University of Iowa Recruitment!
 

Hi everyone, I'm going to be going through sorority recruitment this fall at the University of Iowa. I was wondering if anyone here has been through recruitment at Iowa or a similar school and had any advice/if anyone else is going through recruitment too! I'm trying to figure out if rec letters are a necessity at UIowa, but most of the chapters' websites don't have any info as to where to send rec letters...any enlightenment on this topic? I'm super excited, go Hawkeyes!

Rec letters are helpful, but not absolutely necessary, like they are at other schools. If the alumnae writing the letters can't find a specific place listed on their organization's website, sending them either to the chapter facility or the Panhellenic office will usually get it to the correct person.

Even though I'm an Iowa State grad, I was an adviser at Iowa for a number of years. Keep an open mind and good luck!

There really isn't a need to have a rec address listed on a public site. Some chapters at some schools do this as a courtesy for alumnae though. Rec addresses are available to alumnae through their internal channels since they send the recs directly. You should not use the appearance or lack thereof of a rec address on a chapter's site to determine if a rec would be needed.

The addresses for the rec letters really aren't your concern. You're not sending them in anyway. The alumnae writing them should know what to do, or can find it through their connections.

Best of luck. I had a great time through my years at Iowa. To give you a brief update, it seems Iowa's Greek system had a rough go for awhile with several chapters being below or significantly below chapter total. But now, virtually every chapter is at or near total! All 14 sororities are good, and if the last few years are indicative of anything, cuts will be hard. Keep a very open mind and make sure you let the girls know you're interested as you get closer to the end. Don't bombard them with "oh my god I love you guys so much" on Day 1, but if they need to figure out who to cut, the girl who seems the most interested will be seen more favorably.

It's a BIG campus and from the Tri Delta house to the DG house (I think that's the furthest one out, but I could be wrong) is a long distance with the rest spread out in between. Make sure your footwear is appropriate and ready. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I wonder if the OP was looking for the addresses because of the rec procedures that are followed in other regions, i.e. SEC. At some of those schools, it is a courtesy extended by the pnm to supply an addressed, stamped envelope to the rec writer for her convenience.

Thank you all for the input! Yes gee_ess, a few of my friends are in sororities at SEC schools and so my rec letter knowledge is based exclusively on their experiences, I didn't realize it wasn't exactly standardized across the country though!

On another note, what is a good way to show interest in a chapter without coming off fake or overeager?

You should be able to find the addresses on the national web sites. It's usually on the public part. If you can't find it, you can still give them an envelope with the postage already on it.

"I'm so excited to return to XYZ today!" will do fine.

We don't get many Big Ten stories on here so please come back and share yours if you care to do so! :)

Thanks all, recruitment starts on August 24th and I'll make sure to post a story of my experience :)

Quick question, for anyone familiar with UIowa's rush, is it acceptable to wear a light sundress on day one, or would that seem overdressed?

I don't know any current students at Iowa, so I'm just basing my outfit planning on their Panhellenic website's guide:

http://www.uiowafsl.com/index.php?op...d=36&Itemid=89

IME, the examples on the recruitment page are a tad under dressed, but things may have changed in the five years I've been out of the area. If it's a plain cotton or jersey sundress, it's probably fine. Just remember you're going to be sitting and standing many times that night, so make sure the dress is an appropriate length. It may sound silly, but I'd even practice sitting on the floor and then getting up to make sure there aren't any "wardrobe malfunctions." I don't know where you're from originally, but August in Iowa is unpredictable. It could be 90+ degrees with high humidity or it could be 70 degrees and raining. Also keep in mind that day one starts at 6:30pm, and it will cool off as the sun goes down, so by the time you're done at 10:30, it could be 60 degrees. I'd grab a cardi or shrug to keep warm if you do wear a sundress.

I think if it's a sundress that is super casual, something you might wear in place of shorts, you should be just fine. And how you accessorize will make all the difference. But I'd plan on going one step nicer than displayed in those pictures. I like the idea of low pressure, not overdressed rush, but I think you can do better than that for a special occasion, even a casual one. And I love flippy little sundresses. Just not too short and not too skimpy.

Thank you both for the helpful tips, and I was pretty skeptical of the denim shorts look...it seemed a little too unprepared.

My daughter just went through recruitment last year. I showed her this thread. She says the same thing dubaisis mentioned. Wear casual outfits. She actually thought the dress day one was too much that almost everyone wears cute shorts. Letters of rec help quite a bit. My daughter had several. Expect heavy cuts. As mentioned most of the houses are at total. Have fun I can't wait to hear your story!