Selective living groups saw significant increases in the number of applicants this recruitment season, but the number of bids extended remained limited.
Although not all SLGs have finalized their bid numbers, as of Tuesday Cooper House had given out the greatest number of bids at 28, followed closely by Ubuntu at 24. Arts Theme House gave out the smallest number of bids at 15. Nexus, Mirecourt and Maxwell House declined to release any recruitment statistics.
Cooper House received an unprecedented 450 applicants, but extended the same amount of bids as last year, when there were 415 applicants—making their 2015 acceptance rate just 6.2 percent compared to 6.7 percent in 2014.
“Our focus on building an organic, holistic community resonated with a large percentage of the first-year class, to the point that we had to reject over 420 people this year,” said sophomore Bailey Wall, one of the Cooper House rush chairs.
She added that they are thrilled with the class they picked and excited to see how they grow throughout their time in Cooper.
Ubuntu received 96 applicants, and plans to extend a total of 24 bids, according to a list that will be finalized by Feb. 6.
“There were a lot more this year and it’s becoming more and more competitive,” said Ubuntu President Dutch Waanders, a senior. “If I looked at how involved in the rush process I was as a freshman, I don’t think I would’ve made the cuts.”
Jam! extended bids to 16 of their 19 applicants, which included a mix of both freshmen and sophomores. Responses will be returned by midnight on Wednesday, said President of Jam! April Ratliff, a senior, who said she expects 11 of them to join.
She noted that Jam! has an interesting reputation on campus that can sometimes be challenging to sell to freshmen.
“People that don't know us think we're just small and weird,” Ratliff said. “People that actually come to our events know we go hard.”
Ratliff noted that Jam! seems to be associated with the “student athlete SLG" label that helped them kickstart when Jam! began 5 years ago.
“But now I wonder if it’s a little limiting in terms of how relatable we are,” she said.
Arts Theme House received 32 applicants and ultimately gave out 15 bids, the lowest amount among the SLGs that reported numbers.
“We had a big recruitment season this year relative to recent years, which was great, because we got to meet many amazing students and our events were very successful,” said sophomore Sophie Alman, one of the Arts Theme House rush chairs.
Brownstone extended 23 bids. Round Table extended 16 bids, the same amount as last year.
Sophomore John Gilhuly said that Wayne Manor does not keep statistics about their rush process.
“We seek every year to build a class of men with diverse interests and backgrounds,” he said. “We believe we accomplished that goal this year and are very excited about our new class.”
Representatives from Alpha Phi Omega, Mundi, LangDorm, Fusion, InCube and the Black Cultural Interest Group could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
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