SLG interest continues to rise in 2016

Rush applicant numbers for selective living groups continued to rise this year, but the number of bids extended by SLGs stayed relatively constant.

Cooper House had a record 459 students register for their rush process this year—up from last year’s total of 450—said junior Jake Wirfel, Cooper’s president. He said that bids were extended to 30 students, freshmen and sophomores. Wirfel explained that 459 represents the number of people who registered for Cooper’s rush at the beginning of the process, not necessarily those who expressed sustained interest.

Junior Jeffrey Ho, Brownstone’s president, explained that approximately 200 students submitted a form after a week and a half to be considered for Brownstone’s last round. Ho wrote in an email that this year Brownstone extended 27 bids, which represents an increase from last year—when Brownstone extended 23 bids—and puts its acceptance rate at approximately 13.5 percent.

“Brownstone’s largest change this year was the implementation of a round system that was added for a variety of reasons including the hope that a round system would foster a more intimate environment conducive to forming relationships in the final round,” Ho wrote in the email.

Of the six SLGs that provided statistics to The Chronicle, Jam!, a sports-themed SLG, and The Cube, an entrepreneurship-themed house, reported the smallest numbers of students who rushed their groups, with 18 and 20 applicants, respectively.

Jam! co-president Melissa Letzler, a junior, said Jam! extended 12 bids this year. Last year, 19 students rushed Jam! and 16 bids were extended. The number of bids given this year was limited by housing space, Letzler said. She noted that Jam! has been undergoing rebranding this year.

“We started out as the sports SLG, but it’s kind of just expanded into a group of people who are just really positive or try to be relaxed amidst this high competitive environment,” Letzler said.

The Cube received 20 applicants for five spots this year. Sophomore Ade Okunyade, president of The Cube, said he expected the people who received bids to accept them. He said that this year, members had focused on trying harder to get to know individuals, rather than asking the usual more surface-level questions like, “Do you like GA?”

Round Table did not report how many students had registered for its rush, but sophomore Meghana Vagwala, recruitment co-chair, wrote in an email that 16 bids would be offered for first-years—the same number as last year. Vagwala also noted that a small number of out-of-section memberships were offered this year in order to “get a mix of first-year and second-year students.”

The Language Dorm, or LangDorm, had 38 applicants and accepted 15 students, junior Paul Cajamarca, LangDorm president, wrote in an email.

“Overall, rush this year was incredibly successful,” Cajamarca wrote. “The applicant pool more than doubled from last year, and we had to exercise great selection.”

Cajamarca also noted increased enthusiasm for those involved in the rush process this year. He speculated that a combination of more outreach, fewer but higher quality rush events and more attractive advertising increased participation this year.

Wayne Manor does not record information about its rush process, noted President Emre Sonmez, a junior.

“Our mission every year during rush is to bring in a group of men with diverse interests and backgrounds,” Sonmez wrote in an email. He explained that he thinks Wayne has accomplished this goal, and that he is excited about the new rush class.

Maxwell House does not publish statistics about its rush process.

Mirecourt, Mundi, the Arts Theme House, Fusion, Nexus, Black Cultural Living and Alpha Phi Omega could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

Correction: This article was updated to clarify the language used in Sonmez's quote. An earlier version of the article referred to "the rush process" and used the phrase "diverse interests in background." The Chronicle regrets the error.