Ah, 33girl, we have our ways!!!:p
It is not necessary to personally meet Janie. Ms. Alum may already know the family, or know Janie. Ms. Alum may know Janie's teachers, or principal, or pastor. Or Ms. Alum has friends or relatives who know Janie or her family. ;)
Caveat: some groups do require that the alum personally know Janie. Personally, I'll accept a report from a friend who knows her or her family. And if it's in the middle of rush, it's already too late!

I'm going to suggest you let the ASA alums from Louisiana explain to you how it works.

Oh absolutely. I don't even think the majority of my chapter knows what a rec is. I'm talking about SEC, certain Big XII schools, etc., schools where recs are very important.

Maybe when they say "it is the chapter's responsibility to secure a rec" include "with hundreds of potential members, chapters will not have the time to find a rec for everyone, so it is to your advantage to secure your own".

If chapters DO hunt down recs for every PNM, then what is the point of a PNM securing them herself?

just to be clear, im not looking for an easy way out. if i knew people who could write me a rec i would have no problem asking, i just dont know any and so that part of rush is the most intimidating to me... i wasnt just trying to not do any work... i hope that doesnt come off rude i just dont want anyone to think im a giant slacker looking to do nothing and just magically get what i want

There are ASA alums from Louisiana on GC, so I'm sure if there was anything I needed to know about "how it works" they would have told me by now.

AA answered the question just fine, thank you.

I am assuming you're planning to go through next year, since recruitment is already underway at A&M. Are you a freshman or a HS senior (if a HS senior, are you for sure going to A&M)? Either way, almost a year to find alumnae (or collegians from other chapters in many NPCs) to write you recs. You'd be really surprised how many you might be able to find. Some people to ask:

HS teachers, coaches, staff, activity sponsors
Friends of siblings
Siblings of friends
Friends of parents
Older friends
Women from a place of worship
Co-workers
Families for whom you babysit

Often, when you find one sorority alumna, she might know of others, so do ask. Even if you find an alumna of a sorority that doesn't have a chapter at A&M, she might know of alumnae of sororities that do. Also, men in fraternities may know sorority alumnae/actives from other chapters.

I live in a small rural town of 6,000 and if a PNM talked to me, I could help her find alumnae/actives from 20 of the 26 NPCs from our town, NOT including people I know from UMD.

Do try to put the effort into finding recs. You have plenty of time, so you should be able to find a good amount.

If I may, I would also suggest checking with male friends, family, co-workers etc. as well. Some may be in fraternities or if not, know sorority women. As such, they may be able to steer you to their sorority friends who might then be able to assist.

Bottom line is that you may be surprised at how many people know someone in a sorority. Not just the usual suspects.

This leads in to a question I have. At a very competitive school, say Texas for instance, do the chapters really do this? With so many pnms, it seems overwhelming.

At a REALLY competitive school, the chapters probably rely on the PNMs to provide their own recs. Not having a rec is an excuse many chapters (at the competitive schools) might use to justify making a cut, especially if they need to make significant (50%+) cuts. I think that PNMs should make themselves familiar with the Greek culture on their prospective campus prior to recruitment to determine if a rec is required, recommended or not necessary.

If I were a PNM at a competitive school, I would not want to rely on the chapter hunting down a rec for me. I think that the chapter would be more likely to give "my spot" to someone who had took the initiative to secure their own rec.

Thanks, KC - that was about what I thought. It bothers me that so many schools say it is up to the sorority to find a rec, when that isn't exactly how it works.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if a PNM goes to an SEC school, and the fact that she was Miss Teenaged America, has a 4.0 GPA, and was perfectly lovable came out during Open Houses, I'm fairly certain that the house would find recs for her.

Other than that, recs have become like many other facts of adult life: a hoop to jump through to prove that you really do want it.

The question isn't about the MTAs or daughters of movie stars, etc - they're pretty high profile. They're going to find a home and get asked back.

The question is the girl who was involved in HS and has an overall decent resume - is on par with most of the other girls going through rush, except she doesn't have recs and they do. And it isn't because she "didn't take the initiative" or "prove she really wants it" - it's because she believed the Panhel site that said "you don't need to get recs, the sororities will do it." Will the sorority who has to stay up till 1 AM to cut 50% of the girls after first round do that extra work to find a rec for her?

It's kind of like the schools that say "jeans are OK for first round" and the PNM believes it, and gets there and everyone else is wearing dresses.

In all seriousness, why do Panhellenic/certain groups do this? They come out and say you have to have a certain GPA, they come out and say you need to fulfill your financial obligations, why can't they come out and say you need to get your own recs?

Just curious here. Could someone explain how Panhellenic arrived at the conclusion that the responsibility of finding Recs is the chapters to begin with? An employeer doesn't seek out recommendations for job applicants. If you want an interview or to get hired for a job, you need to provide your own letters of reference. How is that any different from saying if you want to join this organization you should find someone who will recommend you?

My sorority at LSU cannot pledge a girl without a rec. If they really like a girl they will make the effort to find an alum in her hometown to do some research and sponsor her. If they don't fall in love with a girl then they wouldn't take the time and the girl would not be pledged.