The UCLA Greek system saw its largest enrollment class since the 1980s this fall, a trend officials attribute to factors such as recruiting tactics and an increase in university admissions.
The number of students registered for sororities increased by about 200 students over the past three years, said Troy Bartels, an adviser for UCLA Fraternity and Sorority Relations.
Mirroring this trend, registered students at the beginning of recruitment for fraternities increased by almost 270 students since 2011, said Mande Adams, who is also an adviser for UCLA Fraternities and Sororities.
“In one sense (high enrollment) creates more competition to live in the frats and sororities,” Bartels said. “(But) I think this generation of students is also more involved on campus.”
In the Panhellenic Council, which includes all of the sororities with houses on Hilgard Avenue, there has been a steady increase in enrollment since 2010, Bartels said.
The enrollment in Greek life is also reflected in UCLA’s admissions trends, with an increase in out-of-state and international students, Bartels said.
Adams said the UCLA Interfraternity Council used new recruitment strategies before rush this year.
For the first time this fall, the UCLA Interfraternity Council members led housing tours of all 19 fraternities for new students, said Alex Sanciangco, vice president of recruitment in the UCLA Interfraternity Council and a third-year computer science student.
The increase in foot traffic from the housing tours may have led to more participation in rush and pledging, Sanciangco said.
Some sorority leaders said they saw more upperclassmen enroll this year than in past years.
Kelsey McKenna, a fourth-year communication studies student and president of the Delta Gamma sorority, said out of the current fall pledge class of 65 students, 25 are upperclassmen – the largest number of upperclassmen she’s seen since she joined.
“(Enrollment) has definitely been growing … Now we have over 60 girls coming through each round, when in the past it was about 40,” McKenna said.
Chris Long, a third-year psychobiology student and recruitment chair for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, said in an emailed statement that about 375 students came through his fraternity on the first day of recruitment – the highest number the fraternity has seen to date.
“This increased interest in Greek life … really gives students the opportunity to find the house that’s the right fit for them,” Long said.