Recommendations vs. Recs?
 

Hello! I have submitted my information packets to my local Panhellenic group and have been working on other people to write letters for me for recruitment next year (I'll be OOS at Auburn). Being OOS, many of the sororities that are popular where I'm from are not at Auburn, and vice versa. Although, that doesn't really have much to do with the question I'm asking. My mom was talking to someone and she said that there was a difference between Recs and Letters of Recommendation. Is this so? I'm very confused about the whole process. Who writes each or how do they come about. Thanks!

I don't think so, unless this is something unique to your school.

Edit: Oh well, more specifically, many sororities have a form they fill out that is their letter of recommendation... Maybe that's what you mean?

Edit again: To clarify, if you're getting a rec from a sorority member they'll fill out their form and usually write something along with it. That's usually what a rec/letter of recommendation is. If you're just getting letters of recommendation from non-sorority members, this would be different. However, you don't need to worry about the form, the member would handle that.

for auburn, the sorority alumnae will need to fill out a recommendation form from their respective sorority. if they know you personally, and are so inclined, writing an accompanying letter that expands on your accomplishments and assets and how you,the pnm, would benefit their chapter might be helpful to the chapter. only "abc" sorority members can write a recommendation for you to abc sorority. non-members cannot write them, but they could certainly help you find a sorority member who could.

the letters of recommendation that drolefille is referring to, would be those letters that your employer would require you to provide in order to hire you.

coming from out of state, and being more familiar with sororities that do not have chapters at auburn will probably be a benefit to you. you will be less likely to get hung up on one chapter and more likely to keep an open mind. don't listen to tent talk!!

auburn is a great greek school. good luck with rush.

maybe someone from Auburn should answer this, that's a pretty competetive school for girls' rush

It being the south, I would assume this is similar to what is done in Texas. The sorority alumna will complete her organization's recommendation form for the PNM. If it is a PNM she knows well and wishes to offer more details about, she may also attach what's known here as a letter of support.

So you're a Phi Mu?

Looks like someone might have forgotten to take her sockie off, huh? :D

A "person letter?"

I love it, especially since she left all that behind when she left college!:rolleyes:

I appreciate this thread for teaching me there's a difference between recommendations and recs. I thought the latter was shorthand or slang for the former.

I can see why a GC Phi Mu would need a sock puppet. I just hope it isn't als463.

I can't see als463 affecting that writing style for so long!

This. There's the form (info only) that the alumna fills out, and she can attach a letter of support. If a PNM knows 2 or more alumnae from a sorority, often, one will fill out the form and collect letters of support from the other alumna(e) of the sorority writing recs for a PNM so that all of the info (info sheet, letters of support, photos, transcript, social resume, etc.) are sent to the chapter as one packet instead of the chapter receiving an info sheet, letter of support, photos, transcript, social resume, etc. from each rec writer.

"Rec" and "recommendation" are the same thing, but the difference lies in the info sheet and the letter of support. Collectively, they are a rec/recommendation. I suppose an alumna could just fill out the sheet and not attach a letter of support and it would still be a rec/recommendation, just not a very good one.

Ok- so you would not suggest sending in multiple recommendation forms to the same sorority? For one house on campus, I have 5 or 6 alumni that want to fill the forms out for me. Would this look foolish to submit all of them, or should I re contact them and ask if they would instead write me a letter of support, and only have my mother fill out the legacy introduction form & the recommendation form? Sorry for the question, everything is just so confusing and I don't want to do the wrong thing.

Do they know you personally (as in they're neighbors or relatives) or are they just old friends of your mother's that "know you" because of your mom?

3 of them are old family friends. The other two are my mom's sorority sisters that I don't know too well.