Does it matter where the rec comes from?
 

For an out of state PNM rushing fall 2010 at an SEC school... does it matter if the rec comes from THAT school? I have been preparing and learned of a number of sorority affiliations from family friends, but I wondered if I should ask the person from the school I am attending in the fall to write the rec? Do PNM's ever include more than one rec in a packet? I am planning on preparing packets for all sororities at my school; I do not have a particular one I am aiming for. I am trying to learn all I can about each one. Thank you!

There is no one size fits all answer to your questions. Some chapters give more weight to Recs from their own chapter alumnae, some don't. Some orgs look for Recs from alumnae from a PNMs home town/area, while others would rather have one from someone who knows her well regardless of where the alumna lives. Some have I/Natl policies they need to follow regarding Recs, some don't. My personal opinion is it is always best to have an alumna who knows you write the Rec whenever that is available.

One more thing, it is not the PNMs responsibility to mail the Recs in, rather the alumna does this. It is courteous to provide her with a large enough envelope addressed to the chapter that has the correct amount of postage already on it. This makes it easier and doesn't cost her any money.

Your answer is thoughtful and logical, thank you...as you can tell I have a lot to learn about the Panhellenic process. We have a strong local chapter and they start meetings in early spring. I am looking forward to the process, I want to join a sorority where we complement each other.

Looks like the OP is going to Ole Miss.
In that case, a rec from a member from the Ole Miss chapter should be sought, along with one from someone who knows you.

This is something that really bothered me while we were getting recs for my daughter. We were told by many people that they wanted recs from LSU alums. We had many friends of the family and teachers who could right wonderful recs for her that went to other schools. We went with the ladies who know her. We did find recs from LSU alums but I am sure that most of these ladies marked the recs as not knowing her personally. In the long run I really don't know if any of these helped or hurt. I think you need those recs but once they are in it is up to you and how well you click with the girls.

One thing to keep in mind, an active from the chapter at Ole Miss may not write you a rec. So, if you know Ole Miss alumnae and have stronger personal connections for a chapter, there is no reason to choose. Get them both. If I recall correctly, Chi Omega at Ole Miss actually asks for two recs.

I was going to say, if you have a choice, the rec from that chapter or local alumnae association is probably better than the one from 1,000 miles away - but with a disclaimer. If you do know someone personally who is an alumna of XYZ but not from that school, send two. The local to the chapter rec will show that you did your homework, but the personal one will say how wonderful you are and how their chapter can't do without you!

This is not true for every organization.

Actually, an active cannot write a rec for someone trying to pledge her own chapter, but, for some orgs, an active can write a rec for a pnm pledging a different chapter.

A member in good standing can write a RIF (Recruitment Information Form) or LIF (Legacy Introduction Form) for women attending recruitment at the same school she is currently attending. I appreciate this as it cuts down on alumnae writing recs on women they may not know as well as a collegian.

Not true for all groups.

I stand corrected. I thought that no one could write one for a woman at her own chapter in any circumstance.

That does seem to negate the whole purpose of a rec, imo, though. Actives are already, in essence, recommending pnms to their chapters through the processes they go through during recruitment. (many which are private and fall under Membership Selection) The alum rec seems to serve another purpose, imo.

The active might be a rho chi or studying abroad and as such not participating in membership selection. And even if it's not that, there are other reasons why an active wouldn't interface w/ a rushee.

I was under the understanding that recruitment counselors could not participate in recruitment for her own chapter under any circumstances, including writing a rec. Wouldn't that jeopardize her impartiality?

She's not voting. She's rec-ing. The sisters who are voting can take that rec and poop on it, if they want. She's not participating in rush any more than the 80 year old alumna who wrote a rec is. That's the way I look at it, anyway.

I honestly think that collegians really aren't going to want to write recs even if they're allowed, because if the girl turns out to be a trainwreck, they're going to hear about it every. freaking. day. Again, just my opinion.