Every year there comes a time that many Greek members refer to as “Sorority Christmas.” It is a time of cheers, chants, glitter, and unfortunately tears. Some love it and others hate it. It’s an exciting time as many girls find their new homes at college but also heartbreaking for those who don’t receive a bid from their dream sorority. The unfortunate part of recruitment at many schools is that sororities may want a certain number of girls but won’t be able to take everyone they want due to a cap being placed on their sorority. Another problem that we see is that some organizations may have 100 members while others have only 60 members. To solve these common problems in our Greek system, a new recruitment process has been introduced at over 400 college campuses around the country. This new process is referred to as Release Figure Methodology or RFM.
This new process has caused some controversy on campuses that are used to having two formal recruitments instead of having one big formal recruitment during the year. With RFM, smaller sororities on campus will conduct an informal recruitment, usually in the fall, which will allow them to catch up to the campus total of larger sororities set in the beginning of each year. For example, if campus total is set at 75 members at the beginning of the year then sororities who are under 75 members will participate in informal recruitment while those over 75 members will not. After smaller sororities reach campus total at the end of informal recruitment, all sororities will be able to participate in formal recruitment the following semester. At first this may seem unfair but when you look at the bigger picture, this new process actually proves to be extremely beneficial to every sorority involved.
RFM uses a mathematical model to determine a quota for each round of recruitment letting sororities know how many girls they may invite back to their next event. This allows sororities to release potential new members that they are not compatible with earlier in the recruitment process so that the woman participating in recruitment can maximize their opportunity to get a bid from a sorority of their preference. By doing this, PNMs are able to focus on sororities they know they want earlier in the process instead of waiting until the end of recruitment just to find out that they received a bid from a sorority they didn’t want. Typically with the system, larger sororities will be able to invite less PNMs to each round than smaller ones which will allow smaller sororities to reach their quota at the end of recruitment.
Ultimately, Release Figure Methodology reaps many benefits including achieving an equal number of members in each sorority on campus, maximizing the number of new members a sorority can extend a bid to during formal recruitment, and maximizing the number of new members who accept a bid that is extended to them. So if at first you’re sad that your sorority can’t participate in recruitment this semester, or if you’re a PNM and are upset that you can’t rush your favorite sorority right away, just remember at the end of the day this new system WILL work in your favor.
And when you see less girls crying at the end of the semester over getting a bid from a sorority they weren’t compatible with, you can thank RFM for saving everyone the heartbreak.
If you are interested in learning more about Release Figure Methodology, please visit https://www.npcwomen.org/resources/pdf/RFM%20Update.pdf
