Northern Woman Getting Bids at an SEC School

[BamaDad]

This is something I may know a little about. My daughter rushed Alabama as an incoming freshman non-legacy from Northern Virginia (even the folks in Richmond think we are a separate entity). Quite a few of our Northern neighbors living in the surrounding Washington, DC area.

We knew nothing about recruitment or recommendations. After much research, we learned about recommendations, but we did not know many local alumnae. So, we went on-line to locate local sorority alumnae associations and national sorority headquarters staff. They were incredible! Alumnae offered to have coffee or lunch with my daughter, then eventually offered her encouragement during recruitment itself. One offered to speak to my wife just to discuss the sadness associated with sending your oldest daughter away to college a zillion miles away. Their recommendation letters were outstanding! If we could not find an alum, another an alum from another different sorority would help us track one down - anything to help Kristen. In one case, a very high up staff member at a sorority national headquarters office offered to write my daughter a rec because she realy was interested in her sorority. Best of all, the tips these alumnae gave were outstanding to the unitiated! Clothes, conversation, manners, protocol, you name it.

Her recruitment at the very competitive University of Alabama (I heard they set an SEC record this year) was an awesome experience and she is now with Delta Zeta, which I understand is a well-respected Bama sorority. If we can help, just let us know.

Fir the third time, at least, I wish to express my admiration and appreciation to all the fantastic alumnae out there in sorority world who made the difference in my daughter's successful recruitment. I am not certain she would have won a bid without the assistance of these total package alumnae. Am I grateful? Yeah!

[AlphaFrog]

WOW BamaDad!!!!

I bet that helps your heart knowing that there is a network of women who will be "taking care of your baby" while she is at college. There's nothing like coming home to a sorority house and knowing that when you get there, you're never alone.

[KillarneyRose]

BamaDad, your daughter is probably one of the girls on the list that inspired me to start this thread!

Congratulations to her; she's part of a wonderful sisterhood!

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by KillarneyRose

she's part of a wonderful sisterhood!

And you're not the least bit biased, are you??

[KillarneyRose]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

And you're not the least bit biased, are you??

Who, ME?????

[alum]

Now that we have the internet, it may be easier than before to get the scoop on recs, proper dress, etc. If the girls are willing to do the research, a ton of information (and misinformation) is out there. The websites of the nationals of course focus on the wonderful philanthropies that they support while individual chapter websites provide a quick peek into the way the girls look and what they do.

I came from the northeast which was very anti-greek in my area. Nobody's sibs or parents were greek, or if they were, it wasn't discussed. If I had gone to a deep Southern school, I would have been lost and probably cut on Day 1 from everybody because I would not have been able to prepare properly. Then again I would have been lost anyway at a really big school.

The new Alabama DZ is the perfect example of how careful research can help. As related by her dad (with his formidable atty research skills ) they were able to do all the necessary prep work.

[BamaDad]

Kristen is really into DZ. She is a Northern Virginian looking to quickly make friends with her new (mostly) Alabama sisters at a fine Southern University. From all indications everything is working out perfectly. It may be tougher to win a sorority bid in the South, but the rewards offered by a strong Greek system appear to make the effort worthwhile.

One interesting note. My wife's best friend wrote a rec and asked the Bama chapter "not to hold the fact that Kristen was from the Northern Virginia area against her." Not too diplomatic perhaps, but likely founded on perceptions real or not that recruitment challenges for the Northern-born are more difficult.

[NUBlue&Blue]

I know we don't get the publicity that the SEC gets, but there are a lot of the midwestern schools where rush is very competitive....just not so "openly competitive". You know how we are, we don't like to attract attention to ourselves !!

I said this in a different thread that sometimes being from out of state is a big advantage....it's a big feather in your hat to have an out of state girl in your pledge class in some areas where everybody is from the same place. I remember one girl in our house who was from Chicago......oooh aaaah, very cool!

So while sometimes you could be a fish out of water, a lot of times just being different is a good thing. And I do agree that the internet and cable tv has made the world very, very small, so we're really not so different as we used to be.

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

I know we don't get the publicity that the SEC gets, but there are a lot of the midwestern schools where rush is very competitive....just not so "openly competitive". You know how we are, we don't like to attract attention to ourselves !!

I said this in a different thread that sometimes being from out of state is a big advantage....it's a big feather in your hat to have an out of state girl in your pledge class in some areas where everybody is from the same place. I remember one girl in our house who was from Chicago......oooh aaaah, very cool!

So while sometimes you could be a fish out of water, a lot of times just being different is a good thing. And I do agree that the internet and cable tv has made the world very, very small, so we're really not so different as we used to be.

And a lot of times it gives you something unique that helps them remember you......(as one of 2 girls from the state of WA when I went through recruitment)

[33girl]

There are lots of transplants in NoVa - I know that our alumnae chapter there is huge, for that reason. It has members from literally across the country (which isn't always the case w/ our alum chapters).

[FloridaTish]

When I was checking out the Alabama pledge list Carnation was kind enough to post the link to

Where was the Alabama Pledge list link that Carnation posted? I would love to see it!

[Jill1228]

bama dad, i used to live in alexandria, va....MAN HOW I MISS NORTHERN VA

/end hijack

Originally Posted by BamaDad

Kristen is really into DZ. She is a Northern Virginian looking to quickly make friends with her new (mostly) Alabama sisters at a fine Southern University. From all indications everything is working out perfectly. It may be tougher to win a sorority bid in the South, but the rewards offered by a strong Greek system appear to make the effort worthwhile.

One interesting note. My wife's best friend wrote a rec and asked the Bama chapter "not to hold the fact that Kristen was from the Northern Virginia area against her." Not too diplomatic perhaps, but likely founded on perceptions real or not that recruitment challenges for the Northern-born are more difficult.

[NUBlue&Blue]

"Here's something to throw in the mix. The Georgia Hope scholarship has made it harder on GA girls going through Recruitment at Bama and probably elsewhere as well. Chapters have been "burned" by pledging GA girls who: 1) Only attend long enough to get their grades up enough to transfer back home for the free tuition. 2) After a year of paying out of state tuition Mom and Dad tell her they can't afford it or simply don't want to pay it anymore and she must move back home because it's free".

Auburn and Alabama are also not getting the best girls from Georgia, either, because these are the girls that can't get into UGA and it's their back up school. A lot of the girls going to Bama, Missippippi and Auburn from our HS couldn't qualify for HOPE anyway, and may or may not ever get their grades up. But they definitely aren't getting Georgia's top students.

[AOII*Azra-elle]

Originally Posted by BamaDad

This is something I may know a little about. My daughter rushed Alabama as an incoming freshman non-legacy from Northern Virginia (even the folks in Richmond think we are a separate entity). Quite a few of our Northern neighbors living in the surrounding Washington, DC area.

We knew nothing about recruitment or recommendations. After much research, we learned about recommendations, but we did not know many local alumnae. So, we went on-line to locate local sorority alumnae associations and national sorority headquarters staff. They were incredible! Alumnae offered to have coffee or lunch with my daughter, then eventually offered her encouragement during recruitment itself. One offered to speak to my wife just to discuss the sadness associated with sending your oldest daughter away to college a zillion miles away. Their recommendation letters were outstanding! If we could not find an alum, another an alum from another different sorority would help us track one down - anything to help Kristen. In one case, a very high up staff member at a sorority national headquarters office offered to write my daughter a rec because she realy was interested in her sorority. Best of all, the tips these alumnae gave were outstanding to the unitiated! Clothes, conversation, manners, protocol, you name it.

Her recruitment at the very competitive University of Alabama (I heard they set an SEC record this year) was an awesome experience and she is now with Delta Zeta, which I understand is a well-respected Bama sorority. If we can help, just let us know.

Fir the third time, at least, I wish to express my admiration and appreciation to all the fantastic alumnae out there in sorority world who made the difference in my daughter's successful recruitment. I am not certain she would have won a bid without the assistance of these total package alumnae. Am I grateful? Yeah!

Your daughter chose well! I know some Delta Zeta's from my previous school. The women were always doing something for the community, or trying to bring the greek system together. They were always up to befriend new people. Wonderful group of women, wonderful organization.

[BamaDad DZ]

Thank you for the compliment to DZ. It is well-deserved.

My daugher called the gracious alum who wrote her DZ recommendation to announce her Delta Zeta bid. And what did the alum do? She kindly sent my daughter a dozen lovely pink roses that made Kristen the envy of the DZ house! For the record, the alum of whom I speak is a regular on GreekChat, so imadeltaz, thank you very much from a proud DZ Dad!

Are the ladies of Delta Zeta as wonderful as you say? You bet...