[AXOrushadvisor]

Here are some of my observations about recruitment at the University of Arizona. It is a competitive process but if you keep an open mind and are willing to pledge any Chapter you have opportunities. The problem on this campus is that there are some girls who are not willing to pledge all 11 chapters on campus. My daughter, for the most part, kept a very open mind about the Chapters going through. There were Chapters that she liked that surprised me and Chapters that she didn’t like that surprised me. Also, she could care less about tent talk, tiers ect. She was looking for a place to call home. She was looking for a sisterhood and a support system. Several of her friends only wanted certain chapters and her roommate was all caught up in being in a ‘good’ house. Things did not work out so well for her not because she isn’t lovely, doesn’t have good grades or isn’t involved. I think she didn’t have a great start because she is reserved. She also was finding it difficult to imagine herself in any other Chapters but the 'good' ones. Even harder when her friends were being invited back to the 'good' ones. The Chapters at UofA are great and all have something to offer.

You don’t need recs to have a successful recruitment at UofA like some suggest on this site. Do I think you should have recs? Yes, I think you should try to get as many recs as you can for any recruitment. It can only help you in the end and not harm you. Many girls had no recs and were invited back every day to chapters. Many women were released after first round when they had recs including my daughter and her roommate. The GPA situation was interesting. Many girls were invited back to parties that had below a 3.0 and many were released completely after round 1. Several weren't released until after round 3.

One of things that has been mentioned on this site before and I believe is prevalent on this campus is who you know. The women who were having perfect recruitments knew people in the Chapters from High School, Sports, friends. It is all about who you know at the UofA more then almost any thing else.

The process is emotional for these young women and their mothers. Your heart breaks for these girls when they lose a favorite. Your heart breaks when you get a sobbing phone call. We all want our daughters to succeed and be happy. I found that on both days that my daughter was hurting and doubting the process that the gentle reminders about why she was there, what she had told me were very helpful in moving her through the process. When she lost a favorite before pref I told her you can be sad and grieve for 5 minutes but put you big girl panties on, wipe those tears and move on. I told her many girls would KILL for her schedule including her roommate who wanted the parties she had. I also continued to remind her to have an open mind right through preference. Was she lucky? Maybe. She worked hard on her conversation skills, did mock recruitment with my girls when she could, thought long and hard about what to wear. More importantly she stayed true to herself in the process in spite of the tent talk and opinions of others.