Alabama Sororites

zzz777 · #1 01-22-2016, 10:47 AM

What sororities at Alabama recruit primarily instate students/ones that have personal connections to current actives? I'm from OOS and know nobody at Alabama and am not a legacy, so I dont want to get my hopes up over a sorority that realistically I have almost no chance at.

Titchou · #2 01-22-2016, 10:57 AM

Since you are obviously still in high school and not familiar with recruitment, I'm going to give you a pass for asking this question. They all take OOS women. They all recruit based on their NEEDS and WANTS balanced against your resume. While it is considered mutual selection, the bottom line is that the sororities issue the invites and you will know right away who thinks you fit with them and who doesn't.

That being said, get your recs lined up - 2 for each group. Go in with a totally OPEN MIND. You'll be fine. Over 50% of new members at Alabama are from OOS.

DubaiSis · #3 01-22-2016, 01:12 PM

Building on what Titchou says, it doesn't matter who tends to select whom. All you need to do is get ready for rush and be open to every chapter. They're all good and huge. There isn't a BEST or WORST. And you have very little say, so you just need to be as positive and open as you can be and happily accept the invitations you get and move on when the inevitable cuts happen. You'll go through round 1 and at the end you will rank the ones you would be most willing to NOT return to. But your actual list will be based on which sororities want you. Then, if more want you than the schedule allows, THEN your preferences come into play. You will experience cuts and it really does suck. But put on your big girl pants and move forward with the schedule you have. Then after round two, presuming you had a full or nearly full schedule, you will again rank the ones you would be most willing to forego. And again IF you have more interest than available slots, then your preferences come into play. This is all done behind the scenes and you are not consulted between when you do your rankings and when the invitations arrive. At no point will there be a discussion about which ones you think are the best or which ones every other girl thinks are the best. It doesn't work that way and the sooner you understand the process as it is (as opposed to how you'd like it to be) the happier you will be with your outcome.

But the good news is Bama has really outstanding placement rates. If you accept what you get you will likely find a home.

jolene · #4 01-25-2016, 08:29 PM

ALL of the sororities at Alabama are wonderful. Keep an open mind. They are all wonderful and strong national organizations with great philanthropies, campus involvement and sisterhood.

My niece went to Bama and was a Kappa Alpha Theta (she actually decided to rush at the last minute). A good friend I met much later after college was also a member of that chapter.

There are certain websites that will tell you one is better than the other. Usually that is the older groups doubling down on 'newer' groups that OOS gals love. Or shallow guys. I know my sorority's Texas chapter gets hate just because we recolonized so we are thus the 'newer' kids (yep, we'd been colonized for 60+ years though initial colonization was in the 1920s). /rant Sorry, only had that on my radar since I did my first rec for that chapter and really didn't know much about their system. My niece's fab chapter gets hate on that site too. They get hate because they aren't the oldest on campus, but it's not because the members or the org aren't as fabulous as the others.

zzz777 · #5 02-02-2016, 03:39 PM

I definitely don't care about "tiers" or anything, and because I'm from out of state, I honestly don't really have a good idea of what the tiers are. I just want to get in a house that I like where I can find girls that I am happy with. I just asked about which are less "accepting" of OOS girls because I was curious, as an OOS student, it may be something that could affect me in the recruitment process.

Cheerio · #6 02-02-2016, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzz777

What sororities at Alabama recruit primarily instate students/ones that have personal connections to current actives? I'm from OOS and know nobody at Alabama and am not a legacy, so I dont want to get my hopes up over a sorority that realistically I have almost no chance at.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titchou

Since you are obviously still in high school and not familiar with recruitment, I'm going to give you a pass for asking this question. They all take OOS women. They all recruit based on their NEEDS and WANTS balanced against your resume. While it is considered mutual selection, the bottom line is that the sororities issue the invites and you will know right away who thinks you fit with them and who doesn't.

That being said, get your recs lined up - 2 for each group. Go in with a totally OPEN MIND. You'll be fine. Over 50% of new members at Alabama are from OOS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Building on what Titchou says, it doesn't matter who tends to select whom. All you need to do is get ready for rush and be open to every chapter. They're all good and huge. There isn't a BEST or WORST. And you have very little say, so you just need to be as positive and open as you can be and happily accept the invitations you get and move on when the inevitable cuts happen. You'll go through round 1 and at the end you will rank the ones you would be most willing to NOT return to. But your actual list will be based on which sororities want you. Then, if more want you than the schedule allows, THEN your preferences come into play. You will experience cuts and it really does suck. But put on your big girl pants and move forward with the schedule you have. Then after round two, presuming you had a full or nearly full schedule, you will again rank the ones you would be most willing to forego. And again IF you have more interest than available slots, then your preferences come into play. This is all done behind the scenes and you are not consulted between when you do your rankings and when the invitations arrive. At no point will there be a discussion about which ones you think are the best or which ones every other girl thinks are the best. It doesn't work that way and the sooner you understand the process as it is (as opposed to how you'd like it to be) the happier you will be with your outcome.

But the good news is Bama has really outstanding placement rates. If you accept what you get you will likely find a home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zzz777

I definitely don't care about "tiers" or anything, and because I'm from out of state, I honestly don't really have a good idea of what the tiers are. I just want to get in a house that I like where I can find girls that I am happy with. I just asked about which are less "accepting" of OOS girls because I was curious, as an OOS student, it may be something that could affect me in the recruitment process.

Sorority members on greekchat support one another and do not discuss tiers, because to us they don't really exist.

Titchou has explained that each group accepts OOS students.

Until you become a sorority initiate, your curiosity will not be in all ways satisfied.

I am happy you are open minded about recruitment, and hope you take all the advice given by others above.

AnchorAlumna · #7 02-03-2016, 01:26 PM

Think of it this way:
You can't change the fact that you're from OOS, so concentrate on finding the house that feels the most "home" to you.
Whether you're from in-state or out, that's the most important thing anyway!
Welcome, and Roll Tide!

DallasMom · #8 02-05-2016, 12:42 AM

Hi

I wrote three recs last year for girls from Texas going to Bama. One was a legacy and pledged s different house. The other two pledged other houses. So, three for three. Three different houses.

I would suggest getting references for all the houses, be open minded and have a great time! All of the houses at Bama are wonderful.

Have fun!

ggforever · #9 05-05-2016, 03:05 PM

I did not know whether to laugh or cry today at lunch after golf. I was talking with a friend about driving together to the graduation party for a young woman from our town who will be attending Alabama in the fall. I have worked very hard to help this young woman with recommendations for most of the houses at Alabama.

Another golf friend added that her grand daughter was going to be attending Alabama. I asked if she was going to go through recruitment. The response almost made my jaw drop. "Yes, she already has the sorority she wants to join picked out." I explained to her that it does not always work that way. Grandmother assured me that she had several friends already in this GLO and that she was a shoe-in. I tried to explain the reality but...... I hope her granddaughter is right because I can see a broken heart.

ChioLu · #10 05-05-2016, 03:27 PM

ggforever - when I talk to someone who has this incorrect (delusional) idea of Recruitment, I've tried to explain it like NCAA football recruitment. The school goes after the recruit (hint, the chapter has more choice in the PNM than the reverse). The football program makes the offer (bid). Since you are dealing with the SEC, maybe more people will realize which side truly does the choosing ...

ggforever · #11 05-05-2016, 04:18 PM

What a GREAT idea. I will try this next week when we play. I just hate for anyone to go in this unprepared.

ComradesTrue · #12 05-05-2016, 08:07 PM

Sometimes math helps too. When I have had a PNM or family member tell me that "oh she has 2 friends that promise to get her in" I explain that in a chapter of 300 that if each one of those members has a PNM crush they have "promised to get in" that 2/3 of those PNMs are going to wind up disappointed (Alabama example with quota around 100). And that is if there is just *one* hometown girl/cousin/friend from camp. Usually most members will have several girls that they are trying to get in.

Sure there will be some of those crushes who decide to go elsewhere, but in that same vein there will be PNMs/legacies that the chapter meets for the first time during recruitment that they fall in love with and work to get in as well.

Math always wins.

Sciencewoman · #13 05-05-2016, 08:10 PM

Math does win.

She could also find another sorority she clicks with and prefers, even if the "sure thing" is seriously interested in her.

Better safe than sorry.
Hedge your bets.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

That's it for the cliches, but there's a reason why there are so many of these that fit!

DeltaBetaBaby · #14 05-05-2016, 09:41 PM

The problem is that lots of times the women IN sororities are the ones telling that to PNM's...especially the rising sophomores who haven't been through MS yet.

AnchorAlumna · #15 05-06-2016, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggforever

Another golf friend added that her grand daughter was going to be attending Alabama..."Yes, she already has the sorority she wants to join picked out." I explained to her that it does not always work that way. Grandmother assured me that she had several friends already in this GLO and that she was a shoe-in.

The maddening thing is....it may very well happen that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

The problem is that lots of times the women IN sororities are the ones telling that to PNM's...especially the rising sophomores who haven't been through MS yet.

Granma said she has several friends already in this GLO? Maybe....but Gran's friends (contemporaries) do not = actives in the chapter now.

I sure hope Gran maybe misunderstood and granddaughter is getting other recs, too. But within certain groups at Alabama, sometimes that's exactly what happens.