Recs, revisited

[starburst21]

..

[FSUZeta]

i am not trying to be nosy, but if you let us know where you lived, or at least what big town your small town was near, and what sororities are on the campus you attend, those of us in those sororities might be able to hook you up with some one that you could meet in person, therefore letting that sorority alumna feel comfortable to write you a rec. do you attend school in an area where a rec. would be required?if you are attending college in the northeast, or upper midwest you may not need a rec. i have read postings from those two regions that some of them have never even seen a rec. you might also go into the message board sections on this website of the sororities on your campus and see if anyone is listed as being near you. then if you feel comfortable, you could contact them via pm. also, your family friends who are members of pi phi and phi mu might know women who are alumnae of the sororities on your campus, or they may be able to network thru their pi phi and phi mu sisters to find the recs. that you need. in other words, your pi phi friend does not know anyone who is a member of "alpha beta" ,a sorority on your campus, but she has a close pi phi friend who is very active in the alumnae panhellenic association where she lives. local pi phi contacts panhellenic pi phi for you and panhellenic pi phi either gets your information to the alpha beta she knows, or she makes arrangements for you to speak to the alpha beta yourself. and remember, a rec. does not have to come from an alumna of the chapter on your particular campus.....it just needs to come from an alpha beta.

the importance of a rec is to provide a little more detailed information about the pnm than the chapter would ordinarily know. it usually results in that particular chapter giving the pnm a second look, inviting her back to a second party. it does not guarantee a bid will be extended to the pnm. a negative rec. might also make that chapter take a second look-of course, the current collegiates are the ones who vote on who to extend a bid to, so they could extend a bid to some one who had a negative rec. i have never seen a negative rec, although i am sure that if an alumna knew that patty pnm, and ax murderer from her hometown, was going thru recrtuiment , the alumna's sorority would be receiving a negative rec. for patty.

[exlurker]

starburst 21 -- Good for you -- glad you have recs to 2 of the 3. Just skimming through the NPC list that I mentioned in an earlier post, I see there are at least 3 Area Alumnae Panhellenics in MO -- Greater KC, St. Louis and Phelps County (that is, Rolla). You never know who knows who, or what lucky connections may turn up, so if a rec for that 3rd sorority seems to be hard to get as the summer goes on, you still have those possible resources.

Oh, one other thing -- an alumna may feel perfectly comfortable writing a nice rec after phone and email contact -- no problem. It's also possible for an alumna to do a little checking around . . . with, say, a relative, friend, former co-worker, etc., etc., who lives in your area. That can in some cases help the alum feel more confident about writing a rec. (I don't mean to cause mild paranoia here -- but some alums might very well make an effort to talk with a possible mutual acquaintance so they can say they know you from conversations and by reputation and they recommend you. You'll probably never know.)

Again, best wishes.

Edited to add: More for information for others who may read this, since I'll bet you already know -- send a handwritten thank you note to each woman who you know has written a rec for you. Doesn't have to be long or gushy . . . but it's the polite thing to do. An email isn't a good alternative unless you do not know the alum's mailing address.

[honeychile]

Originally posted by exlurker


Edited to add: More for information for others who may read this, since I'll bet you already know -- send a handwritten thank you note to each woman who you know has written a rec for you. Doesn't have to be long or gushy . . . but it's the polite thing to do. An email isn't a good alternative unless you do not know the alum's mailing address.

This cannot possibly be stressed enough!!