Advice for $195 -- Marietta GA

[exlurker]

My ------- goodness:

Some people in Marietta GA are offering, for $195, advice, instruction, etc. on sorority recruitment, according to this article on a local paper's site:

http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story...ry_left_column

I hasten to say that if a young woman can afford it and wants to do it, that's her business. She could probably get pretty much the same information from checking out GC, (right?) but that might require more searching than some people would want to do.

I also hasten to say that for large swaths of the USA and Canada where recruitment is not as intense as it can be in the American South, news of this kind of enterprise may come as a surprise.

[amanda6035]

Good Grief. Heli-moms who think they know it all because their daughters joined a sorority.

[AnchorAlumna]

We discussed something similar in this thread http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ht=rushbiddies about these gals: http://www.rushbiddies.com/

Since I posted that, I found out somebody in my own small city is doing something similar. I don’t think she’s had a lot of takers, though. The local alum panhellenic has worked with them, even tho their tea is free.

[amIblue?]

While I think one does not have to be in a sorority in order to know conversation skills and etiquette, with no personal sorority experience how in the hell do they think they are qualified to teach about rush?

[DubaiSis]

Although I think there could be some excellent training somewhere, this doesn't sound to me like it. The one thing girls can't get from searching here is actual conversation experience and this is where I think a girl could get the biggest leg up.

If I'm reading between the lines here, it's a reason to get girls (and probably their mothers) through the door to buy their stuff. In that region, I would think there are lots of women available (Marietta Panhellenic for instance, presuming it exists and of which these women would NOT be eligible members) to do this training more effectively. I don't know what it costs to attend an Alumnae Panhellenic tea, but I bet less than $200 and then you'd be meeting real life members and advisers. Thus, a girl would have not just the benefit of the training but also of possibly getting in front of decision makers for later on.

But good on them for being entrepreneurial. Hopefully they will do no harm.

[AnchorAlumna]

Marietta is an Atlanta suburb.
Atlanta has an absolutely awesome Panhellenic: http://www.atlantapanhellenic.org/re...ent/index.html
Their recruitment event is in March.
And always, always, there are girls and mamas who don't think a thing about sororities until Snowflake goes off to freshman orientation.
They may pick up some of those panic-stricken ladies.

[atrianglepi]

Man I missed out. I live near there and I have been advising my REC girls for free. I have been to the Atlanta Panhellenic event twice and they do a great job.
I can understand the Bama mom giving advice, but is GA Southern really that competitive? Several girls from our local high school go there and have no problem joining a chapter.

[carnation]

Georgia Southern can be quite competitive-it depends on what you're looking for.

[amIblue?]

The article said the daughter goes to Georgia College and State University. I do not recall that it is particularly competitive from my time in Georgia, but I'll defer to Carnation on this one. Georgia Southern can certainly be competitive for certain chapters.

[GPhiBLtColonel]

I saw this on FB and one of the two ladies running this event is a Tennesse Pi Phi. I had to email them because their initial marketing used the word Pan-Hellenic instead of Panhellenic. That has since been changed on the site now.

Our alum panhel has been doing annual sorority information sessions for many years and never charged a cent! Check it out on our website: Atlanta Southern Crescent Alum Panhellenic Association http://www.ascapa.org - my co-chair and I already planned to add conversations to the agenda next year...so perhaps we should now market our sessions as "a $195 value!"

[carnation]

Man! When I think of all the free sorority information I've dished out!

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by carnation

Man! When I think of all the free sorority information I've dished out!

RIGHT?! Do you mean I could be getting PAID for talking about all the stuff that gets stickied around here for free??

In all seriousness, making people pay for this kind of thing opens up a host of other issues. Ex: Mommy McDaughterCopter wants a refund because Daughter didn't get a bid. Or didn't get a "good enough" chapter even though she did everything you said.

It also rubs me the wrong way because I KNOW who they're targeting with their services. First generation college students who know nothing about Greek Life who THINK it's going to up their chances.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

RIGHT?! Do you mean I could be getting PAID for talking about all the stuff that gets stickied around here for free??

In all seriousness, making people pay for this kind of thing opens up a host of other issues. Ex: Mommy McDaughterCopter wants a refund because Daughter didn't get a bid. Or didn't get a "good enough" chapter even though she did everything you said.

It also rubs me the wrong way because I KNOW who they're targeting with their services. First generation college students who know nothing about Greek Life who THINK it's going to up their chances.

Right, and as we've talked about here, women who are ultra-prepared know the active sisters already, and THAT is what matters. No workshop is going to give you that advantage.

[GPhiBLtColonel]

If I had a "spare" $195 it would be interesting to attend this workshop to see whether it is on/off the mark....plus who is in the audience!

[AXOrushadvisor]

Wait.....whatttt??!! If I'm reading this correctly they are not in sororities, but their daughters are so that makes them experts?

I said this the last time time this topic came up. I have been giving advice for free for over 25 years. I personally think my information that I share is pretty darn good. I live this stuff for 5 days every year.