Hopeful... but worried

[squashrush]

HEy there! I will be rushing in the very near future at a pretty laid back school. As of now, there are about 250+ girls rushing and 10 chapters to choose from. The quota last year was in the mid-thirties, but I am freaking out. Naturally, I'm a big worrier and after hearing all of these stories on GreekChat about girls not getting a bid, I'm wondering how often does this happen? And will their quota this year be higher or lower than last year's? How is that determined? Sorry if this is already posted somewhere else on another thread but I'm not quite sure how to weave through all of these threads (pun, haha).
Thank you!

[excelblue]

If you spend ~2hr going through all the threads, you'll have pretty much all the info you need to avoid all the pitfalls.

Although I'm a guy, here's the general gist of things based on what I've seen, both on here and talking sorority girls in person:

1.) Take the rules seriously.
2.) Avoid talking about individual sororities before and during recruitment.
3.) Leave the rumors behind and enter with an open mind.
4.) Avoid sensitive topics.
5.) Never cut a house unless you absolutely have to.

[DubaiSis]

You should find lots of information here about RFM (Release Figures Method, if I'm not mistaken) that explains, sort of, how girls are cut and/or invited back. Numerically, of course, not based on qualifications. I can't tell you for sure your campus uses this system, but it's becoming very popular across the country, so hopefully it is.

If only 250 girls are going through this year, quota would be well below mid-30's. If 70% of girls who start finish and join a house, I think that's a pretty good year, or quota in the range of 15-20.

I'll give you the one example I can describe with any clarity. At the University of Iowa, something like 750 girls went through 14 sororities, quota was 34 and all but one chapter made quota. So that means approximately 470 girls were placed. They do have a larger drop out rate than similar-sized Greek systems, but this might give you a ballpark of what to expect.

However, a bunch of the nearly 300 girls who dropped still had at least one house available to them at the time they quit. One of the problems Iowa has is lack of parity (the houses have widely differing numbers of members) so a lot of those girls dropped out as soon as the big 3 (which by the way were not the same big 3 when I went there!) cut them. So if they'd have been more open-minded, this particular scenario could have easily been 40+ quota.

Don't focus on this too much. Work on your conversation skills as this (after acceptable grades) is I think the most important criterion for acceptance. A good conversationalist will beat out a lot of other more shallow qualifications in almost every case. And I don't want to hear you're shy! I'm so over hearing that this year. You maybe USED to be shy, but now you are a sorority girl (in waiting) and it's time to be open and bubbly. Fake it if you have to.

My other big piece of advice is quit looking for the "click" that you have with some houses. Be nice, be fun and be open to new things. Some of the girls you meet are going to be awesome in every way, and some are going to be ghastly, but chances are, you will be meeting an anomaly in both cases. Every house has both. When Betty Best cuts you, suck it up and be happy that you got invited back to Polly Pretty Good and Mary Meh? The Mary's could end up being your favorite down the road.

OK, 2 more pieces of advice. Get all the sleep you can, and drink plenty of water. This is NOT the time to be hitting fraternity parties or pulling all night study sessions.

Good luck and let us know how it's going!

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

You should find lots of information here about RFM (Release Figures Method, if I'm not mistaken) that explains, sort of, how girls are cut and/or invited back. Numerically, of course, not based on qualifications. I can't tell you for sure your campus uses this system, but it's becoming very popular across the country, so hopefully it is.

If only 250 girls are going through this year, quota would be well below mid-30's. If 70% of girls who start finish and join a house, I think that's a pretty good year, or quota in the range of 15-20.

I'll give you the one example I can describe with any clarity. At the University of Iowa, something like 750 girls went through 14 sororities, quota was 34 and all but one chapter made quota. So that means approximately 470 girls were placed. They do have a larger drop out rate than similar-sized Greek systems, but this might give you a ballpark of what to expect.

However, a bunch of the nearly 300 girls who dropped still had at least one house available to them at the time they quit. One of the problems Iowa has is lack of parity (the houses have widely differing numbers of members) so a lot of those girls dropped out as soon as the big 3 (which by the way were not the same big 3 when I went there!) cut them. So if they'd have been more open-minded, this particular scenario could have easily been 40+ quota.

Don't focus on this too much. Work on your conversation skills as this (after acceptable grades) is I think the most important criterion for acceptance. A good conversationalist will beat out a lot of other more shallow qualifications in almost every case. And I don't want to hear you're shy! I'm so over hearing that this year. You maybe USED to be shy, but now you are a sorority girl (in waiting) and it's time to be open and bubbly. Fake it if you have to.

My other big piece of advice is quit looking for the "click" that you have with some houses. Be nice, be fun and be open to new things. Some of the girls you meet are going to be awesome in every way, and some are going to be ghastly, but chances are, you will be meeting an anomaly in both cases. Every house has both. When Betty Best cuts you, suck it up and be happy that you got invited back to Polly Pretty Good and Mary Meh? The Mary's could end up being your favorite down the road.

OK, 2 more pieces of advice. Get all the sleep you can, and drink plenty of water. This is NOT the time to be hitting fraternity parties or pulling all night study sessions.

Good luck and let us know how it's going!

PNMs do not need to understand RFM to have a happy recruitment.

Most sorority members don't understand RFM.

[DubaiSis]

No, but she was worried about getting cut, and this might help her understand the process. Information can be comforting to some of us.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by squashrush

HEy there! I will be rushing in the very near future at a pretty laid back school. As of now, there are about 250+ girls rushing and 10 chapters to choose from. The quota last year was in the mid-thirties, but I am freaking out. Naturally, I'm a big worrier and after hearing all of these stories on GreekChat about girls not getting a bid, I'm wondering how often does this happen? And will their quota this year be higher or lower than last year's? How is that determined? Sorry if this is already posted somewhere else on another thread but I'm not quite sure how to weave through all of these threads (pun, haha).
Thank you!

How many get cut depends on your school. At mine, usually 90-120 PNMs go through recruitment, quota is usually 12-18, and a handful will get dropped...usually these are girls with low GPAs. This year everyone who made it to Pref was placed. But that's my school...5 sororities and not competitive.

Stop worrying about getting cut. That can come dangerously close to becoming a self fulfilling prophesy. Instead, search some of the recruitment threads here for tips. Things like recs, good grades, and a friendly personality and open mind will go a long way towards getting you placed.

[AZTheta]

squashrush, anyone who puns has got to have at least a good sense of humor...so:

For crying out loud, STOP reading the unsuccessful stories. It's not helping you. Go read the successful stories. Carnation bumped a lot of threads in August; and if you do a little search you'll find some. Those stories are full of what TO do (curlygirl's is one of my favorites, FWIW. Well written and a great ending, to boot. She went through at a very competitive school, I believe.).

Recruitment is an exciting, fun time and (trite, here it comes) it is what you make it. I want you to have a wonderful experience. Keep a journal for yourself. Again, there is so much appropriate advice on GC about recruitment. Do Not Waste Time Worrying.

There is nothing more enticing than confidence. Not cockiness - confidence. Lose the word "cut" and focus on keeping an open mind and finding the right home. Good luck!

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

squashrush, anyone who puns has got to have at least a good sense of humor...so:

For crying out loud, STOP reading the unsuccessful stories. It's not helping you. Go read the successful stories. Carnation bumped a lot of threads in August; and if you do a little search you'll find some. Those stories are full of what TO do (curlygirl's is one of my favorites, FWIW. Well written and a great ending, to boot. She went through at a very competitive school, I believe.).

Recruitment is an exciting, fun time and (trite, here it comes) it is what you make it. I want you to have a wonderful experience. Keep a journal for yourself. Again, there is so much appropriate advice on GC about recruitment. Do Not Waste Time Worrying.

There is nothing more enticing than confidence. Not cockiness - confidence. Lose the word "cut" and focus on keeping an open mind and finding the right home. Good luck!

Ditto! This is the worst thing about GC, the plethora of unhappy endings. They are really more rare than this. Most people get a bid to their first choice....maybe not their first choice at the beginning of recruitment, but things change as you get to know the groups, and they get to know you. Getting your second choice is not the end of the world. Getting your third choice is rare. Getting no bid is even more rare, though it does happen.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

squashrush, anyone who puns has got to have at least a good sense of humor...so:

For crying out loud, STOP reading the unsuccessful stories. It's not helping you. Go read the successful stories. Carnation bumped a lot of threads in August; and if you do a little search you'll find some. Those stories are full of what TO do (curlygirl's is one of my favorites, FWIW. Well written and a great ending, to boot. She went through at a very competitive school, I believe.).

Recruitment is an exciting, fun time and (trite, here it comes) it is what you make it. I want you to have a wonderful experience. Keep a journal for yourself. Again, there is so much appropriate advice on GC about recruitment. Do Not Waste Time Worrying.

There is nothing more enticing than confidence. Not cockiness - confidence. Lose the word "cut" and focus on keeping an open mind and finding the right home. Good luck!

I want to reiterate this. All of the preparation (recs, grades, practice conversations), cute outfits, and information won't make a difference if you are freaking out.

Take a deep breath, and relax. Though the process itself can be unexpected/tiring/tedious/scary/exciting/loud/intimidating all at once, if you're not enjoying yourself, what's the point? The same can go for any event that brings the butterflies on.

If you're in the moment, listening, participating, you'll keep the jitters at bay. BE PRESENT. Being in the moment instantly comes across as confidence. Oh, how I wish I knew that when I was a teenager.

Good luck, and be the best YOU that you can be. (It sounds hokey, but it's true!!)

[KSUViolet06]

The majority of women at most schools DO get bids. The number of girls who DO get bids greatly exceeds the # of those who don't.

If you're too focused on getting cut, your nervousness will show in your conversations, the women won't be able to really get to know you, and you just may end up getting cut. So relax.

Don't worry about the numbers things. Those really aren't for you to worry about and will only confuse you and freak you out more. I will tell you that generally speaking, quota is set in a way that allows for most of the women in recruitment to receive a bid (if they remain in recruitment and don't drop out).

[squashrush]

Thank you all so much! Very helpful advice
You're right, I need to stop worrying and I WILL. And I will be sure to let you all know how I do! I would like to think of myself as a really great conversationalist actually... There are a few things that I wish I could tell you about myself so that you could get a better idea of who I am but I won't until after rush!
Oh, one more question. Acrylic nails... yes or no? Do acrylic nails make you come across as fake? I don't get them often but I think they look nice for special occasions.

?????

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by squashrush

Oh, one more question. Acrylic nails... yes or no? Do acrylic nails make you come across as fake? I don't get them often but I think they look nice for special occasions.

?????

We actually have a thread about that. lol.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ighlight=nails

[squashrush]

haha jeez thanks so much!

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

We actually have a thread about that. lol.

Is that like "We have an app for that."?