Alabama Rush
 

I will be going to Alabama next fall and I am going to rush. No one in my family has ever gone to Alabama, and the only person in my family who was in a sorority was my grandma. What are the chances I will get a bid? I am also working on getting letters of rec

None of what you stated matters (other than the getting all your recs which is a must - and 2 for each group). What matters are the following:

Grades - if you are at or below a 3.0, your chances are slim
Activities - you gotta have them! You still have time to add to your resume if these are slim
How you present yourself - "pretty is as pretty does"

Have you checked out this year's info on the PH page? Are you planning to attended Preview Weekend? Very important that you do.

I have a 3.8 gpa and im very involved (community service club, volleyball, leadership clubs, internships, etc.). I am attending preview weekend, but I have yet to find out when that is. Would you suggest natural makeup with more preppy conservative clothes?

The PH page should still have their recruitment book on it so you can see how the women at Alabama dress. It will be colder - and maybe rainy - so be sure to consider that. And I suggest the REAL you at all times. Everyday makeup is good for preview weekend. The women there tend to wear leggings, boots, sweaters, etc....You could call the Greek Life office to see if they've set a date yet. (I know your generation doesn't do that much but it's a skill you need!)

No date has been set yet for preview weekend. It may not be set until early January, from what I've heard.

There is a very strong likelihood you will be placed. Alabama has an excellent placement rate. The question is are you prepared to be happy with whatever options you are presented with? If you do your homework, stated above, and understand that your choices are secondary to those of the sororities, you should be fine.

Would my chances increase if I start to reach out and talk to current and graduating members at UA now? Also what is the difference between old and new row? I am very new to the whole greek thing but I really want to be in a sorority.

If you make friends with individuals who are Greek at Alabama that's fine, but don't befriend someone just to pump them for information about sororities or for the sake of having an "in."

Q#1. Yes, absolutely! But don't be creepy about it.
Q#2. Old Row is a term which originally mean fraternities (not sororities) still located on University Blvd. and nearby south of the Quad. The term arose when fraternities began building houses north of the Quad, which was referred to as New Row. Today it refers to a loose coalition of fraternities and sororities that pay into a fund to throw a party or two for themselves. Not all groups are "invited" to join.
It's also a term that some use to designate the most "exclusive, desirable, highest prestige" groups. :rolleyes:
Which is really a bunch of BS.
The experience of being in a sorority is really similar no matter what group you join. And no matter what you read on that other trashy site.

Just a QFP

Anismith, it would also not hurt to, right NOW, begin compiling a list of women you know who are sorority alumnae. Start asking around! Relatives, teachers, women at church, where you work and volunteer. Your mom can post a request on her Facebook page, too. Make a list of names, their sorority, addresses (snail and e-mail). You will need to find recommendations for 16 of the 17 UA sororities (Sigma Delta Tau does not participate in formal recruitment and has a different living situation, but if you're interested, they would also appreciate a recommendation). You will want to ask them to write you a "rec" toward the end of your senior year. At that time, give each person a resume with your name, address, parents' names, GPA and school info, a list of your awards and honors, extra-curricular activities, volunteer work, church work, paid work - now is the time to brag about your accomplishments! Add an unofficial school transcript after graduation. This will give them everything they need to write your rec.

And send a thank you note to each!

YOU will not receive the rec - the alumna will send it to the UA chapter of her sorority. The thank you-note will a) show what a well-brought-up young lady you are, b) express your gratitude and b) jog their memory if they've forgotten to get that rec written and in the mail. I doubt they would mind if you asked for a message when they've got it sent off, just to give you some peace of mind. ;)

Does is matter if the person writing the rec did not attend the school I am going to?

You REALLY need to go back and read the 800 bazillion threads here about recs and Bama, the most written-about topic of all (well, Indiana's rush might have more, but they're close). This last post tells me you haven't even begun to do your homework before starting to ask questions.

sorry, just trying to figure things out, this website is kind of hard to navigate

use google and include greekchat in the search. It works better.

Any alumna can write your rec. They do not have to have been in any particular chapter.

ansmith7, if you use search terms like "Alabama" "recruitment" "recruitment recommendations" in your google search, it will help. I'd help you out but there is a certain alumna here who would explode if I did anything of the sort. You can always PM me, however. You are wise to be thinking ahead now, and getting prepared, especially with recommendations!

In the meantime, here is a thread I think is really useful.

No, it doesn't!
In Greekchat, go to the "Recruitment" forum, and check out the stickied threads (the ones posted permanently at the top). And under the "REcruitment" forum, go to the "Sorority Recruitment" subforum and look at THOSE stickied threads.

You can also search for "Alabama" on the whole forum.
A couple of other sources I recommend: thesororitylife dot com - official NPC recruitment site, lots of excellent basic info about sororities and recruitment. They also have a site for parents: sororityparents dot com
A blog by a mother who's a sorority alumna (not Alabama) with a daughter just graduated from Alabama and was in a sorority: sororitygirl101 dot com. Lots of good info specific to UA.

Roll Tide!

ansmith7,

Area Alumnae Panhellenics sometimes offer information meetings to let high school seniors (and others) and parents know about sorority recruitment.

In Alabama, the Birmingham Area Alumna Panhellenic has a session scheduled, so if you're in or near Birmingham, you may want to check it out / attend:

"Birmingham AL area alumnae panhellenic . . .
3rd Annual Sorority 101 Event, February 21st, 2015 at Samford Univeristy's Bashinsky Fieldhouse Gym from 10:00am-12:00pm.

The Sorority 101 Event is open to any high school women with their parents, who are interested in participating in Sorority Recruitment while attending college. We will provide information on the benefits of Sorority life as well as a general description of Sorority Recruitment with fashion vendors on "what to wear".

Please see:

http://birminghampanhellenic.yolasit...-101-event.php

Yes! Also, in terms of searching on GreekChat:
1) Go to "Advanced Search" (it's a link right under the search box on the left side of the main page
2) Search by keyword (HINT: you can select option "in entire post" or "in title only")
3) In the next section below "Search Options", you can limit the search results by forum category (I'd recommend in the recruitment sections), date, etc.

The advanced options help A LOT.

But seriously, the stickied threads.

Someone here gave me a great tip after the fact which would help for anyone.

When you send your rec package to an alum, include a postcard, addressed to you (with a stamp) for them to drop in the mail when they mail your rec. That way you don't have to wonder if people did as asked.

To be specific, use "Alabama recruitment" or whatever and site:greekchat.com in the search terms.

That's a good idea too but, I usually just email the people to let them know I sent their recommendations. I would be so angry if I asked someone to write me one and they just forgot to do it. That's why, especially for jobs and graduate school, I always tell people to have multiple people lined up. I've seen people "forget" they had to write a recommendation or they didn't have time at the last minute. I would never want to do that to anyone.