As a UGA and GA Southern alum, I would say yes, get recs for each GLO, list any volunteer/philanthropic work you've done, watch your GPA and remember your reputation during the year and months prior to recruitment. There have been some wonderful girls who may have had a crazy night or two with their girlfriends during the summer and behaved in a way that is unbecoming of them. As has often been said, 'it takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but it only takes one night to tarnish it'...something like that.

I'm a GA transplant from NoVa myself! I went to GMU and had a blast there. Though, I didn't go to UGA, but my fiancee did. He is a DTD and told me what he heard and saw of formal recruitment at UGA. It's one of the most competitive schools, so definitely get your stuff straight before going in. Keep an open mind and have fun! Greek life is huge there and I wish you the best of luck (in getting into the school and getting a bid from a sorority). :)

Sorority Information Session in Georgia
 

The Southern Crescent Alum Panhel is hosting its 7th annual Sorority Information session on Saturday 29 March at 1pm at the beautiful Phi Mu HQtrs here in Peachtree City.

http://www.ascapa.org

We invite area high school senior girls & their moms to attend. We always have some light refreshments and this year we are adding door prizes from the local spa and a cute local boutique. This year we are also inviting junior high school girls to attend if they want.

We also invite as many of our alums to attend as possible.

We always try to "tell it like it is" so the girls are clued in on how rush is in the south.

We also try to have a "notable" guest speaker - last year it was Emory's Greek Life director. This year we have the current NPC Chair coming! We also have some current sorority members whose homes are in the area come talk as well as one or two local collegiate Panhel exec members.

We have info forms the girls fill out and then they make as many copies as they need recs for - based on their college (in or out of state). They get everything to me by our deadline and I get everything sent out to the sorority alums in our association who have volunteered to write recs. Last year we did our first rec writing session and had a fantastic showing - many of the ladies in our assoc had not written recs in ages. We shared what - if anything - we knew about each girl and tips for how to phrase something in a rec. It was really a wonderful panhellenic experience and everyone is looking forward to it this year.

We basically try to do everything in our power to ensure the gals who rush from our area have the recs and info they need to have a succesful happy experience.

We used to help anyone who came to us - including a number of girls from metro/northside of Atlanta, but now we refer them to the Atlanta Panhel unless someone down here knows them personally. I do tell them if they cannot get any help to come back to me and we will try.

there should be a special star for you in the heavens,gphibltcolonel. thank you for all you and the lovely ladies of your panhellenic association do!

gphibltcolonel, three cheers to you! I wish there was something like this in my area when I was at that stage in my life. I never even knew about recs etc. At my time, it was either you were a legacy or not. (that was important back then) Times have changed and so much has improved for your women because of people like you.

Shucks, I'll be missing my 2nd one in a row but since the chapter is nice enough to throw me at Going Away party (not retirement!!;)), guess I'll go there, lol.

Have fun!!

I know the gals and moms will learn alot!

Reading this thread has been eye-opening to say the least!

Recruitment at my Georgia school (Columbus State) is not NEARLY as taxing as recruitment at UGA! I got sick just reading about the process there! I used to think that if I went to a larger school that I would join a GLO with no problems but now I'm SO glad that I chose a smaller school with a smaller Greek system.

Man, would it be nice to have over 100 PNMs go through Rush at CSU! It would be a luxury to cut so many legacies but here, if you're a legacy, you are almost guaranteed a bid from the legacy group (unless your grades are low or you did something stupid...). I know now that at a larger school I might not have found such a great home in AOII (who knows? I might have been cut the first round or something.). It just goes to show that G-d really does have a plan, even regarding going Greek!

However, we Greeks fight stereotypes all the time and its the larger systems like these that just strengthen those stereotypes, you know? I wish there was a better way with much less heartbreak... and the heartbroken just fuel the stereotypes again in a vicious circle...

I'm probably just rambling now, but PHEW! Congrats to all the Greeks who survived recruitment at larger SEC schools and found their homes!

I'm just saying that when girls are cut from larger systems, they often are negative and then promote the stereotypes that Greeks are mean beauty queens that didn't think she was "good enough" and cut her for stupid reasons (even though it might be for reasons like grades).

I understand that chapters have quotas and totals and can't take everyone that comes through rush, but I guess the arduous selection process is a necessary evil at larger schools...

Something to think about: What you are describing happens everywhere on some level. It's not exclusive to SEC schools or any other large recruitment environment. Cuts and selection happen everywhere, whether you have a ton of girls going through or you barely get 100.

Also with the various recruitment models being used currently, academic and internal requirements to even be eligible to pledge anywhere, and the policies on some campuses for guaranteed placement I'd go so far as to say that we can't please everyone. There are too many variables in today's recruitment practices and we have to set limits. Cuts happen everywhere, from the largest and most competitive traditional "Southern" recruitment, to the most casual and informal recruitment setting possible. It's not just SEC or Texas schools or places like IU and I'd hate for anyone to think that's the way it is.

One more piece of advice from a UGA mom/sister
 

My daughter attends UGA and participated in recruitment last fall. The advice we found on GC was invaluable. She had her recs, the GPA, recruitment outfits and was as prepared as she could be for the frenzy that awaited her. She had a full schedule all week and had the opportunity to visit some great houses and meet tons of new friends.

She attended three houses during prefs including the house where I was initiated back in the “dark ages”-the late seventies. In the end-she loved them all and had a very difficult time making her decision.

When she received her bid, we were both surprised by the invitation.

Let me stop here and say my daughter is extremely happy and I couldn’t be happier about where she is at UGA. Her sorority is filled with wonderful girls and she has had the time of her life. If there was ever a case of “what is meant to be – will be”, this is it. She is definitely where she was meant to be! :)

My advice to mothers of future PMNs who have a legacy status, especially from the house where you were initiated, email the membership chair to confirm they have received your introduction. I am not a “helicopter” mom so I was hesitant in going to far. I have to say “I” was disappointed in the way my chapter handled my situation.

This right here is the only thing that matters.

Congrats to your daughter for finding her home and kudos to you for being supportive of her even if she didn't go to where you initiated.

That is wonderful news! :) Would love to know where she is of course;) being the nosy GC'er that I am! ;)

And I can't tell you how many moms I have met in the past few years - including women whose daughters are now in their 30's or 40's even - who are still to this day bitter about how "their" sororities handled their legacy daughters. They refuse to have almost anything to do with "their" sororities now....although - oddly - one still is okay with writing recs for other PNMS:confused:

So it is refreshing to hear about your positive attitude!:)

I'm the proud mom of a Gamma Phi! :D

:Doooooh! somehow I just had a feeling...:p The chapter is wonderful IMHO!;)

I was up there to help with rush during prefs last fall (in the kitchen though...nothing glamorous) and was also there two weeks ago to present an academic achievement scholarship from our Southern Crescent area alum chapter. Then several of the UGA Gamma Phis came to help install our new chapter at Kennesaw this past Saturday. There are four girls in the UGA chapter from my hometown.

Two girls from our HS are UGA Gamma Phis.

And wow, I heard about KSU's colonization. They did a great job. :)

Give them all a hug the next time you're at UGA. One could be my daughter!

As far as writing recs again for PMNs down the road, I probably would. They could get stacked up somewhere and never see the light of day or they could give someone an opportunity to have a great recruitment experience. Better to have that base covered.

I am really late to this thread but wanted to pitch in an idea about a chapter being at total and still doing formal recruitment thing.

I know that at W&L the total was set unnaturally low. It was at 70, which represents the "ideal size" the university would like to see for chapters but just based on two (much less four) quota-sized pledge classes the chapter would be at that. In fact some chapters were nearly double total.

One thing that was experimented with there was allowing groups that had already made quota either via formal recruitment/COB to continue COB up to the average chapter size. Which is a tough call at W&L since there are hardly any non-Greek women.

I'm not saying this was used at UGA; in fact it doesn't sound like it was. But it's a possibility that this would happen in some cases and solve confusion that people had.

Also, at big schools like UGA/UT/etc, a LOT of people graduate in December. That could be a factor too.

Is W&L hoping to lower chapter size by adding ADPi?

Yes.

They first began the stop-and-go process of adding a sixth sorority my senior year (spring 2005). Ultimately that failed because of inadequate preparations on Panhel's part to get the money cleared for a sixth sorority house. In response Panhel submitted a proposal as part of the W&L strategic plan to add a sixth house and bring the size down. The W&L houses were designed with a total of 70 in mind. At this point some of the larger houses cannot even fit all their members into their chapter meeting rooms. 70 is seen as a good number for W&L in terms of the house size and also in terms of the fact that W&L Panhel would like sororities to be a small, "personalized" experience just like W&L in general.

The strategic proposal document used to be on the W&L website, but I can't find it anymore after the Greek Life site redesign a month or two back. I'll keep looking for it. In it the writers discussed how the sixth group would bring the size down, but that based on the exponential growth of Greek life at W&L (a larger and larger percentage of women keep pledging), there would probably even need to be a seventh group to really get the size down to 70. However there isn't a spot for a seventh house on sorority row, which would lead to a whole other set of problems/questions. Some of the options were discussed in that document. I'll keep looking for it.

/sidetrack

Just got back from a weekend at W&L and looks like they will be starting on the sixth house soon!

Alumni weekend?

Yes! Lots of fun!

Nice! I've never been able to make it to Alumni Weekend since graduation since I live so far away and I'm so poor. :( I'll probably go for my five-year in 2010.

You're not a W&L alum are you?

No, my husband is a W&L alum and was celebrating his 10 year. I am a UGA grad. This was his first reunion. The 5 year was not so well attended, but normally has trouble with turnout since people are all over. Some still did have to miss this year due to babies and CFA tests. They did still manage to pull out the attendance award though, so that was nice!

Cool!

We always had the same problem with the 5-year reunion classes. A lot of the 5-year alums don't come, and many who do, don't officially register with the University, just planning things with friends informally. Which meant that they didn't get their official packets - which Pi Phi would stuff with the invitation to our alumni reception. Our alumni receptions thus tended to be mostly women who were 1-2 years out of college!

That changed though, my senior year - Pi Phi was colonized in 1992, so most of the pledge class was class of 1995. Meaning that my senior year it was the founding pledge class's 10-year reunion! So I would guess turnout is going to get better and better. Kappa, Theta, and Chi-O already had pretty good turnout as they were all founded in 1989...

If you don't mind saying, what fraternity was your husband in, if any?

Sorry for the major hijack to this thread. :)

will pm you to stop the hijack!

QFP

Well, you could be a COB new member in January and then be a spring initiate.

I was COBed in January and initiated in April.

In ktbug's case, though, she said she was initiated last Fall 2007. In April 2008, her signature read that she has no NPC affiliation.

OR, you could be a perp who passed herself off as a UGA Gamma Chi 2008.

I thought her "no affiliation" thing was supposed to be in concert with her claiming to be a Gamma Chi at UGA for Fall '08 recruitment. That, too, of course contradicts her being an Auburn Alpha Gam.

So does her being enrolled at Macon State spring semester '08 and not in a sorority, both details she mentioned more than once in more than one thread.

In the spring she claimed to have been at a whole different school (in April, she reportedly went to Kennessaw).

Then the other thing that throws me off was that this fall her signature read "UGA Gamma Chi 2008." As far as I know, you can't be at Auburn (as of June) and be a UGA Gamma Chi in August.


Then we have other GCers saying that she was claiming to have gotten a bid to UGA's AGD chapter in Fall of 2007. If that were the case, why tell others (in June 2008) that you just went AGD at Auburn?

If she turns out to really be an AGD I'm sorry but all of her stories are incredibly confusing.

Well, here's her Xanga site traced back to her... She says she's a PhiMu there. lol http://profile.xanga.com/katiemae2222

Well she did wanna be part of the "Macon Magnolia Mafia" maybe she's just an honorary member in her head.

Wow! So now she's perped AGD, Phi Mu, and DG. LOL! Busted!

Our Auburn chapter is too large to be able to COR.