Active Member vs Alum Letter of Rec Question

NUBlue&Blue · #1 06-29-2007, 04:51 PM

And I might add that if you have options, I think it's best to have the rec written by someone who actually KNOWS the pnm.

I've never seen that "in order of priority" before, though. When getting recs, we have always put priority with a recommendation from an alum who knows you personally, and if they are from the same chapter it's a bonus. Personally, if I was going to UGA, I would not get a rec from an XYZ at UGA who doesn't know me over an XYZ from Alabama who knows me well.

But that's just my opinion. Anybody else know more about this?

dgdramadawg · #2 06-29-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

I've never seen that "in order of priority" before, though. When getting recs, we have always put priority with a recommendation from an alum who knows you personally, and if they are from the same chapter it's a bonus. Personally, if I was going to UGA, I would not get a rec from an XYZ at UGA who doesn't know me over an XYZ from Alabama who knows me well.

But that's just my opinion. Anybody else know more about this?

If I had the choice, I would get BOTH in that scenario. Since my little sister and her group of girls (who will always be 9 or 10 years old in my eyes) are all rushing this fall, most of them at UGA but some at other competitive campuses in the south, I have been encouraging them to try to get recs from on campus alumnae, but if they can get one from an on campus alum and one from someone who knows them better (unless the on campus alum knows them well), then they're covering their bases with both 1 and 2 (according to to that priority list). That way, if the chapter gives special priority to on campus alumnae they have the best of both worlds.

NUBlue&Blue · #3 06-30-2007, 05:34 PM

I was just talking with my daughter's best friend's mother today and we were going over the list, and as luck would have it, in most cases there were enough options that we were able to find someone who knows her and also went to UGA.

Would you get more than one rec if that was the case?

dgdramadawg · #4 06-30-2007, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

I was just talking with my daughter's best friend's mother today and we were going over the list, and as luck would have it, in most cases there were enough options that we were able to find someone who knows her and also went to UGA.

Would you get more than one rec if that was the case?

If she had two recs to a chapter it wouldn't hurt her, especially from on campus alumnae.

DeltaBetaBaby · #5 07-01-2007, 02:26 AM

For Phi Mu, an active member may not write a recommendation.

Maybe this is a list we should compile and archive somewhere.

amanda6035 · #6 07-03-2007, 12:16 PM

interesting topic...makes me wonder about No-Recs though. Completely (haha) hypothetical scenario - If you were at a school where a PNM caused problems - problems so bad that even the greek advisor said she was bad news, and you caught wind that she was tansferring to another school with your organization - would it be appropriate for the chapter president to send a No-Rec to the new chapter? or should it still be by an alum? Thoughts?

AlphaFrog · #7 07-03-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amanda6035

interesting topic...makes me wonder about No-Recs though. Completely (haha) hypothetical scenario - If you were at a school where a PNM caused problems - problems so bad that even the greek advisor said she was bad news, and you caught wind that she was tansferring to another school with your organization - would it be appropriate for the chapter president to send a No-Rec to the new chapter? or should it still be by an alum? Thoughts?

I would say that it was appropriate for ANY sister to send a letter to the other chapter, whether it be a formal Letter Of Concern/No Rec or an email saying "Hey, this girl is no good". Although, I do think that valid concerns should be addressed, not something like "She wore a navy blouse with black pants" or something personal and petty like "She looked at Suzy Sister's boyfriend".

violetpretty · #8 06-30-2007, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

Personally, if I was going to UGA, I would not get a rec from an XYZ at UGA who doesn't know me over an XYZ from Alabama who knows me well.

I agree that it is probably good to have a rec writer who know the PNM, and that it is good to have more than one rec at SEC schools, so it would be better to get both in that case.

However, JaimeNicole went to Maryland and is from Maryland, so a good deal of her contacts are going to be from a very different campus culture than this SEC school. Would it be better to have 2 recs from up women up North who know the PNM well, or 2 recs from strangers in the SEC?

Let's assume she's aiming for 2 recs per chapter, and there are two women up North who know this PNM well. Which scenario is better:

1. Should the southern AP only be used to "fill in the gaps" where contacts can not be found through one's own network? This would mean that the PNM would only use the recs from the women up North.

2. Or should there definitely at least one rec writer from the same school (or similar campus culture) regardless of how many northern contacts this PNM has?
This would mean the PNM would get one from each, or both northern contacts, plus a southern rec from a local AP.