I'm sure they could call it in - esp if they haven't already released her. Also, the chapter may have found someone to sponsor her already. I think quota there runs around 25-35 most years.

Let me say I pledged at Southern a long time ago, when total was closer to 100 and there were nine chapters, not eight (or seven, though no one seems to be in the know about Theta, except the PNM)! Though, I have been involved over the years, at times it has been from a thousand miles away…

phimu88: It is not too late for recs at Southern, if she has not been dropped by the chapter. The chapters work on recs until pref night for the girls they like, but have not rec'd a recommendation.

There is not a chapter at Southern that can pledge you without a recommendation. However, they have the time and resources (mainly due to the smaller number of PNMs to obtain the recommendations needed), then their sisters at Ole Miss and State. Also, for some reason PNMs seem to fall into two categories at USM; they either have tons of recs and info letters, or none. Chapter total is 80; almost all of the chapters have 50-60 members going into rush. Traditionally, 6/8 (or now 6/7) chapters make quota of 25-30 depending on the year.

Southern is different than Ole Miss or State recruitment; I am not sure less competitive is the description I would use. I think when people say less competitive they are comparing chapter-to-chapter within the State… USM is more of a commuter campus, even more than Ole Miss and State. Though, the school population as a whole is larger, the percentage within that population of commuters and “non-traditional” students is also larger. This combined with the lower percentage of students interested in greek life and the campus population is from a narrower range of towns/states makes it a very different atmosphere.

Just as at any school, if you are not opened minded, you will be disappointed. I have seen many PNMs that were polished, academically and athletically enticing to a chapter, recs that overflow the files, that have been dropped/or dropped out (as at any other school). I would hazard to say that Ole Miss pledges a higher percentage of PNMs, than Southern Miss. In “general,” girls that pledge Tri Delta at State would probably not make it as far through the process with Phi Epsilon at USM. A girl that pledges Delta Gamma at USM would in general not make it through to pledge Alpha Psi at Ole Miss. I guess my point would be competitive would depend on how open minded you are going into recruitment.

This year should be interesting with the chapters officially in their new homes for a full year! I am curious to see if the houses make a difference.

Thanks for the replies. I made some calls and it turns out someone did write a rec without me knowing. I am so relieved. I would just hate for her to be cut early because I didnt take care of things on my end. But I can breathe easier now. I just want her to go in with a chance to make it and not throw it away on a technicality such as a forgotten rec. The other sororities are covered, Chi O was the only one I didnt have in.

Awesome! Glad it worked out for you and your daughter with the rec situation. Hopefully she ends up in a chapter she loves.

Me too! Thanks, she was invited back to her top 5 picks today! She sounded exhausted tonight! Skit parties are tomorrow and she is struggling on cutting out one of the sororities. I just wish I could help her choose! I dont know how to guide her through this without bringing my own biased views into this. I was a phi mu 20 years ago at Ole Miss ... different times, different schools, different girls, but the stereotypes of the individual sororities back then still pop into my head now... weird isnt it? So I dont want to say anything that will make her think I am preferring one sorority over the other. She is feeling the stress a bit. I can hear it in her voice. One of her good friends got cut from Phi Mu and Tri Delt today ... my daughter didnt get cut from any that she listed as her top 5 so she is feeling bad for her friend ... its going to get worse each day, as far as cuts and hurt feelings go, I dont know how to prepare her. I just hope she isnt the one getting hurt. ohhhh the ups and downs of rush... and I have 2 more daughters to go after this one lol.

phimu88. i feel you angst. two years ago i was in your shoes (but my daughter attends a different school.) in some ways i think it is harder on the moms, because we don't know what is actually going on. the advice i gave my daughter was to try to get to know as many members in each group as she could, and look at the pnms at the parties she attends. could she see herself eating lunch with these girls, piling into one of their rooms to watch a movie, or call one when she has a fight with her boyfriend. like you i tried to stay away from discussing the actual sororities-i was afraid that my bias would show.

please let us know where your daughter ends up. good luck to her!

PhiMu88,

I love the way you care about your D while keeping your cool and not helimomming. It sounds like you did prepare her for the ups and downs.

Best of luck to her and keep us posted.

hahaha well its not always easy to keep my cool, but I am trying for her sake. I am sort of antsy tonight because my daughter left me a facebook message saying she decided which sorority she is going to pledge but wont tell me until after bid day!! That is assuming that she doesnt get cut from the sorority or change her mind during pref tomorrow night. ohhh give me the strength and patience to make it through til Tuesday! haha

good advise FSUZeta ... I sort of told my daughter the same things. I also let her know its ok not to be in the same sorority as her high school friends... that is something I am afraid will happen too. She will choose based on who they all have left after cuts and hope they all end up in the same one. I want her to branch out and have the chance to meet new friends too.

fingers crossed for good results for phimu88 daughter and her friends!

ok update...

my daughter got cut from Tri Delta yesterday so she went to 3 skit parties instead of 4. She told me she knows where she wants to pledge now but wont tell me until after bids come out! :eek: She really knows how to torture her mom! lol I tried to bribe her into telling me by telling her I needed to know so I could go online shopping to by her some presents... she didnt fall for it. lol So I asked her if she was going to 2 pref parties and she said she marked 2 down but hasnt gotten her card yet so she doesnt know if she was invited back yet. Pref parties start in a couple of hours. I am so ready for this to be done! lol

3/4 skit parties is still pretty good ! Here's hoping for two great invites for pref. :)

you are right plus she was cutting tri delta next anyway, so it's all good. I am just curious what happened at skit yesterday to help her make up her mind which one she decided was her #1 because there is so little interaction during skit. She was so stressed before skit. She said she knew she didnt want tri delta, but the other 3 were all so close and couldnt decide which was the one she really wanted. It was funny she said, "Mom, they keep saying you will know which one is right for you. You will feel it. But I dont know!! I really like all of them! I am not feeing it like they said I should!" haha well I told her they were all 3 great sororities and where ever she ended up she would love it and not to worry herself over it. But, then it must have clicked yesterday and now I am online looking at jewelry and gifts to get her and I still have no clue which one she will pledge!! lol I cant wait to burn a hole this credit card shopping!!! :D

You may also want to think about sending flowers that are the sorority's flower. You can find out on the sororities national websites. I did that and my daughter was thrilled.

I called up there today to ask about that, and the Greek Life Mgr. told me that no one does that at USM anymore. I remember getting pink carnations and Phi Mu balloons on bid day and I loved it, so I checked into it and she said that wasnt something they really do anymore. :( I mean I could do it on my own, but I dont know what sorority she is going into yet, so I have to wait til tomorrow morning to order anything at all.