what is the point of recs?
 

I am a bit confused about the reccomendation part of rush. Yall have threads for people to find people to write recs for them, but I dont understand what the point is. Is it expected that girls actually know a member of each sorority and having a stranger write one for you is a last resort? And I may sound dumb, but how can a stranger that you've never met be able to reccomend a sorority to accept you? Im not trying to knock the system or anything. i just feel like im missing something

The rec writers are supposed to know you. In the cases when people find strangers, it's often just to try to help find a member who knows you but working from the member side too.

The point is so the chapter can have more information about you before recruitment to make a better decision about whether you will make a good member.

this is a side question, i intend to go to tamu next fall, i was lookin around the greek part of the site and it said " Letters of reference are not required to go through recruitment at Texas A&M University. However, if you are getting them please have them to the chapters by August 1. To find out the location to send them please go to cpc.tamu.edu/recletteraddress. " what do yall think of that? are they a make or break sort of thing?

Based on what those familiar with A&M rush have said, I'd absolutely try my damnedest to get a rec for each sorority.

You're better off with a rec than not having one.

Despite the standard Panhellenic disclaimer, to me announcing a deadline for recs implies they're expecting a ton and want enough time to process them all. I agree with OTW and you should try to get as many together as possible.

You know, I understand the reason behind the Panhellenic disclaimer regarding recs and "it is the sorority's responsibility to obtain a rec for you" etc. etc. but everytime I see threads like this pop up, I can't help but worry about the PNMs who think "oh, it says recs aren't required so I don't need em" or "it says that it's the sorority's responsibility to get a rec for me so I don't need to put in the leg work".

You can tell by reading GreekChat which schools are competitive. You can tell which ones are not. A&M's one of the competitive ones. Just get the recs.

While a rec from a stranger is not as desirable, I know on many rec forms, there are places to indicate that you do not actually know the person and that you are just providing information. I know often a girl will just meet with an alumna briefly and giver her her resume and list of HS activities. The sorority member will base the rec on that information, but admit to not knowing the PNM too well.

Recs- a good opportunity to teach
 

When a girl decides to go through rush, it can be a great teaching experience about the process of asking someone to write a recommendation for you. a mother can help a daughter form a list of who she may know that was in a sorority, then she can encourage her D to explore and ask questions at church or school or neighbors. Before D realizes it, she will uncover lots of women who were in sororites. THEN it is up to D to write a nice note to each woman asking for a rec. Her mom can teach her to include a self addressed stamped envelope, a picture a resume... Most importantly the mom can instruct to write a follow up thank you note for writting the rec. If all this is done, not only will the PNM have wonderful recs, but she will learn that it is her responsibility to prepare and be organized for a "job interview" and that stuff just doesn't get handed to you. I only have expereince in SEC schools, but with 1000 girls going through rush these days. chapters can't get recs on girls any more...they ususally just cut them the first night if no rec.

The sad part is, many pnm's get 100% of their info off the school panhel website and when it says "no recs are needed" they actually believed that to be truth and fact. There are no "hotlinks to Greekchat" on the school sites. Many of us didn't discover GC until much later. When a panhel person in SC offerred to get recs for my D she happily replied, "oh, no thank you. The school website said they aren't needed". It wasn't until I discovered GC that I learned the school websites are BS. It was not a fun week for her. (she did COB and is very happy).

Actually, recs are not required at many schools. It depends on the competitiveness of the recruitment. PNMs on my campus can usually receive a bid without obtaining any recs. Perhaps the competitive Greek schools should change their website wording to something like "recs are not required but highly encouraged."

Why do schools mislead PNMs by deemphasizing the importance of getting recs? Oh yes, a chapter is going to hunt down a rec for hundreds of PNMs...

Technically, if a chapter wants to, they can scramble to get a rec for a PNM before bid day or bid her without a rec and get a local alum to write her a rec shortly after bid day if having a rec is their (Inter)National "policy".

For chapters that are forced by Panhellenic to cut half or more of the PNMs after the first day, cutting PNMs without a rec is an easy cut that you can make yourself feel good about because you don't "know" them without a rec. There might be some slack for PNMs with lots of friends in a chapter, but then she'd probably be in the know and would get her own rec.

Well yes, we do. We have a network of alumnae. The chapter's sponsorship director takes the info that Panhellenic sends on each PNM and distributes it to the network. If Janie PNM is from Podunk, Alabama, we try to find an alum in or near Podunk who can check out Janie and recommend her.
Do we get sponsors for every PNM? No....but we come pretty darn close.:p
I'm guessing almost every NPC group does the same. Some groups seem to emphasize it more than others.

Tis True
 

Amen, Sister!

OMG not this again.

How is Janie PNM supposed to meet up w/ Polly Podunk Alum to be "checked out" if Janie is in the middle of rush?

Ah, 33girl, we have our ways!!!:p
It is not necessary to personally meet Janie. Ms. Alum may already know the family, or know Janie. Ms. Alum may know Janie's teachers, or principal, or pastor. Or Ms. Alum has friends or relatives who know Janie or her family. ;)
Caveat: some groups do require that the alum personally know Janie. Personally, I'll accept a report from a friend who knows her or her family. And if it's in the middle of rush, it's already too late!

I'm going to suggest you let the ASA alums from Louisiana explain to you how it works.

Oh absolutely. I don't even think the majority of my chapter knows what a rec is. I'm talking about SEC, certain Big XII schools, etc., schools where recs are very important.

Maybe when they say "it is the chapter's responsibility to secure a rec" include "with hundreds of potential members, chapters will not have the time to find a rec for everyone, so it is to your advantage to secure your own".

If chapters DO hunt down recs for every PNM, then what is the point of a PNM securing them herself?

just to be clear, im not looking for an easy way out. if i knew people who could write me a rec i would have no problem asking, i just dont know any and so that part of rush is the most intimidating to me... i wasnt just trying to not do any work... i hope that doesnt come off rude i just dont want anyone to think im a giant slacker looking to do nothing and just magically get what i want

There are ASA alums from Louisiana on GC, so I'm sure if there was anything I needed to know about "how it works" they would have told me by now.

AA answered the question just fine, thank you.

I am assuming you're planning to go through next year, since recruitment is already underway at A&M. Are you a freshman or a HS senior (if a HS senior, are you for sure going to A&M)? Either way, almost a year to find alumnae (or collegians from other chapters in many NPCs) to write you recs. You'd be really surprised how many you might be able to find. Some people to ask:

HS teachers, coaches, staff, activity sponsors
Friends of siblings
Siblings of friends
Friends of parents
Older friends
Women from a place of worship
Co-workers
Families for whom you babysit

Often, when you find one sorority alumna, she might know of others, so do ask. Even if you find an alumna of a sorority that doesn't have a chapter at A&M, she might know of alumnae of sororities that do. Also, men in fraternities may know sorority alumnae/actives from other chapters.

I live in a small rural town of 6,000 and if a PNM talked to me, I could help her find alumnae/actives from 20 of the 26 NPCs from our town, NOT including people I know from UMD.

Do try to put the effort into finding recs. You have plenty of time, so you should be able to find a good amount.

If I may, I would also suggest checking with male friends, family, co-workers etc. as well. Some may be in fraternities or if not, know sorority women. As such, they may be able to steer you to their sorority friends who might then be able to assist.

Bottom line is that you may be surprised at how many people know someone in a sorority. Not just the usual suspects.

This leads in to a question I have. At a very competitive school, say Texas for instance, do the chapters really do this? With so many pnms, it seems overwhelming.

At a REALLY competitive school, the chapters probably rely on the PNMs to provide their own recs. Not having a rec is an excuse many chapters (at the competitive schools) might use to justify making a cut, especially if they need to make significant (50%+) cuts. I think that PNMs should make themselves familiar with the Greek culture on their prospective campus prior to recruitment to determine if a rec is required, recommended or not necessary.

If I were a PNM at a competitive school, I would not want to rely on the chapter hunting down a rec for me. I think that the chapter would be more likely to give "my spot" to someone who had took the initiative to secure their own rec.

Thanks, KC - that was about what I thought. It bothers me that so many schools say it is up to the sorority to find a rec, when that isn't exactly how it works.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if a PNM goes to an SEC school, and the fact that she was Miss Teenaged America, has a 4.0 GPA, and was perfectly lovable came out during Open Houses, I'm fairly certain that the house would find recs for her.

Other than that, recs have become like many other facts of adult life: a hoop to jump through to prove that you really do want it.

The question isn't about the MTAs or daughters of movie stars, etc - they're pretty high profile. They're going to find a home and get asked back.

The question is the girl who was involved in HS and has an overall decent resume - is on par with most of the other girls going through rush, except she doesn't have recs and they do. And it isn't because she "didn't take the initiative" or "prove she really wants it" - it's because she believed the Panhel site that said "you don't need to get recs, the sororities will do it." Will the sorority who has to stay up till 1 AM to cut 50% of the girls after first round do that extra work to find a rec for her?

It's kind of like the schools that say "jeans are OK for first round" and the PNM believes it, and gets there and everyone else is wearing dresses.

In all seriousness, why do Panhellenic/certain groups do this? They come out and say you have to have a certain GPA, they come out and say you need to fulfill your financial obligations, why can't they come out and say you need to get your own recs?

Just curious here. Could someone explain how Panhellenic arrived at the conclusion that the responsibility of finding Recs is the chapters to begin with? An employeer doesn't seek out recommendations for job applicants. If you want an interview or to get hired for a job, you need to provide your own letters of reference. How is that any different from saying if you want to join this organization you should find someone who will recommend you?

My sorority at LSU cannot pledge a girl without a rec. If they really like a girl they will make the effort to find an alum in her hometown to do some research and sponsor her. If they don't fall in love with a girl then they wouldn't take the time and the girl would not be pledged.

Since Texas A&M has been mentioned, I think it's worth adding that a young woman from anyplace in Texas who is planning on going through NPC recruitment anywhere should be aware of the recruitment info sessions put on by Area Alumnae Panhellenics all around Texas.

These sessions almost always have info about highly organized methoda of getting recommendations. Often they will help potential new members get recs. The sessions are usually held in February though early May each year, with different dates in different areas.

Personally, I don't care whether someone likes the idea of recs, does or doesn't see the point of them, or whatever: the fact is, it's obvious that
in Texas, that's the way things are done: recs are either highly encouraged or essential, and the majority of those women who are serious about recruitment will try to get them

Sure, if a girl is from a "prominent family," she'll probably have people offering to write recs. For most ordinary people, though, the Area Alumnae Panhellenic sessions, as well as the tips mentioned in this thread, are excellent resources.

Frankly, I think it's because the idea of recs makes a lot of people who work in student life uncomfortable.

I can relate to that emotion, but the thought of irate parents of bidless daughters calling them up about the misleading info on their website should make them MORE uncomfortable.

I think it is an effort to "level the playing field" for all PNMs. The trouble with that is, the girls who are already on the "inside track" will still get recs. That means the girls who aren't familiar with the system may be FURTHER penalized by not being aware that you need them.

But the problem is when they have to make cuts on the first day. They haven't had time to "fall in love" with her, and some girls need to be cut.

i am a hs senior. i made the sat scores for auto admission so i am definently going to a&m, im not even sure im going to apply elsewhere. those confrence things sound really beneficial, i will look into that. i was just put of by the idea of having a stranger write me a rec, it just feels somewhat dishonest. thanks so much for you're help, the website was kinda misleading, the greek life at tamu isnt quite as prominent as some other schools so i thought maybe they were for real when they said they werent necessary. thanks for clearing that up, i guess it makes sense that they have a lot on their plates and dont need more because somebody didnt get a rec on their own... as for asking people that i know, how does that conversation go? it seems like a fantastic opportunity for an akward conversation lol

"Hi Mrs. Smith! Let me introduce myself, I'm Justme. I heard from Ms. Random Person that you were an ABC at Somewhere University. I plan on attending Somewhere U next fall. I'm really interested in the Greek system there and was wondering if you would be willing to talk to me about your organization and your experiences?"

Then let the conversation flow from there.

I was one of those PNMs who believed Panhellenic when they said I didn't need recs. I couldn't think of any Greek women I knew off the top of my head and I didn't really understand what a rec was. So I forgot about it.

If Panhel had said "Recommendations are not required to participate in recruitment, but some chapters may require them," I would have at least tried.

Of 900ish girls who came through recruitment at my school, about 600 of them had recommendations for my chapter.

Thank you sarahsmilehawk. That's helpful info, IMHO: GreekChatters, note this, please: that's about 2/3 with recs at KU (U. of Kansas), a school that people on GC often say is competitive, but not ultra-competitive like the SEC schools.

Sure, each chapter will have slightly different figures on the number having recs to that chapter, but it's likely that all/ almost all chapters are going to be in the same general ballpark.

So . . . when next year rolls around, will it be fair to say, if anyone asks about KU, that around 2 out of 3 potential new members enter recruitment with recs, and it would be a good idea for any PNM to get recs if she can? (Might as well fit in with the substantial majority if possible.)