and rude and about a zillion other bad things.

I guess I don't understand why this is wrong? Isn't a sister a sister no matter what school she goes to because aren't the ideals for a sorority (and I guess, the selection criteria) the same everywhere?

I know at least one person that did just that - came to my school to become an XYZ then promptly transferred out. And this was 30+ years ago.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by AOIILisa

I guess I don't understand why this is wrong? Isn't a sister a sister no matter what school she goes to because aren't the ideals for a sorority (and I guess, the selection criteria) the same everywhere?

I know at least one person that did just that - came to my school to become an XYZ then promptly transferred out. And this was 30+ years ago.

Most members in competitive greek systems know the score and do not appreciate this kind of scheming to get into a strong chapter. It is gamesmanship. It is one thing to legitimately transfer, but to intentionally rush at a school with an easier path to membership and then transfer to Difficult U is not appreciated. I would add that it shows a lack of respect to the sisters at Easy U.