Sorry. Totally not what I meant at all. I will go back and attempt to edit it.

My point was simply that none of them signed up through the Panhellenic to even give us the opportunity to recommend them. I do know that cuts can be harsh at Bama without recs and so since they didn't sign up through the Panhellenic, that perhaps there were other houses in addition to Theta that they were lacking recs to as well.

I probably should have also stated that almost every single year there are local girls that decide to go through Bama rush at the last minute and therefore obtain only a handful of recs. Or they decide early enough, but feel that recs are only necessary for the 2-3 houses that they THINK they are interested in. In other words, despite our attempts at getting the word out that recs are needed for all houses that message is falling on deaf ears locally. I have even had PNMs tell me that recs aren't needed "because we pick where we want to go everyday anyway. It is our choice where we go back to." Hence the "when will they ever learn?"

The Theta thing was just me lamenting that perhaps they could have potentially had one more chapter in their mix to consider, not so much a 'they would have chosen Theta over the house that they did' thing.

Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will attempt to edit as that is not the vibe I intended at all.

^^^ It's ok, I felt weird pointing it out, but I also felt weird not saying anything either.

Blondie, I agree - our city always has a 3 or 4 who pledge at Alabama and Auburn and don't come through our alumnae panhellenic. Not to mention the girls at UAB and Montevallo - they almost always sign up at the last minute because they aren't even aware there are sororities at those schools.

And yes, we have girls who will say they're just going to get a few recs for the sororities they think they want.

What's REALLY irksome, however, is the local alumnae group of an NPC sorority that refuses to participate in the alumnae panhellenic. They say they'll pick the girls they want to sponsor and don't need the info from Panhellenic. :mad:

I just figure they miss out on some great girls.:rolleyes:

So short-sighted - there's no way they can know of every senior girl interested in recruitment, so OF COURSE they miss out on some really great girls. Perhaps they see it as being "exclusive" - but it's sad that the chapters might not be notified of some girls who would be awesome members simply because they do not know someone in the alumnae group.

And then there's the whole "panhellenic" thing. Part of promoting NPC membership is presenting a united front - we're all in this together - and by not participating in ALL of the APH activities that group re-enforces the negative image of sororities.

Yay - One of my rec girls went AOII and another went Alpha Phi.

Re Not registering with Alumnae Panhellenics, I agree that it is becoming a problem. More and more PNMs feel that it is not necessary for a variety of reasons. The one most popular is that "The collegiate chapters are supposed to get them." Hello! Where do the collegiate chapters get them? From alumnae. How do alumnae know who is going through recruitment? From friends, co-workers, church and yes, Alumnae Panhellenic!

So as the mom of a PNM in 2011 when is the best time to register with the state Alumnae Panhellenic?

It really depends on where you live because some information sessions can begin as early as February. It would not be unusual around here to start getting information packets together in January. That's the earliest a PNM ever sent me info.

My rec crew
 

Auburn results!

1 - went Delta Zeta
1 - went Kappa Alpha Theta

I have put the Auburn new member list on a spreadsheet. If you'd like a copy, please PM me.

My daughter plans on rushing in fall 2011. We are from Alabama and I went to a college that didn't have Greek life. How do we find the state Alumnae Panhellenic and Panhellenic Preview weekends?

our local alumnae panhellenic will not host an information session nor can you count on women in certain sororities to agree to meet young women in need of recs. they are a bunch of old biddies who have done it this way since the stone age. my zeta sister and i offered to do all the leg work to organize an information session or organize women from each of our member sororities for rec. writing and have been shot down numerous times. it's a shame!

I wish I could get my Alumnae Panhellenic to host an information session. They stopped 10-12 years ago when the young women stopped attending. :-(

It is best if you get her recs from people who know her. Network with friends, employers, teachers, church members, etc for as many as possible.
Alum Panhellenic should be your last resort. In Alabama I think there may only be two cities that have them and the state doesn't - as far as I know.
if you're in Birmingham, we don't have one - sigh!

Preview weekend is in the spring and will be posted on the UA web site so you should keep tabs there.

My Daughter attended an Alum Panhellenic Information Session. Most of the girls who attended were from one of two high schools in the town. She found it very beneficial and some of the Alums who knew her well introduced her to other Alums. My daughter said she was well matched at most parties. The Alum society in our area offers a scholarship that the high schools tell the girls about. That is one way to make sure it is attended. They annouce the scholarship at the session.

There are 4 NPC-affiliated alumnae Panhellenics in Alabama: Etowah County (the Gadsden area), Huntsville, Montgomery, and Walker County (Jasper area). Huntsville's has a Web site: http://www.hsvgogreek.com/Welcome.html . The others don't, but they're out there.

There are also a few unofficial alumnae panhellenics that only do an information session for PNMs - they may not raise enough money to pay the NPC dues, so they remain unaffiliated.

Watch the newspapers for announcements about an info meet. They will also often let the high school counselors know when it's coming up. The information sessions-teas-get-togethers are usually in the spring...we used to have ours the weekend before graduation, but this year we moved it to April, and that seems to work better with the new "silence" rules at the universities. I think Huntsville keys theirs to Easter weekend.

Certainly, ask around among your friends and acquaintances and have those resumes ready to hand out.

But there are always going to be a few sororities that have scarce alumnae in the area, and an alum Panhellenic is a wonderful find!