Rec/Rif confusion...please help!
 

Hi! I have agreed to help a PNM who is attending the University of Arkansas this fall get her recs...it has been a while since I have done this and I was wondering if I could get some help/info on what we need!
I talked to someone yesterday who told me that there is a new form called a "RIF" and every house needs one RIF and at least 5 recs. Also they said that each girl needs two pictures: a casual and a formal picture. Is this all really necessary? I don't remember it being this intense and rules-specific when I went through rush 10 years ago! Will someone please clear up the RIF/REC confusion and tell me exactly what we need to do? Thanks so much!!!!!

RIF is what some of the sororities call their Rec form. It's the same thing. And either way FIVE recs would be WAY overboard. Two should be sufficiant.

http://uagreeks.uark.edu/119.htm

That's the official word; sometimes the official and the actual don't match up very well. I'd try to find a current student on campus who can tell you the real deal.

I know you are trying to be helpful, but truly, this might not be accurate.

Whoever told her FIVE didn't know that a Rec and a RIF were the same thing.

We've heard over and over that 2-3 recs for SEC is a good number. Any more than that (especially when they're information-only) is just annoying.

What about posters for the PNMs? Some campuses receive posters with pictures and slogans promoting the PNM. Do you know which campuses like or dislike posters?

Me either -- so I don't give blanket advice unless I'm sure.

KAO15, welcome to GreekChat!

Seriously, keep checking back -- I know there are individuals on here who have first-hand knowledge of the system at Arkansas.

PIG SOOIE!

:)

A RIF is the actual form. The "5 recs" are simply letters of support from alumnae, and not a form.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how we defined it for our girls at our Alumnae Panhellenic Roundtable in Texas. Many of our girls attend school in TX/LA/AK/GA and this is what we advised them.

ETA: Here's the packet we give to area HS Seniors, which includes info about recs/rifs.... 5 letters of support sounds like a bit much (1-3 will suffice at the very competitive SEC schools), so I think the person who told you "5 recs" may not have the right information. Here's that link: http://houston-panhellenic.org/rush/2006%20Recruit%20Info%20Guide%20for%20Website.pdf

Say wha? Really? Oh, man, we Northerners miss out on all the good stuff!

Regarding the term "RIF" - I know that AGD calls the official form a RIF. (Recruitment Information Form) I don't know what terminology other groups "officially" use for their rec forms.

I've heard of and seen houses at big schools (like mine) MAKING posters for PNMs to help the sisters remember their names and faces... but oh how I would laugh if a PNM sent me a poster to promote herself or if a rec-writer made one for her. Are there really people who send posters to promote the PNM? I'm very interested in hearing about this.

RIFs and Recs are the same thing. Some sororities call the form a RIF and some don't.

I actually asked a friend who was recently Greek at Arkansas and she said that she doesn't know of any houses that would require more than 2 Recs. She agreed that, as has been posted above, five recs would have been viewed as excessive and needy by her chapter. Different chapters function differently.

Good rule of thumb for recs: Unless each rec is really going to tell the sorority something completely different about you, there is no reason to have more than 2-3 (and that's for the competitive schools). If your mom, grandma, and two sisters were all ABCs, they might all have different reasons you'd make a great ABC and thus four recs might really help the chapter out. But there's no reason to seek out five random people who are just going to regurgitate your resume onto a form to fill a number of recs that you've heard is "required."

As far as the two picture thing goes: If your PNM is concerned about this, she could set up two recs for each chapter and give one person a formal shot and one a casual shot. Then the chapter would end up with both, whether or not they actually need them (God knows why they would).

The rumor was that some chapters had slideshows of the PNM that were reviewed during recruitment. My chapter didn't at least when I was there.

Along the lines of looking at pictures of PNMs, somewhat interesting highjack: I was talking to a male former student, and he said his Greek group will pull up Facebook pages to see what the guys look like and how they present themselves.

It might be wise to think of myspace and facebook entries as recruitment posters of your PNM. They might be used that way.

That packet is wonderful- I wish I was given something like that prior to going through rush/recruitment.

If 5 letters was seen as being "needy"- then couldn't that possibly be a strike against someone before they even start recruitment?