Wow, a comment from me prompted a whole new thread. I'm flattered.
I want to make sure everyone understands exactly what I was saying that prompted this. My point was that with the Release Figure system, large successful chapters are required to make big cuts early on. Often these chapters look for easy cuts, such as GPA and not having a Rec. Out-of-state PNMs that nobody knows can be considered an easy cut. Why? Because nobody knows the girl well enough to fight for her.
All I'm saying is this can be one of the drawbacks of system. These successful chapters don't have the luxury of large numbers of invites to each round. Therefore harsh decisions must be made early with little information and they simply don't have time to get to know some of the out-of-state girls.
Having said that I'm not going to say it's impossible for an out-of-state PNM to get a bid at a highly competitive SEC school, but there are obstacles to overcome if she doesn't know a soul on campus or in the chapter. She needs to make herself "known" before recruitment starts. Recs are vital, in general the more the better from alums who know her well. This tells the chapter "Ya'll might not know her, but here's a slew of your alum sisters who do. She's a great person, would be an asset to the chapter and you should get to know her!"
Also at Bama there's a spring Panhellenic weekend, basically a meet and greet for actives and all upcoming fall PNMs. This would require travel for out-of-state PNMs, but it's a great way to become "known". Do other campuses have something similar? Bama has been doing this for maybe a decade now. Every year the number of PNMs and their parents attending gets larger and larger. That first year I remember there was maybe a couple of dozen. This last spring there were several hundred. (Sorry, I don't recall exactly how many.)
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