Alabama Recruitment
 

As of this morning, 2333 have signed up for recruitment at Alabama.

If you have 20 in a group -- that's 117 groups!

How many first round parties do the chapters have to hold?

26 first-round parties over 2 days (PNMs go to 16)
20 second-round parties over 2 days (PNMs go to max of 12 I think)
15 third-round parties over 2 days (PNMs go to max of 8 I think)
7 pref parties over 1 day (PNMs go to max of 3)

Although UA Panhellenic could adjust that and add a few more parties.

Last year a total of just under 2300 signed up.

Not sure, but I think there are more than 20 in a Rho Chi group. Each group has more than 1 Rho Chi.

Something new this year:

• While chapter specific letters of recommendation are preferred, for women unable to find an alumna from each of the recognized sororities at UA to write a letter of rec, we have added a new option to the recruitment application. This year as part of the recruitment application, women participating in recruitment may elect to submit a generic, supplemental academic letter of recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor, or principal. The individual writing the letter of recommendation does not have been a member of Greek organization; however, the letter should speak to your character as it applies to leadership, scholarship, community service, and friendship. Please note that this is an optional feature and as such, is not a required part of the online application form.
• Supplemental academic letters of recommendation can be uploaded directly to the PNMs online recruitment application in Innova Campus Director or they can be mailed to the Alabama Panhellenic Association at the address provided below.

What was the Profile of the 2014 Sorority Recruitment Applicant Pool?

For fall 2014, a record 2,276 women registered for formal recruitment and 2,246 women participated in the first round of recruitment known as Open House. Of those women in the Open House Pool, 598 were from Alabama and 1,648 were from Out-of-State. Of the 2,246 women in the Open House Pool (191 women) did not complete the process, of which 94 withdrew, 80 were released and 17 participated in bid matching, but did NOT maximize their options. Of the 2,055 women receiving bids, 561 were from Alabama and 1,494 were from Out-of-State, for an overall Open House Pool Match rate of 91%. The National average for women receiving a bid during formal recruitment is 79% of the Open House Pool.

· Average Cumulative High School GPA: 3.65
· Average Cumulative College GPA: 3.18
· Average ACT Score: 28
· Average SAT Score: 1,672


Fall 2015 Greek Chic Recruitment Guide:
http://issuu.com/alabamapanhellenic/docs/ua_greek_chic_2015?e=0/13792812

Trying to figure out how this letter is going to work since many NPCs do indeed require a recommendation written only by an alum of that sorority.

You would probably have 5-7 groups per part if you have 20 in a group but my guess is they have more than 20 per group. Don't really know how Bama does it, but the universities I work with have more than that in each recruitment group.

I have a feeling it'll be looked at as "oh, that's nice, but doesn't really do much" on the sorority side. With so many girls getting recs from actual alumnae, having one from a non-member probably wouldn't be especially beneficial. Recruitment isn't like college application, where the college makes admission decisions without necessarily meeting applicants and needs these letters to get a judge of one's personality and fit for the school.

The letters are supposed to help when a girl can't find recommendations for all the sororities.
But they're really useless.

What a COMPLETE waste of everyone's time. I think this gives false hope/ assumption to a PNM who thinks that this will work instead of an actual recommendation from a sorority alumna. Hopefully PNMs will understand that this is not an acceptable substitute.

I could see it being useful in VERY limited circumstances, where the PNM truly has exceptional circumstances that the sorority would want to know about in making a decision.

Ex. Patty PNM was a 4.0 student and then her twin sister suddenly died and she had a bad junior year and that's why her high school GPA is only a 3.0.

But unfortunately, every PNM will use it, the sororities won't have time to read/consider them, and it will be useless anyway.

If anything, it sounds like these letters will make things worse, not better for rushees who aren't as "hep" to the business of recs. "Oh yay! Idon't have to knock myself out finding recs in my small Rhode Island town! I can just do this instead!"

YES!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I guess that someone thought this would stop the calls to Panhellenic from panicked or lazy last-minute PNMs. Only it'll bite them in the butt anyway.

For what it's worth, I wrote a recommendation for a PNM from a small Rhode Island town who went to Alabama and had a very successful recruitment this past year. I hope you don't assume that all small-town girls or Rhode Islanders are not "hep" to the rec business.

I guess if a chapter is interested or impressed with the letter, they can have any alum write the rec (even collegians in some NPC orgs can write recommendations). Since there is often no requirement that the rec-writer actually know the PNM personally, this would be the functional equivalent of an alum writing a rec for a PNM they don’t know after checking with with a PNM’s neighbor, teacher, pastor, etc. Based on my reading here this seems like a fairly common practice, but IMO, over time this practice has eroded the relevance/importance of a “personal” recommendation.

Just speculating, of course, but this may be an effort to increase diversity in the PNM pool by encouraging girls who may not have or know family, extended family, or women in their communities who were Greek. Securing personal recommendations to so many chapters may be a perceived barrier to their participation in recruitment.

bumping to push down spam

I won't be surprised if they receive a thousand emails and calls that go something like . . .

"Can I upload a letter from my guidance counselor even though I have recs?"

or

"My daughter secured recommendations to all chapters, but we can't know for certain that all were sent and received. Should we secure a letter from her high school principal just in case?"

Of course. I was just trying to think of the most un-SEC place as possible (other than the dive bar a block from my house).

I think that's exactly what they're trying to do. But unless the sororities are told that they must regard these letters exactly the same way they would a rec from an alumna, it's not going to work.

This is yet another ill-conceived attempt at eradicating barriers by pretending they're not there, and pretending what you wish is the actual situation. It's not kind or inclusive, it's an ostrich with its head in the sand.

I would like to know how involved the sororities were in implementing this new option...I'm guessing it wasn't conceived and announced in an administrative bubble. Maybe the chapters feel this is another option to get more information, especially with the increase in out-of-state PNMs. One of the PNMs I wrote a rec for said that none of her suitemates secured recs.

The "hep" PNMs will probably make sure they have a glowing "academic" rec uploaded, along with 2 recs for each sorority....

Nit pic: Is an academic letter of rec really about leadership, community service, and friendship? In my mind it's about academics, end of discussion. Best used in the "4.0 student was in a coma half her junior year", and other rare situations, to explain away low GPAs. What can a teacher, guidance counselor or principal speak to a girl's friendships? Can someone other than a "teacher, guidance counselor or principal" write one since they really aren't trying to address academics anyways? What about coaches, employers, the local mayor? How about Congressional appointment a la the academies? Where does it end?

I would rather see a rec from an alumnae of another sorority than one from a random woman or man who knows nothing of the pressures of Greek Life. And how many of these women will have to face lectures from well meaning adults about how she shouldn't be part of a sorority anyhow?

These recs will fall into "Bless her heart" territory and could very well do more harm than good.

All right, I must be tripping. Not only am I agreeing heartily with 33 but some 8-10 other GCers *who are too chicken to say so* also agree!:D

Perhaps -- it would potentially provide a lead for an alum in the PNM's area to contact if asked by a chapter to write a rec. Interestingly the suggested topics to be included in the "academic" letter tread more so into the areas of character, which would be the resume area not covered in the online rush app.

It will be interesting to see how the suitemates fare. Maybe the efforts of the PNM you know will raise their level of concern!

Cluck, cluck, cluck.....

I thought that was an odd choice of topic -- I'm not sure how anyone, alum or otherwise, could speak to that. As far as the general concept, however, I guess a teacher, guidance counselor, or principal would be considered a credible reference -- we do tell potential PNMs to tap these school resources when seeking alum rec-writers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl (Post 2321833) Can someone other than a "teacher, guidance counselor or principal" write one since they really aren't trying to address academics anyways? What about coaches, employers, the local mayor? How about Congressional appointment a la the academies? Where does it end?

Interpreting the statement as it stands, it appears that it ends with teachers, guidance counselors, and principals.

Well, when you think about it, most alums around the country know little about the pressures of recruitment and Greek life on a campus like Bama, unless they have been involved on a campus with a similar recruitment and Greek atmosphere.

Again, just speculating, but the rationale/argument for including this option could just as easily be "I'd rather see a rec from a credible person who actually knows the PNM than a rec from an alum who knows someone who knows a credible person who knows the PNM."

Not necessarily -- all chapters would receive the information uploaded, and no individual chapter would know if a PNM has recs to all chapters except one (theirs), no recs whatsoever, or recs to all chapters (and exercised this option anyway).

Clearly the best course of action is to obtain recs to all chapters if at all possible, as the info (gently) suggests ("While chapter specific letters of recommendation are preferred . . .").

What I find quite a bit more objectionable and misleading on the Letters of Recommendation info page is that this section is still there:

Good one Jen....and it is the end times for sure!

Well I am on some major painkillers right now and not entirely myself, so if you want to use that as an explanation you can. ;) :D

In all seriousness, I think this sort of attitude happens in a lot of situations, from gentrification of neighborhoods to colleges or companies trying to change their image as to who they attract. When the kinder, more effective, and more expedient thing would be to just come out and say in plain talk what you're trying to do.

I have to agree with everything that is being said. I will say that, if you get a recommendation from a teacher, school counselor, or principal, there is a likelihood that person may be Greek. In that case, that would hold much more weight with me than if you were never in a sorority or fraternity and said, "Patty PNM would be a great addition to XYZ sorority." Now, if you can say, "As an initiate of ABC sorority at State U. and the current school counselor for Patty PNM, I am well acquainted with her abilities to multitask and make great friends. I believe she would be a great addition to XYZ sorority because she is very involved in community service and would work hard to raise money for your national Pets R Us philanthropy." That would mean much more to me.

Simply saying that you think Patty PNM is a great addition to Greek Life at Competitive Rush University when you were never Greek and went to a commuter school with two sororities, does not give me faith that you are aware of what being Greek at a major SEC school entails. I think that this statement from the University of Alabama does give false hope. Whose idea was this?

Perhaps HartofSec can shed light on this since she has been so deeply involved over the years in her group's recruitment at Alabama. Surely she has connections there still who can give her the skinny....so to speak....

I don't recall ever making any grandiose claims about my involvement or inside Panhellenic connections, so I can't help you there.

Things seem to be summer pre-recruitment business as usual in my group. As to how generic recommendations will be considered once all the recruitment app info is released to chapters, I couldn't say even if I knew, as this would be treading into membership selection.

It doesn't seem as if this "academic" (but not really) recommendation is intended to make any mention of a PNM's fitness for Greek life at Bama. It is depicted as "generic."

IMO, something that diminishes the power (assuming it had any) of such a recommendation is that it is in the hands of the PNM to upload. Surely no school official would write a less-than-glowing recommendation for a student that the student will see (like with recs to some post-graduate professional programs -- when applicants waive their right to read their recommendations, these recs are considered more favorably).

I don't know who proposed this idea, or what (if any) administrative influence was potentially in play.

Picturing what kind of fake letters would be uploaded by Susie Slut and Dora Dumb Butt-- :eek:

^^^ LOL .. I hadn't even caught that wrinkle ... this has now moved into train wreck territory.

Susie Slut is my new favorite term. Ha! Hartofsec makes a good point that most people will write favorable recommendations. My point was that saying someone is a good student, as can usually be noted by looking at transcripts and GPAs, is not nearly as helpful as an alumna saying that the young woman was able to balance school and social activities. I'd rather a Greek of another organization tell me that Patty PNM can multitask and would be fit for sorority membership over someone who is not Greek and knows very little about sorority membership on any level. This does seem like it could be confusing to PNMs who may come from areas where Greek life isn't as big. It could really stunt a PNM during recruitment--or so, I would think.

Bumping this one! :)

bump

lol, I said the same thing when I heard about the demise of skit day!

Heaviest Cuts
 

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