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Letters of rec/resume: one that gives good insight to your interests and personality (not "She was in the National Honor Society. She is smart. She is pretty. She...") will make it way easier for each sorority to set you up with a girl that you'll get along with. The letter itself puts you on their radar just slightly (compared to most girls out of 1000s that don't get letters), and you're more likely to like their house based on talking to a girl you get along with. More importantly, the girl rushing you will probably be more likely to think you're a good fit for the house, and hopefully prevent you from being cut after the first round at the very least.
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Legacy status: while some houses value this more than others, if you don't get along with the girls, or they don't want you back, why would you want to be in this house? Your mom's/sister's/great-aunt's chapter is probably completely different anyways. Even if she graduated from the same chapter, years later it's probably going to be different. (I guess if your sister is a current active at your current chapter, that's a different story.)
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Appearance: Yes, it's fun to go rush shopping. Yes, it's fun to get ready with your girlfriends. Yes, it makes a great first impression and shows you care about your recruitment. But that's it. Seriously. And that's a good thing! Who wants to be in a house where they're ALWAYS dressed up to the 9s and you can't ever walk around the sorority house without makeup? Nobody...which is why no houses are like this. Show your individuality (unless you're in the South, I guess
), wear something comfortable (nothing's worse than being distracted by your clothes while trying to have a conversation, especially a rush conversation), and then forget about the whole clothes thing after you head out the door. Focus on connections, not consumerism.
Basically, all the superficial qualities about you (looks, high school achievements, who you're related to) are great starters to pique a sorority's interest in you. But the things that REALLY matter, the je ne sais quoi of how you'll know the sorority's right for you, and how they'll know you'll be a great sister, can only be figured out by the recruitment process, by conversations and questions, by hashing out how well you like them in comparison to others, and them with you.