2007 UGA Recruitment

[clueless also]

As an alumni at one if UGA's sororities (from another school), I didn't realize how drastically things had changed in 25 years. We were never told that recs were so important, quite the contrary! Otherwise I could have had several friends write on my daughter's behalf, even though they hadn't seen her since she was 5 or 6. We assumed (wrongly I now realize), that it was all about personalities that clicked and common interests. I live in the Atlanta area, and Sunday morning there was an article on UGA's rush mentioning specially ordered designer clothes and stacks of recs - my daughter isn't like that at all! She's very down to earth, quiet and unpretentious, but a great sense of humor, wonderful personality, and the best, most loyal friend anyone could hope to have (OK, maybe I'm a little biased!) Despite the article, we thought she would at least find one house where there were similar girls who would be interested in her for herself. Today she called to let me know she only got 2 invites back, and one was to my sorority, which has a policy to invite all legacies back to one party. Still, she was very upbeat, not taking it too seriously, just having a good time. Well, tonight an officer from my sorority called me to break the news that she's being released. I'm so sad. I doubt she'll be invited back to the other one either, because, like I said, she's somewhat quiet and reserved. I know she'll be OK, she has the ability to see the bright side of things much more so than me. I just can't stand to think of what the rejection will feel like away from home not knowing many people, and then when the other girls get their bids...I had so wanted to share the great experience I had in college with her, she has brothers but always wanted a sister...Sorry this is such a long,sad post, but I needed to vent, Hubby wasn't greek and thinks the whole thing is BS.

[AuburnMom]

Originally Posted by clueless also

As an alumni at one if UGA's sororities (from another school), I didn't realize how drastically things had changed in 25 years. We were never told that recs were so important, quite the contrary! Otherwise I could have had several friends write on my daughter's behalf, even though they hadn't seen her since she was 5 or 6. We assumed (wrongly I now realize), that it was all about personalities that clicked and common interests. I live in the Atlanta area, and Sunday morning there was an article on UGA's rush mentioning specially ordered designer clothes and stacks of recs - my daughter isn't like that at all! She's very down to earth, quiet and unpretentious, but a great sense of humor, wonderful personality, and the best, most loyal friend anyone could hope to have (OK, maybe I'm a little biased!) Despite the article, we thought she would at least find one house where there were similar girls who would be interested in her for herself. Today she called to let me know she only got 2 invites back, and one was to my sorority, which has a policy to invite all legacies back to one party. Still, she was very upbeat, not taking it too seriously, just having a good time. Well, tonight an officer from my sorority called me to break the news that she's being released. I'm so sad. I doubt she'll be invited back to the other one either, because, like I said, she's somewhat quiet and reserved. I know she'll be OK, she has the ability to see the bright side of things much more so than me. I just can't stand to think of what the rejection will feel like away from home not knowing many people, and then when the other girls get their bids...I had so wanted to share the great experience I had in college with her, she has brothers but always wanted a sister...Sorry this is such a long,sad post, but I needed to vent, Hubby wasn't greek and thinks the whole thing is BS.

I hate that this happens. Everytime I read a thread that starts with "I didn't know we needed recs" and I see it is for a school with a competitive rush, I just get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Clueless Also, I am so sorry for you and for your daughter.

I wish there was some way to put together and send out information to each PNM and their parents that honestly addressed things like recs. I hate that people either don't know or that they've been given bad information.

UGA Panhellenic, if you are reading, a suggestion for you; let the Baby Dawgs know!

[Victor Ziegler]

www.atlantapanhellenic.org

This site was mentioned in another thread. They say they help girls get recs.

[GPhiBLtColonel]

Originally Posted by Victor Ziegler

www.atlantapanhellenic.org

This site was mentioned in another thread. They say they help girls get recs.

We help local girls from the southern crescent area of Atlanta (Fayette, Coweta, Henry, Clayton and South Fulton) get recs - this year we handled 39requests and about 25% of them were very last-minute. Many moms said they believed what they had been told at the panhel recruitment orientation meetings (for UGA, Georgia Southern, GC&SU, etc) - e.g. that recs were not needed.
www.ascapa.org
We hold an annual sorority info session too - we call it "Afternoon with Athena." We are very fortunate to have the beautiful Phi Mu Hqtrs right here in town - they let us use their training area which is just perfect!

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by AuburnMom

I hate that this happens. Everytime I read a thread that starts with "I didn't know we needed recs" and I see it is for a school with a competitive rush, I just get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Clueless Also, I am so sorry for you and for your daughter.

I wish there was some way to put together and send out information to each PNM and their parents that honestly addressed things like recs. I hate that people either don't know or that they've been given bad information.

I'll never for the life of me understand why the Panhellenics at schools like LSU, UGA, and Bama continue to tell PNMs (and their parents) that "recs aren't neccessary" or that "the sororities are responsible for securing a rec for you."

To try and give the PNMs some insight, I made this post in the Recommendation Caution to PNMs thread about recs at competitive schools:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...8&postcount=95

[MVisKD]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I'll never for the life of me understand why the Panhellenics at schools like LSU, UGA, and Bama continue to tell PNMs (and their parents) that "recs aren't neccessary" or that "the sororities are responsible for securing a rec for you."

To try and give the PNMs some insight, I made this post in the Recommendation Caution to PNMs thread about recs at competitive schools:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...8&postcount=95

I went to one of the schools mentioned and my chapter would release girls without recs after philanthropy day, unless we were so interested in her that we could secure her a rec from a local alum. However, some chapters are not like that and recs are not necessary....So I think that Panhellenic is just trying to encourage everyone to participate, whether they have "ties" to certain houses or not. Alumni in my hometown actually have a meeting for all PNMs to attend in the spring before they leave for school that tells them all they need to know about recs/attire, etc. Maybe this is something we all need to have in our respective cities so more young ladies know exactly what to expect and what is expected of them. I know there are lots of girls in my city that could benefit from this service!

[ugadg]

She should really try to relax and try to enjoy the parties she is going to. It can be brutal getting cut, but you cannot suicide until after the pref parties and to already be thinking about it (they are in round 3 today?) while attending parties is really hurting her chances of a great experience.

Please try to at least encourage her to continue with an open mind. After two rounds she has only been at these houses for about 40 minutes, not even hour! Yes, she may be pretty sure some are not for her (and she could be right), but some of these may be and she just hasn't clicked with the right group.

[anxious uga mom]

She didn't suicide today thank goodness. But sounds like her emotions are really getting the best of her. Hopefully pref's go well tomorrow.

[Army Wife'79]

Ahh, but think of the poor out of state folks (like we were) who flew down to visit the SEC school, were told that it is the sororities resp. to get a rec for you if they want you; then at the freshman camp, ask Panhel. the same question and get the same boldface lie answer; and furthermore ask the ditzy sales clerk at the school bookstore when you're buying your kid her first school t-shirt who was greek (note to self: if someone graduated 2 years ago and is now selling t-shirts at the school bookstore b/c she loved the college town so much she didn't want to move, she is not a good resource) but with her Crest whitened smile she bubbled out "oh no, don't worry, it's the sororities resp. to get you the rec." I don't know, maybe it's code for "don't let the Yankees know the scoop". And, keep in mind, the website for Greek Chat is not on any literature so we didn't know it existed.

I actually did go to the college website to search the message boards for info on sorority life and posted a query only to get a bunch of horrible x-rated comments about the Greek girls.

So, in our case she was darn lucky to go to 3 prefs. The "know it alls" talked her into suiciding and therefore she got no bid. She was COB'd later on but geez, as a Mom I'd hate to have to go thru this again.

[WarEagle07]

My own daughter's rush is over, but she has many friends at UGA who are rushing as we speak. The two sound similar so I am going to tell you about our experience with recs. She attended the Panhell meeting in Atlanta that was held the spring of her Sr. year of high school. She came away with the impression that recs were desirable to have and that you should try to get them if possible. They even offered to help the girls secure recs in case they weren't able to get them on their own. However, we have a friend that is an SEC rush veteran and she told us that you really needed to get at least one per chapter. My daughter managed to get one per chapter in the end but it was a lot of work for her. A good friend who has a daughter at Penn State could not believe that we even needed any recs at all! Things really are different in the SEC.

[cluelessUGAmom]

Originally Posted by WarEagle07

My own daughter's rush is over, but she has many friends at UGA who are rushing as we speak. The two sound similar so I am going to tell you about our experience with recs. She attended the Panhell meeting in Atlanta that was held the spring of her Sr. year of high school. She came away with the impression that recs were desirable to have and that you should try to get them if possible. They even offered to help the girls secure recs in case they weren't able to get them on their own. However, we have a friend that is an SEC rush veteran and she told us that you really needed to get at least one per chapter. My daughter managed to get one per chapter in the end but it was a lot of work for her. A good friend who has a daughter at Penn State could not believe that we even needed any recs at all! Things really are different in the SEC.

I of course called my friend and told her about the recs yesterday and that they were important. She said when she called Arizona they laughed at her and said their rush is not at all like the "South" -- it is much more laid back so she was assured she did not need the recs. I sure hope she does not encounter anything different when she arrives as that would be disappointing! Had the same conversation with my friend whose D is going to Penn State too!

[howtheSunrose]

Originally Posted by clueless also

I live in the Atlanta area, and Sunday morning there was an article on UGA's rush mentioning specially ordered designer clothes and stacks of recs - my daughter isn't like that at all! She's very down to earth, quiet and unpretentious, but a great sense of humor, wonderful personality, and the best, most loyal friend anyone could hope to have (OK, maybe I'm a little biased!) Despite the article, we thought she would at least find one house where there were similar girls who would be interested in her for herself. Today she called to let me know she only got 2 invites back, and one was to my sorority, which has a policy to invite all legacies back to one party. Still, she was very upbeat, not taking it too seriously, just having a good time. Well, tonight an officer from my sorority called me to break the news that she's being released. I'm so sad. I doubt she'll be invited back to the other one either, because, like I said, she's somewhat quiet and reserved. I know she'll be OK, she has the ability to see the bright side of things much more so than me. I just can't stand to think of what the rejection will feel like away from home not knowing many people, and then when the other girls get their bids...I had so wanted to share the great experience I had in college with her, she has brothers but always wanted a sister...Sorry this is such a long,sad post, but I needed to vent, Hubby wasn't greek and thinks the whole thing is BS.

I'm sorry about your daughter's release from your sorority. From what you've said, she sounds like a LOVELY girl that any sorority would lucky to have. And you sound like a loving, caring mother. With your daughter's personality, I can see her being well liked in college life and being quite an assest to any organization with which she chooses to become involved (Greek or non-Greek).

[hollywin]

My daughter went through rush this week and eventually dropped out. I too got the dreaded late night phone call from my sorority that they had released my daughter. The thing that was very disheartening was that my daughter was a 4 time legacy at this house with 3 of them being from the UGA chapter. I think my parents paid for half the house in 4 years of dues for 3 girl's !! She had recs at many houses. What I think happened was that we are from out of state and she did not really know anyone in a sorority. My daughter is a pretty, intelligent and loving girl. I am not sure how she could have done better when she only spent a total of 30 minutes at each house. I also believe that the houses where she had recs saw that she was a quadruple XYZ legacy and cut her because they assumed she would pledge XYZ. It has been the hardest thing for her. I am not sure of any other situation where 18 year old girls are rejected by so many groups of girls. She did put in for open bid and I am praying she will get one.

[GPhiBLtColonel]

I went up to Athens to help with prefs at my Gamma Phi Beta chapter and was shocked to discover that each pref party had 70-75 girls attending!
I figure quota may be in the high 60's!
On a personal note, I was thrilled to find out that at least 4 of the 14 girls I wrote recs for preffed Gamma Phi! yay!

[Titchou]

Quota is 55....