my recruitment starts in a couple weeks and im CONFUSED!!
 

So i think i've probably waited a little too late for this, but i thought i was all set and prepared for rush week untill yesterday and i started getting confused. In May i went to my Area Alumnae luncheon and got recs for all of the sororities, but yesterday my room mate said somthing about those are not the same as actual letters of recommendation or somthing like that? I only know two people personally that wrote letters for me. Im not sure if it is important to have both types , recs and letters of recommendation or if they are one in the same. Im seriously confused:confused:

Whoa, back up the truck!

So recs are like form letters and from the alumnae chapter/association and letters of support are personalized from a specific member?

If that's the case, why do I feel like that's never come up in any recruitment thread? Am I interpreting this right?

I would appreciated a bit of clarification too. The women that have agreed to support me are writing a letter of recommendation. Then they are filling out a RIF from their national's website, attaching the letter and sending both to the local chapter. Do I have my bases covered? Or do I need to get an additional letter of recommendation/support for each sorority?

We were told by the Greek Life office that they strongly encourage no more than one recommendation. They said the sororities are overwelmed with paperwork and one is all we need. Any feedback?

Thank you.

when we refer to recommendations, we are referring to the form that our international headquarters require us to fill out for a potential new member. some sororities refer to them as RIF(i am assuming this stands for recruitment information form) while my sorority refers to them as MIS(membership information forms). support letters or letters of recommendation are supplemental and personal information usually sent in for a pnm when she is a family member or has a close relationship with the alumna who offers to write one for her. really all the sorority needs is the recommendation form-think of the letters as icing on the cake.

Over recent years the University of Alabama has increased its out of state recruiting with significant efforts in Texas. This has translated in far more PNMs from TX, thus more Recs from TX alums. In my experience TX alums do their Rec writing a bit differently than most any where else, and let me say I truly appreciate how organized they are. There is an obvious game plan.

We typically receive a packet of info on a PNM that includes a resume, transcript, pix, 1 completed Rec form, and then additional alum letters of support. We have even received support letters with notes attached saying something along the lines of "Please add this to Patty PNM's packet because I was unable to complete it before the mailing deadline." For a chapter that is inundated with Rec info, this is great because it simply cuts down on the quantity of paper we have to deal with. We really don't need 20 copies of a resume.

As for how personal the Rec or letter is, as in the "strength" of the recommendation based on personal knowledge of the PNM, well that depends. Some Rec forms are incredibly strong, personal, and detailed. Some letters are pretty darned generic and it's obvious the alum doesn't know this PNM. Or vice versa. It's a case by case basis. Yes, we read every single thing we receive and yes, it's incredibly time consuming.

Yes

I, too, applaud the organizational effort of the Texas alums. The Texas info sent to the U of Arkansas is exactly as Zilllini explains. So, if your alum panhel group took care of it, I'd say you are covered.

In my experience, asking someone for a rec means that often a personal letter is attached. In fact, my GLO form notes that it is appropriate to attach a letter. PNMs should let the alums worry about this and follow the general advice given here, at their local alum panhellenic, online, etc by simply securing the suggested number of recs/letters. Many orgs utilize either as the official recommendation. The alum will do her part. PNMs just need to ask for the number (3 recs or letters suggested = 4 alums; someone may drop the ball) and let the alum do the est.

That is incredible! I applaud the Texas ladies for going above and beyond to give support to the ladies they write recs for.

Thank you all so much!!! That clears up alot!!! I'm still searching but I could only find 3 people to write personal letters, but i have recs for all the rest so hopfully thats good enough for a faily competitive recruitment! thanks:)

HuskyAlum...I understand why Patty would win...a strong rec from someone that personally knows her.

At SEC schools, would you suggest sending more than one letter of recommendation/support for each sorority (in addition to the original letter of recommendation, RIF, resume, transcript and photo). The Greek Life office told us only one letter of recommendation/support...however, I am hearing from others that this is not how it really works behind the scene. I would appreciate your opinion.

Circlet, at SEC schools, more than one letter would be good. It depends where you are attending...if you are hearing from others at your school, then believe it, but it is not required to get a bid.

gee ess...thanks for your imput. It just gets a bit confusing when you hear one thing from Greek Life and another from others in the "know".

I have another question:

When a PNM is gathering recs, is it a general rec to her school's Panhellenic, or is she aiming for as many recs for the number of orgs on her campus? I could see the latter being really time consuming and the former being kinda useless.

As far as I know, there is no general panhellenic rec. The recommendations that are referred to in all Greek recruitment discussions are individual GLO recommendations. She tries to get a rec for each GLO on her campus.

Circlet - Did you get information regarding your particular school? If you need more letters, and your recruitment is this fall, time is of the essence!