Orchid - I am also from Ozark. I pledged a sorority at college this fall, so if you need any help with names of sorority people in Oz just let me know!

YES!!! it doesn't matter at all which college an alumna went to--if she was in a sorority which has a chapter at Alabama, she can write you a rec! this is the cool thing about NPC sororities--they are NATIONAL groups. i'm not sure which sororities are at Alabama, but for instance, if theta is there, then you're looking for any woman who is/was a theta ANYWHERE to supply you with a rec. some sororities will even allow active members (still in college) to write you a rec. in my chapter any rec holds the same weight, whether it is from an in-house alum or from any other chapter.



[This message has been edited by twinstars (edited December 30, 2000).]

[B}twinstars[/B] is right! The alumna can be from ANY NPC chapter anywhere and still write the rec!

As far as actives writing on your behalf - I know in my sorority that is called a letter of reference or a letter of introduction, and can also qualify as a rec for rush purposes. Even better if you know an active - she might just call up the house or talk to the actives she knows in the chapter!

As AlphaChiGirl mentioned, it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. I know that everyone will officially tell you that recs don't matter, and that the chapter will get them for you if you need one...

but I'm with twinstars here: at my school and most schools in my region, that is not very accurate! A rushee w/o a rec won't get invited back, and the chapters don't have the time to go out and secure them for the rushee. It isn't that they don't want to -- nothing is a bigger heart-breaker than meeting a special girl who would make a great addition to the house only to find out she doesn't have a rec -- but with hundreds of rushees, photos, piles of paperwork, and about five days to get it all done, there's rarely enough time.

So, as awkward as it might feel, you really have to take control of your own destiny and spend the next few months marketing yourself and making contacts and shmoozing for the recs! I'm sure you will do wonderfully.

Another thing, if somebody is willing to write me one, do THEY have to get the form or do I hand it to them or what...?
I know that some websites have forms for alumni to print out and send in...but I am not entirely sure how this works!

the alum will take care of getting the form... but it is helpful if you can supply her with a list of your high school volunteering/leadership activities. you could also give her your high school gpa and test scores. try to find two nice headshots of yourself that you can give her so she can send those in with your rec. these are all things that 'recommenders' have sent to my chapter about rushees... just offer to supply all this info and she'll tell you what she needs.

Kind of like a formal resume?

I was given a form, on which I had to paste a recent picture (I used my formal senior pictures), and list my name, my parents' name and professions, my school information (high school, college, major, and test scores), my extra-currics and school activities. Also, I had to list any groups I was a legacy of. Not only were these sent to each sorority at my school, they were also given to the women in my area to write my recommendations.
I've heard criticisms of those forms, especially in some large southern schools, where the sororities supposedly use them to weed out minorities (using the picture), and girls who may not be "wealthy" enough to join (using the parents' occupations). If these forms were really being used for these purposes, then it'd have been exposed by now.

orchid2,
I was looking at different NPC websites and noticed that several have "Rush Information Forms" on their websites that you can print off or save. I saved the ones that I could find (I was interested in comparing their differences) and would be happy to email you the files (they're PDF files, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to view them).

If you want them, just say the word and I can send you them via email.

I found and saved the Rush Information forms for:
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Xi Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Zeta
Pi Beta Phi

Just to let you know, several of these "Rush Information Forms" give the alumna member the option to check off "I do not know this individual personally", so even if they don't know you, the form can still serve as a source of information to the collegiate chapter.

Good Luck! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

orchid,

some of the rec forms that my chapter has received have included attached "resume"-type things that the rushees gave their recommenders. it's basically just a list of your high school activities and leadership positions, typed up so it looks nice. this way, when the recommender has to answer questions about your leadership ability or your involvement, even if she doesn't know you well, she'll have something to say. it just makes things easier on the woman writing your recommendation.