My friends daughter, descended from Mobile Mardi Gras Royalty for several generations and her self a mardi gras court noble, got cut from all but one of her legacy chapters at Bama (she originally had 3 in contention.) Legacies are a dime a dozen there at the older Bama chapters. I wrote her Theta letter of reference and she preffed at Theta and one other newer chapter, as well as her grandmother's chapter (legacy.) They must have truly fallen in love with her, and she would be a super asset to any Bama chapter.

Did she accept a bid?

Yes, to her grandmother's chapter, though I was told Theta was a close second. Her Mom was an alumna of the alleged top chapter at Bama, and went nuts when the that one and a second legacy chapters dropped her daughter. I had to talk her down GC style ;)

I think a lot of the downplaying of recs is an attempt to make rush seem like less of an old-girl-network than it is and infuse new blood into the system...when, of course, it achieves the exact opposite.

This is also from the U of A Panhellenic page on Letters of Recommendation:

Along with suggesting that it is the responsibility of the chapters to secure recommendations, this might lead a PNM to believe that chapters routinely seek recs on PNMs who send their resume directly to the chapter. Considering the mountain of recs membership chairs are already managing, I am skeptical that this happens with any regularity at all.

It seems to me that a PNM sending info to a chapter on her own might cause her to stand out -- but not in a good way. I'd be interested in other's opinions.

For instance, a mom (not Greek) whose daughter I wrote a rec for said, when I asked how gathering recs for other chapters was progressing, that her daughter had recs for the chapters she was interested in. I don't think she meant this to be condescending to other chapters -- she just didn't know and figured her daughter had recs to chapters where she knew someone. Besides, the other chapters will just secure recs if interested, right?

And the Panhellenic page, as an "official" source of info, doesn't help with this when it contains conflicting information.

I'm sure that a lot of what is "customary" in huge SEC recruitments seems silly to people who have no history with this process, and that plenty of girls go through with recs that are not really personal recommendations.

However, if one chooses to engage the process, it is a good idea to maximize options in advance by doing everything possible to play the game well. Some girls do pledge chapters without (knowingly) securing a rec in advance, but this isn't something I would leave to chance in such a huge recruitment. The first time through recruitment is usually the best opportunity.

.

Because when you're offered a job you don't want, you can turn it down and say that you're interested in another position.

Or if a friend invites you over to their house, you can tell them you can't come over because you're going to dinner with your sister.

Because, in high school, if you're invited to join a club or a group, it's not considered insulting to tell them that you don't want to join them because of *insert reason here*.

I'm not attempting to argue that it's proper Rush etiquette. I am just trying to point out, though, that sometimes people make mistakes due to ignorance. There's no need to call any girl stupid.

Ignorant is curable. Stupid is not.

Ignorant doesn't even begin to describe where we stood when my beloved granddaughter went through recruitment. 'Nuf said. Anything we knew, we learned from my lurking on GC, and I definitely didn't start lurking soon enough.

She had an incredible recruitment counselor, who she obviously paid close attention to, and she made it all on her own. That's why I am so grateful, (and NOW autocorrect won't let me misspell it!!).

I posted this in another thread, but I am still so dumbstruck by it that I'm posting it again.

This is from the 2013 Florida State recruitment guide:

Is a Recommendation Necessary for my Student to Get a Bid?
No! Recommendation letters are not required to receive a bid, and you will not in any way be penalized if a letter or form is not submitted on your behalf.

That goes so far beyond "you don't technically need recs to participate in recruitment." To me, this is membership selection and should NOT be discussed by Panhellenic. With brochures like that, it is no wonder PNMs and parents are ignorant of the realities.

I wonder if this is an unconscious and uncoordinated effort to curtail recs because they have largely lost their value in modern recruitment. 99% of the recs you receive are info-recs, anyway. Campus Panhellenics and NPC can't dictate membership selection, but it might be worth opening the dialogue amongst NPC groups to reconsider their valuation of what amounts to a heap of paperwork.

That may be the case where you are, but recs are still very important here in Mordor. They are especially important when trying to sort through 1200 women. Even an info-only rec from an outside alum means that the girl is probably more serious about recruitment and interested in your chapter.

Greek Life additions to the manual like this may possibly be an effort to try and make it more egalitarian in the bid selection process where someone who is not a legacy or who is first-generation college student could (in theory) have an equal shot at any group. In fact, it has the opposite effect as without rec letters invitations will tend to rely on women in the chapter who already have a relationship with the PNM. Hence, women from the same towns or same high schools will be more likely to "clump" together in some chapters.

Sorry if this has been posted (I missed it), but how about this from Auburn's website:

"In 1992, the National Panhellenic Conference passed a resolution addressing letters of recommendation. The resolution, in part, states: "The responsibility of providing letters of recommendation for potential members rests with the members of NPC fraternities and recruitment information distributed through College and Alumnae Panhellenics shall contain nothing that infers letters of recommendation must be secured by the potential member." Each of the sixteen sororities at Auburn that participate in Fall Formal Recruitment is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and is bound by this resolution" (I am adding here that Auburn actually has 17 sororities. This page apparently hasn't been updated :), but is the page you're taken to when in the 2013 recruitment section and click on the link about recs.)

https://fp.auburn.edu/greek/recommendations.htm

I knew about this NPC rule, but wonder how many sororities conducting recruitments for 1500 or more PNMs have the time to secure recs. However, the specific statement recruitment information distributed through College and Alumnae Panhellenics shall contain nothing that infers letters of recommendation must be secured by the potential member may explain the position we're seeing on so many school Panhellenic sites where it has long been held that recs are mandatory. To say anything differently would be an NPC violation.

So -- how do we handle this? I still tell PNMs to GET RECS when going into these competitive recruitments. I have not seen anything valid to assure me that they have lost their importance...but I very much second adpiuf's suggestion about opening up dialogue with NPC groups about it. I am hearing from PNMs and parents about conflicting advice, including that SEC sorority women have told them recs are not needed, that they are not even looked at and that they mean nothing coming from alumnae who don't know the PNM personally...the idea seems to be that most recs come from avid "rec-writers" just shootin' 'em out the door.

Info varies depending on the school, though. Other PNMs/parents are still hearing that 2nd round won't happen without recs. Rec girls of mine who went through SEC rush just last year told me that, as the days progressed, it became very obvious their recs had been looked at. They were clued in when they were introduced to certain members who said, "We saw from one of your rec providers that you...whatever she did." At Tennessee's Panhellenic site, each sorority states how many recs are needed, and even the ones that say they aren't required still say they are recommended. The Ole Miss site says they are helpful in the recruitment process. Last year, they flat-out said they were often a tool for "managing the numbers" in large recruitments.

For now, I would say don't think about going into a competitive recruitment without them, no matter what the Panhellenic page says or what word on the street for your specific school is. But...I can sure see where they are extreme paperwork for sororities (imagine all 2000-plus Bama PNMs sending in 2-3 recs each. Yikes.) AND, if the perception is that most recs are coming from random alumnae just pulling from a resume, then yes, I can see where they carry less and less weight.

Let's talk.

Sorry, just deleted a double post.

Note: There are 17 sororities at Auburn. I guess they haven't updated that since Theta recolonized?

Ha, I guess not on that page! I checked the main page and it says 17. That page is the first hit that comes up when you google Auburn Panhellenic + recommendations.

I did go to back and accessed their rec info through the main page -- guess where it took me? Same place with 16 sororities. :)