Which is the lesser of 2 evils?

[AOII Angel]

Maybe these groups need to think outside the box (I know...I hate that phrase too but it fits!) If double rushing makes girls immediately not want to give a chapter a chance, maybe small chapters should dump the one on one idea for the early rounds when PNMs outnumber sisters. A GROUP activity may be a better idea. Some of the recruitment threads talk about games at their parties to help sisters get to know the PNMs and vice versa. Not many girls start out at the first party asking "What is so great about your sisterhood?" The chapter could instead focus on answering the common first party questions like "What's your philanthropy?", "What do y'all do for fun?", "What groups are your members involved in on campus?" etc. If done right, they'd seem innovative and fun not desperate.

[fantASTic]

I'd think that having recent alumnae from the chapter help recruit would probably be the BEST option - these women are representative of the chapter, know the chapter intimately, and because they're recent alumnae are not necessarily going to be too noticeable as an 'outsider', if you know what I mean.

[bluefish81]

Originally Posted by fantASTic

I'd think that having recent alumnae from the chapter help recruit would probably be the BEST option - these women are representative of the chapter, know the chapter intimately, and because they're recent alumnae are not necessarily going to be too noticeable as an 'outsider', if you know what I mean.

This all depends if it's allowed by the campus panhellenic. Alumnae aren't always allowed to legally recruit or they have to be labeled as 'alumnae' on their nametags.

When I was going through recruitment, I experienced being double rushed, rushed by members of other chapters and being rushed by an alumna on Pref night, even though I'd never met her. (I did not join her chapter).

The one thing that always sticks out in my mind about being rushed by someone from another chapter was that one of the chapters that was doing it my freshman year, the woman rushing me was rude. I asked a question and she said, "I don't know anything about that, I'm not a member of this chapter." She looked at me as if I was supposed to know she went to another school. My chapter also used members from another chapter that year for the first two days, but I don't recall meeting them, doesn't mean that I didn't, just was handled differently I guess.

I would say that I'd prefer the doubling up to anything else. I know one year when we had to do it, we did it more in a group setting, i.e. three PNMs with two actives. And we tried to make it a group conversation. You can always have alumnae float around the room if you want. The problem that you might also find with recent alumnae is that even though they just graduated, they're going to have less to talk about with someone who's just starting college than someone who's still in school.

[LucyKKG]

Yeah, I'll also say stay away from incorporating other chapters. This fall, we had our first formal recruitment with the other NPC on campus. They had about 3 times as many members as us, so we had some help from another chapter. We have heard from the NM class we took in fall that they didn't like this set-up. They can talk about the national org and our principles just fine, but I think it's harder (ok, impossible) for them to give concrete examples of what makes our chapter special.

[LAblondeGPhi]

I think the group conversation is the best option, it reminds me a lot of COB, and would make conversation flow much better. I also think that group convo is easier for most people, rather than 1-on-1, which is much more intense than many women this age are used to. If you don't have to bump a rotation because of a group convo, that also saves the extra active you always have out of conversation. If your chapter does house tours, this is a good opportunity (in my opinion) to do a 1:2 or 1:3 rush, because the active usually spends more time explaining or showing than talking, plus it's not very conspicuous at all.

When I was a freshman, I was taken on a house tour with 2 other PNMs and the president at another chapter in the first round. I wound up really liking the house, in part because I got to spend time with the president, and never thought it was weird that other women were with me. I have no idea if they were smaller that year (they were a well-respected chapter), but it seems they hid it effectively.