Should we change the way PNMs think of Recruitment?

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by ellebud

BUT there are those young women (one of whom I wrote about in my story so many years ago) for whom it is top tier or out. I think that it would be very interesting to see statistics on who drops out of recruitment and when....at the end...after a top 3 non invitation...or do the pnms "stick it out"?

I too want to know what the stats are on when PNMs drop and why. I am a stat driven type person I guess.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I also wonder if retention rates are better at campuses with more chapters, all else being equal. At a campus like my alma mater, you could get cut hard, and still have a full schedule. At the end, that's three prefs. It's one thing to have a chapter that you are certain isn't good enough for you, but three? I have to think women would be more likely to at least stick it out and attend the prefs with home that they will love at least one by the end of the night.

[DubaiSis]

There are some stats here somewhere that showed all that data for the University of Illinois. It doesn't say WHY, but as I recall, the drop rates were pretty consistent over the whole time. If I were to hazard a guess I'd say they got cut from their favorites and dropped out instead of taking one of the 18 other sororities. For god's sake, with that many choices there can seriously only be 2 or 3 worth your time? That is ridiculous.

[HQWest]

We had the stats around here but a large percentage of the girls that drop out of recruitment here drop out after first round. We have had some theories on this tossed around on why that is. One is that they just wanted the opportunity to move in to campus early, and they can do that if you pay the recruitment fee. They had no intention of pledging. One was that mama expected them to go through recruitment, and they weren't in to it. One was that they are not prepared and just overwhelmed by the craziness of recruitment in general.

The next big drop is right before prefs - but its not girls that see where they are invited for prefs and then don't show? Its girls that call it a day before the end of skit night

Very very few people don't show up for bid day. Maybe a handful do not accept their bid after they open it.

[TXGreekMom]

Originally Posted by LAblondeGPhi

Exactly - It IS a mutual selection process. Every chapter on a campus (except, MAYBE, for ultra-unusual superstar chapters at a few campuses) will lose PNMs they love at some point in recruitment. It might be on Bid Day instead of Round 1, but that's evidence of selection on the PNM side.

Conversely, how many PNMs truly get a bid to the chapter they ranked last every single day? I would say that's pretty unusual. The great majority of PNMs will have some say throughout their recruitment as far as which chapters they return to.

I think the reason why we have this idea that chapters are the ones deciding is only because we have a track record for how well chapters do in recruitment, and therefore we give them target numbers of women to return for each round of recruitment. The chapters know ahead of time about how many of their favorite PNMs to expect back, and will invite accordingly - but sometimes this means that a chapter is inviting back women they're fairly uncertain about for the next round. PNMs have no idea about their relative recruitable strength, so its an emotional shock when they aren't invited back to their favorite house.

I am QFPing this for myself because it's a wonderful point. My rec crew is in that panicky summer phase where they are past graduation distractions and have plenty of free time to obsess about the process, the numbers. (I get it... they want to make some knowable sense of an unknowable.) And I am trying to help them prepare emotionally and pragmatically for SEC and Big 12 heartbreaks.

[Low D Flat]

This thread is awesome for giving us the evocative term "Foofoo High."

[exlurker]

(see quote below; I know, this is one of GC's older threads):

For Fall 2014 Dartmouth's Panhel is reportedly going to give PNMs more information on how recruitment works. A few other changes are supposedly coming, too.

See

http://thedartmouth.com/2014/05/27/n...arency-in-rush

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Yes, they do.

I've been saying forever that selection is a lot less mutual than I think Panhellenics lead PNMs to believe. It tips considerably in the chapter's favor.

This goes along with PNMs consistently saying "I cut XYZ this round" not fully understanding that they aren't cutting anyone.

I think I had to make a thread about that once because I got sick of PNMs thinking that.

That's why there's so much "OMGWTFBBQ" when a chapter shows up on their list that they ranked low or they end up with a bid from their 2nd choice. They aren't aware that selection isn't as mututal as it is portrayed. There'd be a lot less of that if the process were presented realistically.

[33girl]

Dartmouth is a weird animal, and I really dislike the every girl will go back to 4 chapters whether they want her or not part. My fear is that the local groups who don't have an HQ to stick up for them regarding the groups' right to MS will get stuck with a bunch of girls the other groups cut. That's not really fair.

[carnation]

33, that happened at you-know-where one year.

[austennn]

I definitely think some PNM's are misinformed about how the process works. I constantly hear girls talk about how they're "rushing XYZ." Like, no. You're not "rushing" anyone. They always seem to be confused as to how they can rank a house last every single day and still get invited back to them, and sometimes even get a bid from them. PNM's need to get off their high horses. You can't walk around like you're better than it all and that everyone should worship the ground you walk on.

If EVERY chapter really, really wants you, then you can be selective and have a little more of a right to have an inflated ego, but that very rarely happens. You're more than likely going to get cut by some houses you like and invited back to some you don't. Don't act like you're too good to go to a house you ranked last. Every chapter has something special to offer.

[als463]

Originally Posted by austennn

I definitely think some PNM's are misinformed about how the process works. I constantly hear girls talk about how they're "rushing XYZ." Like, no. You're not "rushing" anyone. They always seem to be confused as to how they can rank a house last every single day and still get invited back to them, and sometimes even get a bid from them. PNM's need to get off their high horses. You can't walk around like you're better than it all and that everyone should worship the ground you walk on.

If EVERY chapter really, really wants you, then you can be selective and have a little more of a right to have an inflated ego, but that very rarely happens. You're more than likely going to get cut by some houses you like and invited back to some you don't. Don't act like you're too good to go to a house you ranked last. Every chapter has something special to offer.

If only there was a blog these young ladies could read regarding recruitment...

[33girl]

Originally Posted by als463

If only there was a blog these young ladies could read regarding recruitment...

I KNOW!!! Wouldn't that be super turbo awesome???!? Gosh gollykins, it would just be the most best magnificent thing EVER.

Originally Posted by carnation

33, that happened at you-know-where one year.

The T word? Or the you-know-where in your hood?

[33girl]

Just to touch on one of melindawarren's comments, I think that the concept of a girl not being a fit for a chapter specifically, but not being a fit for the school IN GENERAL happens a lot more than people realize. If you've busted your butt getting into your "dream school" and get there and it doesn't feel right, it might be easier to blame it on a bad rush result.

[carnation]

This thread has some great points!

[carnation]

TTT!