transfer students and rush

[pokey318]

I am new to this forum and have search for the answer to my questions to no avail. I was not in a sorority, so this is all new to me. I hope someone here can help. If this isn't the right forum, please tell me where best to post. I haven't been reading here long to know which of you will know the answers.

My daughter is going to be a sophomore transfer and will be rushing for the first time. She will be attending a school where she only knows a few people and only 2 are in sororities. We have heard conflicting stories concerning letters of recommendation for potential new members. I believe my daughter has taken care of getting letters for most of the chapters, but there are 2 chapters where she does not know anyone to get a letter from. It is possible that she might be able to get one through a friend of a friend of a friend, etc.. Does it make a difference if a letter is from someone that doesn't know the potential new member personally? What exactly is the point of the letter is the person submitting the letter has no knowledge of the girl?

Is a letter from a recent graduate (2006) as advantageous as one from an older alum? One of her letters is from an old family friend that just graduated this spring. If you have a relative in one of the chapters at the school where you are rushing and that relative puts in a good word for you (I think my daughter said it was called prefing a new student,) do you need a letter for that chapter? What about if you have a friend in another chapter that will do the same for you?

I am not sure what my daughter's chances are in getting a bid from a house as a transfer student, especially when she only know of 2 girls already in a house. I think she needs letters for each chapter, but she doesn't know how to go about getting them when she doesn't know anyone. I think I read somewhere on this forum or somewhere else that there are women that will write a letter for girls. How does one find these women? Any tips would be well received by my daughter!!

Thank you in advance for any help you can give. Rush begins in a little over a month and I would like my daughter to have all her ducks in a row.