Petals' Recruitment Story at Penn State (finally!)

[TigerOwl]

Oh one more thing----It really is a shame that Penn State's panhellenic does not accept letters or resumes or photo's. 33 is that True? If that is true, then the Greek Advisor has never "sat in the seat" of an alumnae with a grand daughter going thru recruitment at the beloved halls of Old Nittany or any other university for that matter.

[bluefish81]

Good Luck Petals! I definitely recommend keeping notes. My school had 15 chapters and notes helped me keep everything straight back in the day.

[LionTamer]

In case anyone thinks I'm hallucinating:

From the Penn State Panhel website: We do not use recommendations, pictures, or resumes for Penn state Recruitment. Please refer to the sorority's national website in regards to a particular sorority accepting these.

I know a number of great girls slipped through the cracks of recruitment at PSU because we so often got into arguments about who was who ("the one sitting by the patio door?" "no, no, no - she was sitting by the piano!")

On the other hand, I like how it doesn't discriminate against those not groomed from birth for rush. The 1st generation collegian who never even thought about sororities until she got to college still has an excellent chance of getting a bid from a great sorority -- it isn't all about who your "people" are. She can find out about Greek Life, and give it a chance without worrying that she's starting rush with an insurmountable handicap - no professional photo or reccs from all of Mama's friends.

On a practical note: the advice quoted often here -- that you may want to consider wearing an interesting bracelet/watch, earrings or necklace --- is particularly salient with a rush without pictures. Nothing freaky - just something to help people remember you (in a good way).

[33girl]

Originally Posted by TigerOwl

Oh one more thing----It really is a shame that Penn State's panhellenic does not accept letters or resumes or photo's. 33 is that True? If that is true, then the Greek Advisor has never "sat in the seat" of an alumnae with a grand daughter going thru recruitment at the beloved halls of Old Nittany or any other university for that matter.

No, it isn't a shame, for the reasons that LionTamer stated.

If a sorority alum wants to send a rec DIRECTLY TO HER SORORITY, she's more than welcome. The point is that Panhel doesn't want to mess around with it. With 20 sororities, I can't blame them.

[LionTamer]

Another word of advice that applicable at Penn State: without resumes, you need to let the chapters know what you're bringing to the table (other than your great personality and winning smile).

Some talents that they might be looking for:
- proven leadership skills (for chapter and Panhel exec positions)
- proven organizational skills (along with leadership, the biggest need - people who would enjoy organizing parties, recruitment, outings, Thon solicitations, philanthropies, etc etc etc)
- singing, dancing, choreography (for Greek Sing/Greek Week)
- drawing, painting, graphic design, scrapbooking, photography, web design, calligraphy (for Homecoming windows, Historian, Editor, Webmistress, t-shirt designer, party decorator)
- reporting/writing (someone has to send chapter news to the national magazine)

When you're asked about your interests, hobbies or high school activities, be sure to highlight your skills and accomplishments. It's not bragging to tell them how much you enjoyed heading up your Prom Committee or doing all the artwork for your yearbook - it's giving them information they need to make the decision "what does Petal bring to our organization?"

Sounds like you're going into this with your head on straight - good luck, Petal!

[FSUZeta]

pnms at penn state do have to fill out a recruitment application, don't they? does panhellenic not provide copies to each chapter?

do the sororities get lists of which pnms will be attending which party?

[PSUSigKap]

We Are...PENN STATE!!!

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system!

Yes, PNM's do fill out a recruitment application and yes, the sororities know exactly who is in each party every round.

The four years I was there, the recruitment groups were formed in alpha order for the sophomores and freshman together. The juniors were grouped separately and they were alpha order too.

There are usually 23-25 recruitment groups.

I'll second what LionTamer said, there truely is a sorority for every type of girl at PSU.

Quota is usually 19-25ish, depending on how many girls stay in recruitment all the way through. I wish we could get the kind of numbers UofI and IU get!

Good luck Petals!!! Awe. . .I miss PSU. . .That's all for now.