Recommendations?
 

Hi there! I'm a freshman planning to rush next fall (as a sophomore), and I've realized that recommendations and letters of support and pretty important at my school. However, I live in an area where sororities arent huge, and I don't know that many women that were in the sororities I am interested in at my school. How might I go about finding women in my area that were in certain chapters? I won't need the letters until next year, but I'd like to find them in advance...the letter should always be from someone you know well personally, right?

Find out about your local Alumnae Panhellenic. This is a group of women from all different sororities who work together to present scholarships and quite often hold events for those who plan to go through recruitment so that they can meet you and then be available to write you a recommendation.

DaffyKD

Thank you so much! I'm kind of new to all of this- do you mean that I should contact the local alumni panhel for where I live back home, or here in Columbia, MO? Should I try to get recommendations from someone who was in the chapter here at Mizzou?

Contact the Alum Panhellenic in your hometown.

However, if you meet sorority alumnae in your college town or elsewhere, or if you have sorority relatives/friends, it is perfectly acceptable to have them write your references. It is also a good idea to talk to current collegiate sorority members at your school-- ones who have been through recruitment as a sorority member. They can tell you if recommendations from "in-house" alumnae (graduates of your university) are valued over others. Also, talk to the Office of Greek Life.

The best references come from people who know you personally, and know you well. This is not always possible, and by networking with your hometown's alumnae pan, you may be able to secure informational references. You will not be penalized if your references are not from someone who has known you since birth, but someone who knows you well can truly speak to your greatest assets and potential value to the organization.

Good luck and good for you to start planning ahead now! Read the link in my sig for more information that you may find helpful.

ETA: Also remember that you are going to be interviewed for membership opportunities in all of the sororities at your campus if you go through formal recruitment, and it is best to have recs for all of the chapters. You may think coming in that you know which ones you might consider joining, but perceptions and options change once you get to meet a sorority in recruitment, and you should do your best to get recs for all in order to be truly prepared. Keep an open mind coming into recruitment-- any of the organizations on your campus have a lot to offer!

Thank you so much! I got in touch with the nearest local panhel to where I live, and instantly got a call from the nicest woman who is really helping me out with everything. It will be a lot more difficult to go through Rush because I'll be a sophomore, but I'm still excited! (granted, its a year away...but still. haha)

i am new to this process as well. would the alumni not think it was rude if they found out you wanted a recommendation from other chapters too?

As long as you're not being openly rude and obnoxious about it, then I don't see why they would.

Alumnae know that PNMs should go through recruitment with an open mind and that they should give all houses a fair shot. Oftentimes you'll hear of alumnae putting a PNM in touch with their friends in other sororities in order to secure a recommendation for each sorority on her campus.

Not at all! I wrote a rec for a girl I went to high school with and I asked friends of mine from other sororities to write one for her for their sorority - I'd rather see her go Greek somewhere than not at all. I think it would be bad form if you told everyone that their sorority was your favorite, but otherwise it'd be no biggie. :)

At campuses where recs are needed to be competitive, I think it goes without saying that a PNM is going to try to get at least one rec for as many chapters as she can. Unless by "wanting a recommendation" you mean "wanting a recommendation because that chapter is your favorite and you make it known", no one should be offended that you're looking for recs from all chapters on your campus.

Absolutely not. The alumnae know you are going through recruitment for all of the sororities. Our role is introducing you to our sorority, and recognizing that while you may or may not join our sorority, if we think enough of you to recommend you to our organization, you would be a good candidate for any of the NPC sororities. We all were in your shoes once upon a time and faced many choices. If you are someone we would recommend to our organization, we want you to have the most options possible so you can make an educated and informed choice.

Whenever I write a recommendation for a PNM, I always ask her how her recs are coming and what organizations are still outstanding so that I can put her in touch with alumnae in those groups.

Please send your recommender a thank you note once she has agreed to help you, and send her another follow-up once recruitment concludes. Whether or not your join her sorority or any sorority at all, recommenders like to hear back from you and share your excitement and know of your decision. We were all PNMs and then new members once upon a time!

PERFECT! As a member of an APH, every single young woman, whom asks help, is immediately given the tools to set them up with every single chapter on their campus. It's true panhellenic spirit. The only way.

that makes perfect sense. thank you ladies!

OP, there are a lot of Mizzou alumnae that are active in the Greater Kansas City Alumnae Panhellenic. You can find out more at http://www.kcpanhel.com/

Thanks, you guys, for all of your help! I contacted local panhel where I live and talked to the nicest woman who is helping me to get recs for all chapters on my campus. Now I'm trying to find women I know most personally to get letters of support. I just had another question re: recs.

For recommendations, I have to send a resume and picture of myself that will then be sent to the sorority.

For the resume; I have already become really involved in campus- I love to be busy, and as a result I've joined as many organizations and been really involved with them as time would allow, leaving time to study and work so that I have a solid GPA (I'm a Journalism major and here its really important that you have a high GPA to get into certain sequences and classes). However, for the resume, should I include all the organizations I've been involved with/offices I may hold next semester, or should I limit it to a few? If I'm "too involved" on campus, will chapters think that I won't have enough time for Greek life? I'm pretty good at balancing my time and I know that I can handle it (it may mean that I don't hold leadership positions in certain organizations, or commit to a little less), but will chapters think this?

Also, should I include high school activities on the resume? I know that I will have been in college a year by the time of recruitment but I was really involved in high school and held a lot of leadership positions which I think may be relevant? I'm not sure though.

Also, for the picture- I had senior pictures taken; is it better to attach these, or non-professional photos?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

List everything from high school and college. Your involvement this year has nothing to do with your involvement next year, and no one is going to cut you for being too accomplished. List your high school GPA, as well as your college GPA.

Photos don't have to be professional shots. They should just show who you are and be reasonably recent. If you still look like the girl in your senior photo and haven't lost/gained a lot of weight or cut off/grown out your hair, those should be fine. The photo is not to judge your attractiveness; it is a means for the sorority to know who you are by face as well as name.

When I lived in TX, the AP advised PNMs to submit 2 photos to each recommender-- one head shot and one full length shot. However, as long as you submit a flattering photo so someone will know who you are when you meet her next fall, you'll be fine.