Question about William and Mary recruitment
 

My brother's girlfriend, who I really adore, has decided to transfer from UVA to the College of William and Mary and will start attending next fall and I know she has an interest in greek life. How competitve is recruitment at William and Mary? Are recs needed? Is it really difficult for a transfer to get a bid?

I'll try and get her signed up on GC.

Was there a reason she didn't join at UVA?

If she's a first year student and transferred this semester, she couldn't have joined since UVA has Deferred Recruitment.

I have a friend who is a Tri-Delta there. I know she had recs as a Freshman but I'm not sure they were required. I'll double check with her.

Their website shows that there are 12 NPC sororities at W&M:

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Sigma Theta
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Phi Mu
Pi Beta Phi
(from http://www.wm.edu/so/greeks/chapters/ )

I also have an old friend who goes to William and Mary and I know she's greek (I think she's an AKA, but I could be wrong.) I'm seeing her next week, so I'll be sure to ask her about their greek life.

Sororities have their own policies. For instance, the following is public information stated in a section of the Kappa Kappa Gamma national web site devoted to FAQs for potential new members:

"Is a reference required to pledge Kappa Kappa Gamma?
A reference is required to pledge Kappa Kappa Gamma and chapters have theresponsibility to obtain reference information about each potential new member.
However, if you would like to obtain a reference on your own, it is important to know that any initiated alumnae or active may write a reference, although active members may not write one for a potential new member at their own chapter.

Also, a personal letter from an initiated Kappa is considered a valid reference. Personal letters must include the writer’s chapter and initiation date to be valid."

So, Kappa Kappa Gamma at William and Mary will require a rec. Some other sororities have similar national requirements. At many schools it's not a bad idea for a potential new member to try to get recs. It's usually true that if a chapter "falls in love" with a PNM that they "must have," the chapter will do its best to get a rec on her. For the majority of PNMs who are great women but possibly not the most incredible standouts among hundreds of PNMs going through recruitment, getting a rec in advance can call the chapter's attention to her. A rec is never a guarantee of a bid, of course.

Thanks everyone for the info, I will pass it along :)

She isn't going to rush at UVA since she knows she wants to transfer and wants to go through recruitmen at W&M. She'll be starting at W&M next fall as a sophomore transfer. I believe she's transferring because she wants to attend a smaller school.

I think the question is basically "do you need recs to even get your foot in the door" as is the case at some large Southern schools. I mean there are sororities whose national policy says that, but I would wager 90% of the members in some chapters have no idea they had a rec signed for them or who did it. It's a rubber stamp.

I would say though that a rec can never hurt...........and she has plenty of time if she's not going through until Fall. Her best bet would be to contact the local APh.

While exlurker explains that recommendations are required for KKG at W&M, I just looked at Gamma Kappa's (W&M's chapter of KKG) webpage and it claims:"We would like to stress that recommendations are NOT required - It simply is another way for us to get to know you a little better!"

W&M alum here. Recs are not required at W&M. They generally only help a PNM, but you can certainly join any sorority on campus without one. Also, a sophomore transfer student won't have any issues going through recruitment, as many women wait until sophomore year to go through.

Hi GammaBelle,
I'm heading to W&M next year and have been trying to compile all that I can about the process/days of Rush at W&M, with not much avail. From the Greek Life page on wm.edu, I see that Rush takes place over the first two weekends after Orientation. How does Rush work there? What's the attire like? Sorry for all the questions, but I want to have all the clothes that I'll need before going to Williamsburg.

I don't know anything about William and Mary's greek life, but that campus and the houses are beautiful! Not a ton to do in Williamsburg itself though (aside from the historical things). Although I'm sure the college kids find ways to have fun. :)

The Greek Life page should include an electronic version of the recruitment guide within the next month or so. W&M generally does a great job of getting information out to PNMs. I know they just set the schedule for fall recruitment, so that's probably why you haven't seen anything yet.

The format for W&M recruitment is 2 days of open house (Friday night and Saturday), philanthropy day on Sunday, skit night the following Friday, and pref night the following Saturday. Recruitment is not as formal as at other southern schools. You're welcome to wear a sundress to any of the rounds, but make sure you can sit comfortably in whatever you wear to the philanthropy and skit rounds. Bear in mind that it's generally quite hot in Williamsburg in September, and all the sorority houses will be crowded with people.

There is no specified outfit for bid day, however, every sorority gives their new members matching tshirts. So I recommend wearing neutral shorts or a skirt that will look good with pretty much any color tshirt. Every group does at least an hour's worth of group photos on bid day, so be prepared for that :) Let me know if you have any other questions!