Just saw that The Red & Black (UGA newspaper) posted photos from day 2 of rush. Unfortunately they used last years pictures again! If you scroll through the pictures you can even see the date of 2012 at the bottom of the pictures. Not sure why they are doing this but now think it must be deliberate since this is the second time they have done it!
Hopefully, online Athens will continue their excellent job of posting photos!

That's what I thought...such adorable girls and cute, cute dresses! I wish they would post "and PNM #248 is wearing a dress from XYZ boutique in Athens..here's the link to order it"...lol.

I saw one dress that was precious and then someone said those photos were from last year. :( Tiny Dawg's photo is there, though, and her dress is so cute!

The Red & Black pictures are from last year. The Athens Online pics are from this year. And I agree on the cute dresses!

This is what Red & Black had posted tonight. I think these are this year's because of the weather and umbrella shots, but also because sorority member shown in one of the pictures looks exactly like one of my rec girls rushing last year.

http://www.redandblack.com/rbtv/phot...a4bcf6878.html

Those Red & Black pics are from this year. Looks like they changed them from what they had up previously. Maybe they read GC! :D

Athens Online also has a bunch of pics up from today. The weather was much nicer and according to D2 much cooler than last year so that is good for the PNMs.

Round 1 is over! D2 said that other than the rain it went off very smoothly. SOOO many cute girls!! Round 2 is tomorrow and I believe they can go back to 11 houses. I remember from last year it was a crazy long day! D2 was lucky enough to have a full schedule but she could barely function for the last 3 or 4 houses she was so exhausted!. Alabama divides Round 2 into 2 days. Something I think UGA should consider.

I think every school with more than 15 or 16 sororities should have at least 2 days for round 1 AND for round 2. More than 8 parties per day IMO has a diminishing return since everyone is so tired, no matter how short you make each party.

This is my first time to post. My daughter is going through UGA Recruitment and I have a knot in my stomach. This is sooooo hard as a Mom! She has a full schedule of 12 parties today, but two of her "favorites" didn't invite her back. I have told her to trust the process, trust herself and shake it off. Ugh...

Hang in there PearlGirl13. Best of luck to your daughter!

Thanks! She is asking me questions about when to (or if she should) indicate to a sorority member that she really likes her sorority. I suggested waiting until third round... Is that correct advice?

Does anyone know much about the numbers this year? When do they set quota (is it even still called quota). I clearly need to do more reading!

Good luck to your daughter, PearlGirl13! A full schedule is GREAT. Keep us posted.

She should indicate that she really likes them when it feels natural and honest. She should not tell anyone that it is her favorite (so no hurt feelings if she changes her mind.)

Quota is set after prefs based on the number of women who sign a pledge card. So she should see it through. Good luck!

I have heard back from two of the three Mom's whose daughters I have written recs for. One has 12 houses and the other has 10 houses today. The other one was sure but thought that her daughter had a full schedule today. It would be fun to list the houses that each of them have been invited to after every round ( if I keep their identity anonymous). I could refer to them as B1, B2 and B3. But I won't do it if anyone feels that this is too revealing or a breach of confidentiality.


Georgia Bulldog/Delta Delta Delta

By the Way Brenda Bond is not my real name...so I am anonymous.


Georgia Bulldog/Delta Delta Delta

That would be great but if you do, just don't give any identifying information like hometown!

I don't see the problem with saying on Pref Night "this is my favorite house" or "I really want to be an XYZ." Obviously that should only be said to the house you are 1,000% sure you want to wind up in. I remember Pref Night on the other side and some girls made it completely obvious we were their #1 choice, while others were more vague. I always liked when girls were up front. Sure there may have been some that on Bid Day you thought "wow I really thought we would've gotten them" but it was just disappointing, not devastating.

Are they close enough to you that we could gets a dramadawg recruitment thread, one of the best things about Greekchat?

I'm new to this forum but my daughter is going through UGA Rush right now. What is a dramadawg recruitment thread???

BTW - my chickie put down six good choices for her. Not the most popular houses on campus, but the ones that she felt the strongest about. Hope it works out for her...

dgdramadawg writes great recruitment threads about PNMs that she knows. Here's one for interested readers

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=115415

UGA Recruitment
 

I can honestly say as a mother, rush was a very difficult time for me. With daughter on the other side......well last year was a tough one too, as the girl she "preffed", adored, and wanted for her little did not end up on the pledge list. This year things have been smooth sailing so far, except the downpour round 1. wishing that all the girls can find a sorority home.

Photos up now for t shirt day on Online Athens.

My daughter is hanging in there! Six parties today with three that she can see herself at and one clear favorite. Now that she has a favorite (first time she has said this all week) I'm really getting anxious. The tone of her texts is all over the place - makes me look back at my days in Rush when I called home at the end of the week - mission accomplished! My mom didn't know how good she had it!

So true PearlGirl13. Good luck to Pearldaughter.

Pearl Girl... Are you a Tri Delta? If so were you a Tri Delt at UGA and if so what year?

All of my girls got to experience shell shock today with the major cuts that usually happen during this round. They are all hanging in there....one still has her favorite : ) The others I have not heard from yet...but I tell everyone of them...to lift up your chin and find new favorites today.

My daughter is down to 5, with 2 favorites. She's very nervous about the next round of cuts!

Hang in there, UGa moms! We're behind you and your girls!

My daughter has a friend who decided to go through UGA Rush less than a month ago. Her mother went to a private art school and her father is not US born and went to "University" in Europe. Needless to say, they aren't very in the know about SEC Rush!

The girl is very pretty, very sociable and really just a delightful young lady, but had few, if any, recommendations. And.....she went to five third round parties today and has a very good selection. I am very happy for this girl - she will make a great sister for ANY sorority, but .....

How does this work like this? It is all so hard to understand.

I don't understand the question.

It sounds like the young lady mentioned above is definitely the exception, not the rule. Her success could be due to a variety of reasons such as having girls from her high school or hometown pulling for her. Perhaps she made such a strong impression on the 5 chapters who invited her back that they found an alumna to write a rec for her. Obviously, no one will ever know for sure, but I feel fairly safe in saying that this is not the norm for UGA/SEC.

I honestly think that with the overwhelming number of legacies and PNMs with competetive recruitments in the SEC and elsewhere, the power of references has been diluted.
When there were only 600 women going through recruitment at Alabama or Georgia 12 years ago, it was easy to see who had references and who did not. Now with 1600-2200 women, no one in their right mind can keep up with who has references or how many they have.
I think most chapters note WHO is writing the rec, like national officers, foundation members, etc. But, I think if you have an alumna writing your rec who has not done a thing, paid alumnae dues, or given money to your foundation since she graduated...you need to take into account that her reference will not stand up compared to the PNM who has Nancy National Officer who has known her since birth who writes a reference and follows up with the chapter to let them know what a great girl she is....

I agree.

Also, this PNM could have a sparkling personality and have some influential members really advocating for her. It happens.

and, because there are so many "vanilla" references written, many chapters are looking past the references and actually looking at the potential a PNM has to offer their chapter.

There is no greater value than a hand written reference from a 50+ year alum from your chapter for a young women she has known from birth or has lived mext door to her family for 20 years.

But a reference written from an alumna from a different school who admits in her letter that she does not personally know this PNM but endorses her for membership...not so much.

Just my opinion...

I agree with both of these statements. With the large number of legacies going through, I think this could also hold true in that arena too. I helped a young girl at IU who was a legacy. Her Mom did not even know there was a form that had to be filled out and sent in to the chapter. I had to explain it to Mom on the phone. She had not joined an alum chapter, paid alum dues or anything since graduation. She was also very surprised that her daughter was released after first invitational having no idea how many legacies go through recruitment at Indiana.

While I think you're probably right that who writes your rec matters at some chapters and even that the power of recs may have been diluted, I think most SEC chapters have systems in place to get and track recs.

As far as the question about how great girls who don't know anything about recruitment still do well, it's important to remember that chapters seek out rec writers and that alumnae often actively look into sending recs for PNMs who may not even know they have them. Just because a girl doesn't know she has a rec, doesn't mean she doesn't have one.

This varies by sorority. Some require a rec so they'll find an alumna to write one for a girl they love. Others don't care as much about the power of the recommendation. The problem for the girl going through rush is you don't know which is which. And that's why, while I'm not a fan of the way recs are gathered as part of a mandatory part of rush prep, I'd still say if you are going to a school where this is tradition, I'd still do it. Why self-limit?

My rec girl had 11 houses yesterday. She had a full schedule today but was cut hard by some of her favorites. She had one of her favorites and two others that she could really see herself as a sister. I am hoping her Preference list tomorrow includes those three.

Totally.

My point about chapters and alumnae initiating some recs was just to emphasize the point that some PNMS with recs don't know it. They say things like, "I didn't have a single rec and got invited back to max parties every round." Maybe that's true, but it's also possible that you had some recs that you didn't even know about, and you're misleading PNMs who might not have your connections.

Apparently UGA Recruitment made Bleacher Report - or some charming tradition involving college meatheads and mopeds, anyway. I thought of you guys.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...sorority-girls