what is the point of recs?

[justme920]

I am a bit confused about the reccomendation part of rush. Yall have threads for people to find people to write recs for them, but I dont understand what the point is. Is it expected that girls actually know a member of each sorority and having a stranger write one for you is a last resort? And I may sound dumb, but how can a stranger that you've never met be able to reccomend a sorority to accept you? Im not trying to knock the system or anything. i just feel like im missing something

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by justme920

I am a bit confused about the reccomendation part of rush. Yall have threads for people to find people to write recs for them, but I dont understand what the point is. Is it expected that girls actually know a member of each sorority and having a stranger write one for you is a last resort? And I may sound dumb, but how can a stranger that you've never met be able to reccomend a sorority to accept you? Im not trying to knock the system or anything. i just feel like im missing something

The rec writers are supposed to know you. In the cases when people find strangers, it's often just to try to help find a member who knows you but working from the member side too.

The point is so the chapter can have more information about you before recruitment to make a better decision about whether you will make a good member.

[justme920]

this is a side question, i intend to go to tamu next fall, i was lookin around the greek part of the site and it said " Letters of reference are not required to go through recruitment at Texas A&M University. However, if you are getting them please have them to the chapters by August 1. To find out the location to send them please go to cpc.tamu.edu/recletteraddress. " what do yall think of that? are they a make or break sort of thing?

Originally Posted by justme920

this is a side question, i intend to go to tamu next fall, i was lookin around the greek part of the site and it said " Letters of reference are not required to go through recruitment at Texas A&M University. However, if you are getting them please have them to the chapters by August 1. To find out the location to send them please go to cpc.tamu.edu/recletteraddress. " what do yall think of that? are they a make or break sort of thing?

Based on what those familiar with A&M rush have said, I'd absolutely try my damnedest to get a rec for each sorority.

You're better off with a rec than not having one.

[Zillini]

Despite the standard Panhellenic disclaimer, to me announcing a deadline for recs implies they're expecting a ton and want enough time to process them all. I agree with OTW and you should try to get as many together as possible.

[KSUViolet06]

I've always thought of recs as a "foot in the door" kind of thing. Kind of like how companies require you to submit a resume & cover letter in order to be considered. They're just standard procedure at some schools.

I found this thread about rush at A&M:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=98021

It says recs are a good idea to have.

You know, I understand the reason behind the Panhellenic disclaimer regarding recs and "it is the sorority's responsibility to obtain a rec for you" etc. etc. but everytime I see threads like this pop up, I can't help but worry about the PNMs who think "oh, it says recs aren't required so I don't need em" or "it says that it's the sorority's responsibility to get a rec for me so I don't need to put in the leg work".

You can tell by reading GreekChat which schools are competitive. You can tell which ones are not. A&M's one of the competitive ones. Just get the recs.

[WhiteDaisy128]

While a rec from a stranger is not as desirable, I know on many rec forms, there are places to indicate that you do not actually know the person and that you are just providing information. I know often a girl will just meet with an alumna briefly and giver her her resume and list of HS activities. The sorority member will base the rec on that information, but admit to not knowing the PNM too well.

[volalum]

When a girl decides to go through rush, it can be a great teaching experience about the process of asking someone to write a recommendation for you. a mother can help a daughter form a list of who she may know that was in a sorority, then she can encourage her D to explore and ask questions at church or school or neighbors. Before D realizes it, she will uncover lots of women who were in sororites. THEN it is up to D to write a nice note to each woman asking for a rec. Her mom can teach her to include a self addressed stamped envelope, a picture a resume... Most importantly the mom can instruct to write a follow up thank you note for writting the rec. If all this is done, not only will the PNM have wonderful recs, but she will learn that it is her responsibility to prepare and be organized for a "job interview" and that stuff just doesn't get handed to you. I only have expereince in SEC schools, but with 1000 girls going through rush these days. chapters can't get recs on girls any more...they ususally just cut them the first night if no rec.

[Army Wife'79]

The sad part is, many pnm's get 100% of their info off the school panhel website and when it says "no recs are needed" they actually believed that to be truth and fact. There are no "hotlinks to Greekchat" on the school sites. Many of us didn't discover GC until much later. When a panhel person in SC offerred to get recs for my D she happily replied, "oh, no thank you. The school website said they aren't needed". It wasn't until I discovered GC that I learned the school websites are BS. It was not a fun week for her. (she did COB and is very happy).

[Kansas City]

Actually, recs are not required at many schools. It depends on the competitiveness of the recruitment. PNMs on my campus can usually receive a bid without obtaining any recs. Perhaps the competitive Greek schools should change their website wording to something like "recs are not required but highly encouraged."

[violetpretty]

Why do schools mislead PNMs by deemphasizing the importance of getting recs? Oh yes, a chapter is going to hunt down a rec for hundreds of PNMs...

Technically, if a chapter wants to, they can scramble to get a rec for a PNM before bid day or bid her without a rec and get a local alum to write her a rec shortly after bid day if having a rec is their (Inter)National "policy".

For chapters that are forced by Panhellenic to cut half or more of the PNMs after the first day, cutting PNMs without a rec is an easy cut that you can make yourself feel good about because you don't "know" them without a rec. There might be some slack for PNMs with lots of friends in a chapter, but then she'd probably be in the know and would get her own rec.

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Why do schools mislead PNMs by deemphasizing the importance of getting recs? Oh yes, a chapter is going to hunt down a rec for hundreds of PNMs...

Well yes, we do. We have a network of alumnae. The chapter's sponsorship director takes the info that Panhellenic sends on each PNM and distributes it to the network. If Janie PNM is from Podunk, Alabama, we try to find an alum in or near Podunk who can check out Janie and recommend her.
Do we get sponsors for every PNM? No....but we come pretty darn close.
I'm guessing almost every NPC group does the same. Some groups seem to emphasize it more than others.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

Well yes, we do. We have a network of alumnae. The chapter's sponsorship director takes the info that Panhellenic sends on each PNM and distributes it to the network. If Janie PNM is from Podunk, Alabama, we try to find an alum in or near Podunk who can check out Janie and recommend her.
Do we get sponsors for every PNM? No....but we come pretty darn close.
I'm guessing almost every NPC group does the same. Some groups seem to emphasize it more than others.

Amen, Sister!

[33girl]

OMG not this again.

How is Janie PNM supposed to meet up w/ Polly Podunk Alum to be "checked out" if Janie is in the middle of rush?