Almost64's Recruitment Thread (at an SEC school)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by almost64

I mean honestly, I've had enough of this whole rec crap. If a sorority is gonna be that high maintenance and finicky to where they absolutely must have a rec and personal letters and such in advance in order to extend me a bid(and based on what I saw at fall rounds, it only seems like a few are THAT competitive), then it's probably not the house for me. I mean, during rush, I'll be standing RIGHT THERE. What could a house possibly learn about me from reading a rec written by some random alum that I met with for 30 minutes in a Starbucks that they can't learn just by talking and getting to know me? Ugh, it's extremely frustrating.

For some sororities, that is their policy - either nationally or by chapter. That's just how it is. The active members may think it's a load of BS too, but they have to do it.

If you truly are of the mind that "if I get in fine, if I don't fine too" then that's wonderful, but we've had too many PNMs on here that asked what to do to benefit them during rush (like not suiciding, giving all the groups a fair chance) and then didn't follow the advice they were given and were bitterly disappointed.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Alright, it sounds like you need your own recs at your school, so what follows is just general commentary on recs, not directed at the OP.

If a PNM gets a bid, one of the following must be true:

1. The GLO does not require recs.
2. Someone writes the PNM a rec and she does not know about it.
3. The chapter makes an effort to find an alumna who knows the PNM.
4. The chapter advisor/membership advisor writes the rec once the chapter decides to put the PNM on the bid list.
5. The PNM obtains a rec.

Now, the official word on it from Panhellenic usually describes #3, but my guess is that is actually the rarest situation of the 5. I don't want to get into MS in different orgs, but PNM's are being misled fairly often, I fear. I would almost prefer that PHC say something like "MS policies are up to the individual organization".

[MSKKG]

Amen to that! There is enough drama associated with recruitment in a lot of or maybe most colleges that we don't need to mislead PNMs to cause more.

[FuzzieAlum]

Good luck! Vandy has some great chapters.

[Stef the Pef]

Good luck!

re: recs--it sounds like Baylor's rush is a lot like Vandy's, and the chapter that wanted me in the end didn't have a rec for me after rush week. I'm pretty sure KD's national policy requires recs, so I ended up having the reference chair approach me after rush to get the info to have someone else write it for me. Sometimes Panhellenic's policy actually works, so I don't think you're going in too bad off. Again, good luck! When does formal rush start?

[kdonline]

Originally Posted by 33girl

NO. The alumnae aren't just sitting around rush waiting for stuff to do - they are grown women who have lives. The role of alums in rush varies by sorority, but I can't think of any who do this.

Sorry, you are incorrect with this assumption. YES, there are some alumnae who actually sit around, waiting for the phone calls from chapters with rec requests for PNMs. "Hi Mrs. Jones, this is Sally from --- chapter. I met a great girl during recruitment today, and she needs a rec. Will you write one for her? Here is the information..." And within a couple of hours, the rec is emailed or faxed over.

Originally Posted by Stef the Pef

I'm pretty sure KD's national policy requires recs, so I ended up having the reference chair approach me after rush to get the info to have someone else write it for me.

KD no longer "requires" recommendations, but the chapters have to make every effort to obtain one.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by kdonline

Sorry, you are incorrect with this assumption. YES, there are some alumnae who actually sit around, waiting for the phone calls from chapters with rec requests for PNMs. "Hi Mrs. Jones, this is Sally from --- chapter. I met a great girl during recruitment today, and she needs a rec. Will you write one for her? Here is the information..." And within a couple of hours, the rec is emailed or faxed over.

I meant that they didn't have an alum sitting around the actual rush parties or in the sorority house, doing nothing but waiting to meet girls and give out recs, which is what the OP implied.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by kdonline

Sorry, you are incorrect with this assumption. YES, there are some alumnae who actually sit around, waiting for the phone calls from chapters with rec requests for PNMs. "Hi Mrs. Jones, this is Sally from --- chapter. I met a great girl during recruitment today, and she needs a rec. Will you write one for her? Here is the information..." And within a couple of hours, the rec is emailed or faxed over.

that seems a little backwards. an active sister can ask an alum to write a rec for a PNM so when it comes to selection time (at the end of each round), chapter members can say, "well, this PNM does have a rec..."

actually, it seems like a recommendation once removed. as in, that active sister cannot write the rec because she's rushing for her chapter, so she gets an alum to do it. and it also seems like a loophole in pushing for one PNM over another.

in any case, i feel like inthe case where this happens, the rec would hold less weight because of its spur-of-the-moment nature, and moreso, because the PNM doesnt know anything about it.

ETA: in reading these recruitment stories as an NPHC member, im just trying to understand how NPC works, so please let's not make this an NPC vs. NPHC debate. that'stotally not my intention.