Recs: do or die????

[kdonline]

It happens every year, this time of year.

The greekchat regulars get PNMs worked up over finding recommendations.

I feel that, as someone who attended a competitive greek school, and has been writing recs in a large city for PNMs who attend every college in Florida and all over the country, I just have to say this:

Please stop stressing out the PNMs.

As I said in another thread, not having a rec WILL NOT KILL the PNM. Even @ an SEC school.

1) if the PNM is really outstanding (ie makes it to 3rd round), THE CHAPTER WILL SECURE THE REC! It is no big deal. We/they do it all the time. Plenty of alumnae help out during rush, and this is all that they do! They just stand there, waiting to be introduced to PNMs...and secretly sign a rec form if needed.

ETA: Also, sororities have reference chairmen / coordinators. These are members who do not rush. Their sole job is to coordinate all the recs they've received and work on getting recommendations for PNMs the chapter is interested in.

2) MANY sororities - even @ SEC schools - do not require a recommendation. Rather, they must "make the effort" to get the rec. Many chapters get recs AFTER the girls have pledged...and this is fine with their HQs.

A recommendation used to be an automatic ticket back to second round, but it isn't any more. Sure, it's a courtesy to the alum who wrote it. But chapters realize that alumnae write recs for girls they don't know. And the chapter has the discretion to drop anyone they want - even a triple legacy with 20 recs.

So ladies, please stop being overbearing. You will not die in rush without recs ahead of time.

[kdonline]

bump, because I added something about the chapter reference coordinators, as it seems that many GCers (old & new) do not know that this position exists.

[FSUZeta]

annie,

you DO need recs at schools with a competitive recruitment.

a rec. is not a guarantee that you will receive a bid, or even an invitation back to a top chapter, but it IS almost a guarantee that you will NOT be invited back (to the chapters that are most popular with the pnms)at a competitive recruitment.

like i said in another thread, with 100's of fabulous pnms who DO have recs to invite back, why would a sorority add more work to their day, by trying to track down someone from patty pnm's home town who knows her and would write a rec. for her? in most cases, it ain't gonna happen.

i am not posting this to stress out pnms, but i am tired of seeing year after year, wonderful girls who should have had their pick of houses, believing that they do not need recs. and ultimately dropping out of recruitment because recruitment is not going the way we lead them to believe it would.

[ZTAngel]

Can we make a list of schools where it absolutely, positively essential for the PNM to find recs on their own? I feel like PNMs at schools such as UCF, UF, etc. are unnecessarily stressing themselves out. Both UF and UCF have competitive rushes and while recs are encouraged at these schools, they are not essential. I know for a fact that at UCF, if the chapter really wants the PNM, the chapter will find the rec on their own.

If you're rushing at UGA, you will need to secure your own recs. If you are rushing at Boondock University, don't worry about it.

[dgdramadawg]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

If you're rushing at UGA, you will need to secure your own recs. If you are rushing at Boondock University, don't worry about it.

PNMs need to secure their own recs for LSU, as well.

[Elephant Walk]

I feel like PNMs at schools such as UCF, UF, etc. are unnecessarily stressing themselves out. Both UF and UCF have competitive rushes and while recs are encouraged at these schools, they are not essential. I know for a fact that at UCF, if the chapter really wants the PNM, the chapter will find the rec on their own.

UCF? Competitive? Hahaha.

A List of Schools where one needs recs:
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
LSU
South Carolina
Kentucky
Arkansas
Texas
Texas Tech
SMU
Baylor
Texas A&M (kind of)
Vanderbilt

Those are do or die necessary recs.