Auburn University Recruitment 2014

[FSUZeta]

I am a mom and that is good advice. If Brittin's daughter is anything like mine was, she is trying to sever the last thread of apron strings as most baby birds do who are leaving the nest to go off to college, so she will not be eager to listen to advice from mom. They want to keep us at arms length, but that doesn't last long (for us it was over by Thanksgiving).If you wait and let her ask the questions, she may be more receptive to listening. For all you know, she might be secretly reading about Auburn recruitment on Greekchat, and just doesn't want you to know-they do that sometimes. And Brittin, you are so right to understand that you might get on her nerves, no matter how important the message. Just be patient with her, and let her take the wheel. Good luck to your daughter!

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

I realize I'm piling on here -- but that is really, really terrible information about recommendations.

I do agree on that part.

[pnmmom]

Brittin,

My daughter is also rushing this fall and like your family it is our first. I have been stressing and reading and actually making myself sick over recruitment and she hasn't been worried a bit. Suddenly yesterday she tells me she's been reading on here, has all her "ducks in a row" and is ready. She promises she's not dropping out of school if she doesn't get a certain chapter and she would really rather be Greek than nothing. She said if she doesn't get a bid she will be fine. I am going to relax and let her handle it. Evidently I am stressing over nothing. Good luck to your daughter.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by pnmmom

Brittin,

My daughter is also rushing this fall and like your family it is our first. I have been stressing and reading and actually making myself sick over recruitment and she hasn't been worried a bit. Suddenly yesterday she tells me she's been reading on here, has all her "ducks in a row" and is ready. She promises she's not dropping out of school if she doesn't get a certain chapter and she would really rather be Greek than nothing. She said if she doesn't get a bid she will be fine. I am going to relax and let her handle it. Evidently I am stressing over nothing. Good luck to your daughter.

I am not a PNM mom - but I do have a view from the trenches, and this is good advice. Remember - whether you have not been through it or been through it somewhere else or somewhen else, recruitment is always changing. Auburn is an SEC recruitment, but not as crazy competitive as Arkansas or Alabama. There are so many great groups and they are competitively friendly. Girls can join different groups and still find time for outside activities and friends after recruitment.

The best advice here is that DD feels good about herself and her prospects from day 1, as she will project that and make the best impression. If she has friends already in sororities, they can help her with this the most, because they can help her thing about what she wants out of her years in a sorority and they can help her figure out what group she might feel most comfortable in.

Also - she may have recommendations and not know it. The girls are working hard to find information on the women going through recruitment - especially if they know them already or they have a great overall package.

[celebcj]

Our recruitment director just sent out a list of all the girls registered so far with their hometowns and high schools, and there's 1301 on the list so far. Getting excited for #aurec14 (awesome hashtag!)

[JayhawkAOII]

Out of curiosity, how does that compare to last year at this time? More, the same, less?

[HQWest]

I believe we had 1100 going into recruitment last year. The overall number of freshmen is up this year,

[southernau]

Brittin, I will share something with you that my recent AU graduate said she appreciated during her rush week. I gave her a box to open the first day of rush. It was filled with notes of encouragement to be opened everyday. I included silly old pictures, or little happy's that would fit in envelopes. I even wrote one day from her dog's perspective. I am sure countless moms did the same as it helped me "let her go" and gave her a little hug from home each day. When she would text or call during that week (I let her initiate this), we purposely did not talk about rush, unless she wanted to, and I always would say, "well, what do you think?". By the end of the week, she was exhausted and just wanted text/call and talk about anything but rush...yeah, she even skyped the dog . She kept an open mind all week and ended up joining a sorority of wonderful young women that was different from her legacy groups. She had a fantastic AU greek experience, as did I, decades earlier. AU has an awesome Greek System, and she had friends in almost every sorority. Both of us have been writing recs this year and we talked about the excitement and the challenges ahead for our young friends, and she reminded me about the notes (I had forgotten) and the communication and how much it all meant to her, so I thought I would pass it on (even though she may read this and it wouldn't be a surprise, it is still personal between you and your daughter ). Best of luck to your daughter!

[FSUZeta]

What a lovely thing to do southernau. I am sure that your daughter looked forward to everyday to see what you had sent and said in that day's note.

[brittin]

What a great idea! She would love that. I will put that on my very long list of things to do. I think I have all my recs in order now. My friends have been letting me know that they got confirmation of the recs arriving. Such a relief.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by brittin

What a great idea! She would love that. I will put that on my very long list of things to do. I think I have all my recs in order now. My friends have been letting me know that they got confirmation of the recs arriving. Such a relief.

They are not *your* recs.

[brittin]

I feel like it's my job right now since my daughter is at the beach. But you're right they are her recs.

[ComradesTrue]

From Auburn Panhellenic website:

Letters of Recommendation

What should I do if I don't know anyone from multiple sororities to write recommendation letters for me?
Recommendation letters are NOT required! The only thing you need to go through Recruitment is to register on our website! Recommendation letters are considered to be like "extra credit" and each chapter places varying levels of importance on them. If you cannot secure a Recommendation letter to multiple sororities, don't worry about it! It is not a big deal at all. You can always try reaching out to local area almnae groups to see if they would be willing to write you a Recommendation but overall, it really is not necessary! You also don't need to worry about whether the sororities know about you. Once you register, all sororities have access to the information you submitted, which is basically what goes on a resume. If they want to give you an invitation, they can get a recommendation based on your registration.

Should I get a rec for all 17 sororities? Is it okay to have more than one rec for a sorority?
Like we said Recommendation letters are like "extra credit," so they are in no way required to go through Recruitment! If you want to work on them, great! If not, there is nothing to worry about! If you only have Recommendations for a few and not some others, thats fine too! If you want to secure multiple Recommendation letters for one sorority, that is fine (but definitely not necessary). No more than 2 per chapter would be a good number!

Woah. Just now seeing this. Why in the world would they write that about recs? That is absolutely cruel and flies in the face of what many (most? all?) chapters believe and follow about recs.

Our alumnae panhellenic sends scores of girls to Auburn each year and we do everything in our might to help them be as prepared as possible. Many girls are first generation. Going up against college panhellenic website crap like this doesn't help our cause in trying to educate our local girls on the necessity of recommendations.

It's one thing when CPC's write the standard "it's up to the chapter to secure a rec if they are interested in you." This one is over the top "recs aren't a big deal," which is the absolute opposite of what our APH is hearing from the college chapters. Technically the CPC doesn't require recs to *participate* in recruitment, but to mislead the PNMs that individual groups don't require them is utterly wrong.

[HQWest]

I believe they are trying to reduce the worry of PNMs and encourage first generation PNMs while reducing the perceived competitiveness, especially given the current sheer volume (over 1300) of PNMs. However, I agree - a well prepared PNM should try to have 1 rec per chapter, but if that is not possible, it is still likely they can have a successful recruitment at Auburn - especially if they have good grades and overall package.

I think the question is in the age of internet - how can we encourage participation while not the perceived hurdles to finding a Panhellenic home? Make it easier for PNMs, chapters, and Alumnae groups?

[TXGreekMom]

Originally Posted by HQWest

I think the question is in the age of internet - how can we encourage participation while not the perceived hurdles to finding a Panhellenic home? Make it easier for PNMs, chapters, and Alumnae groups?

(emphasis mine)

Here's my question, just for philosophical purposes: are the hurdles actually "perceived"? We know that PNMs who read this information on the Auburn website are literally being misinformed as to the reality of the situation -- which is that it's a competitive campus where the sheer number of registered PNMs means that recs are all but required for a student who wants to make it through the first RFM-mandated round of no-brainer releases (GPA, etc).

If that hurdle is real, why should NPC take the position that the best option is to hide the truth? It can't be because they are afraid to discourage registration; registration is hitting record highs at the competitive campuses.

Is it because there is the need to maintain an elaborate facade the sorority recruitment is not in fact a process that still is heavily informed by network, family relationships, and hometown?

If NPC wants to make the experience better for first-generation Greeks, then the place to effect that outcome is not by encouraging the CPCs to dissemble. It's by strengthening the community education resources available to APHs, so that we can more effectively catch those 1st-gen girls during their senior year, and provide that fraternal education and preparation which makes all the difference between a great recruitment experience and a miserable one.

To tell a PNM in July that rush is this super-easy, "just show up and be yourself! the paperwork is extra credit!" situation, in an attempt to make the NPC community more inclusive when you know it's not true, is like locking the barn door after the horse has already been stolen. Because the "old girls network" of PNMs who already know all the secrets were finished on May 15 and are sitting pretty; meanwhile anyone who stumbles across the AU site right now is reading "you don't need recs to go through recruitment!!!!" as "you don't need recs to have a successful recruitment"... and I think us alumnae can wearily admit that it's simply not true, even if NPC will not.

Ignore my ranting if it's out of line. I've just spent so many weeks this summer talking to 1st-gen area girls and giving them the "real" story about their chosen SEC/Texas/Big 12 process -- and that their first experience with their College Panhellenic Council is a wishy-washy soft-pedaling of mistruth, doesn't feel very Panhellenic to me at all.