Schools where you absolutely positively need recs

[justgo_withit]

(To everyone that responded) ah okay, thank you! I can't even wrap my head around how much work it must take to sort out these thousands of recs and actually make sense of them! Props to all the women involved.

[abbylouise]

so just to be clear for my own sake, recs are going to be make or break at University of Alabama right?

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by abbylouise

so just to be clear for my own sake, recs are going to be make or break at University of Alabama right?

As stated really clearly on this list, YES you absolutely, positively must have recs for NPC rush at Alabama:

Originally Posted by violetpretty

You Must Have Recs If You Are Attending Any Of These Schools:
All SEC schools (no exceptions!): Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, Arkansas, Vandy, LSU, Texas A&M

[ladybug12]

And, if any way possible, go for Panhellenic Weekend in the spring.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by abbylouise

so just to be clear for my own sake, recs are going to be make or break at University of Alabama right?

"Make or break" is not the phrase to use. You probably will get cut if you don't have them, but having them does NOT mean you WON'T get cut.

[gatorgeneration]

May seem like a dumb question, but for SEC school's spring recruitment, would recs be considered more or less important? And how much more value are placed personal recs vs info only recs?

[Titchou]

Not to be snarky, but what part of "absolutely positively need" don't you understand????
Yes, they are needed in the spring. And yes, personal recs are needed. Info only doesn't cut it. They can get that same info from your registration form, FB page, school yearbook. The really true reason for the rec is the intangible - your character. And it isn't a recommendation unless the writer recommends you for membership - and an info only one does carry that recommendation.

[gatorgeneration]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Not to be snarky, but what part of "absolutely positively need" don't you understand????
Yes, they are needed in the spring. And yes, personal recs are needed. Info only doesn't cut it. They can get that same info from your registration form, FB page, school yearbook. The really true reason for the rec is the intangible - your character. And it isn't a recommendation unless the writer recommends you for membership - and an info only one does carry that recommendation.

Again, I acknowledge it may have come off as a dumb question, but I know at SEC schools informal spring recruitment is completely different from the formal recruitment held in the fall. Thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Not to be snarky, but what part of "absolutely positively need" don't you understand????
Yes, they are needed in the spring. And yes, personal recs are needed. Info only doesn't cut it. They can get that same info from your registration form, FB page, school yearbook. The really true reason for the rec is the intangible - your character. And it isn't a recommendation unless the writer recommends you for membership - and an info only one does carry that recommendation.

Chances are, for a PNM who has already been on campus for a semester, a lot more is already known about her "character" than some lady who taught her in Sunday school can vouch for. Just sayin'.

FWIW, for the more recently colonized chapters at UofA, for instance, it is not necessarily easy for PNMs (instate, anyway) to find alums of those chapters who have known them forever, such that the alum can vouch for their "character," anyway.

I know girls have pledged these chapters with informational recs that were submitted by alums who did not know them well (even in fall formal rush). For spring recruitment, these recs would be better than not having a recommendation at all.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

Chances are, for a PNM who has already been on campus for a semester, a lot more is already known about her "character" than some lady who taught her in Sunday school can vouch for. Just sayin'.

Couldn't the same apply to a girl who knows/is known by many people on campus before she even starts school her first semester?

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Couldn't the same apply to a girl who knows/is known by many people on campus before she even starts school her first semester?

Yes, it can. I'm sure plenty of PNMs have been dropped because they were known by girls in a chapter -- even with recs on file vouching for their "character."

[FSUZeta]

The structure of Spring Recruitment at UF is different than Fall Formal Recruitment, in as much as PNMs won't visit every chapter, because not every chapter will be able to take new members because those chapters are above campus total. Despite that difference, as Titchou suggested, a PNM going through Spring Recruitment at UF should make sure she has recommendations. It is the format of the parties that is different in the spring, not the "requirements" that the PNMs need to meet to receive a bid.

[Titchou]

Exactly, FSUZeta. Only the format is different. All other rules apply.

[Titchou]

Not to get another argument going with you, Hart, but this is not true for us in Alabama. As I write this, you may be very surprised to know that we have 727 alumnae listed in the Birmingham area. I just checked the database. The latest state info I have is from May and there were 2,078 alumnae listed.

Just saying, we are around - people assume that since we've been gone from Alabama since 1978 that we've faded out. They forget that we have 4 other chapters in the state and people who move in.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Not to get another argument going with you, Hart, but this is not true for us in Alabama. As I write this, you may be very surprised to know that we have 727 alumnae listed in the Birmingham area. I just checked the database. The latest state info I have is from May and there were 2,078 alumnae listed.

Just saying, we are around - people assume that since we've been gone from Alabama since 1978 that we've faded out. They forget that we have 4 other chapters in the state and people who move in.

I am surprised to hear that there are that many alumnae in B’ham. I’m just responding from my POV of knowing PNMs here over the years (including my daughter) who gathered recs – alums of huge chapters from huge schools are more abundant, and happening to know an alum (well) from one of these chapters is more likely.

I’m not sure that the Bama chapter will have a huge impact on the alum numbers in B’ham in the very near future (I think 5 girls from the Birmingham Metro area combined pledged DG this year). But considering the alum numbers you quoted, you all can and should be making your presence known!

Apparently Alpha Phi alums are really difficult to locate here – I assume that this chapter understands and doesn’t view an informational rec in a negative light (I know several girls who pledged a few years ago without personally knowing an alum who could vouch for their "character").

It may be far easier for out-of-state PNMs to locate alums they know well for some of the newer chapters at Bama (Gamma Phi Beta included – which probably has far greater alum numbers in other states as compared to Alabama).

.