Number of recommendations?

AnchorAlumna · #1 06-12-2008, 12:00 PM

I have heard some tales about Texas alums overdoing recs, with pizzas, flowers and cakes delivered to boost their gal...and certainly women who've come through with multiple recs, even more than 22.
And I've heard that a handful of our very top chapters consider any more than 3 or 4 to be wasted...
It doesn't hurt to have more than one, but I wouldn't tell a PNM they had to have more than 1. It's hard enough to get 1. And 1 is all they need.

UGAalum94 · #2 06-12-2008, 02:25 PM

I wasn't thinking about anyone holding it against the PNMs with multiple recs or letters; I was just thinking that it probably ultimately isn't helpful for the chapters to actually receive this many and that it was actually something that could get so out of hand that it actually hindered chapters.

Not that getting multiple letters of support in one packet is a big deal, but when, say, girls who know that they need recs at UGA, hear that multiple letters and recs are better, recruitment chairs might start getting five packets per girl and they don't really NEED five per girl if the the content of each is really similar or if the first RIF or Rec writer did a good job.

It's kind of like recommendation letters for some highly selective colleges. They pretty much make clear in many cases that they don't want more than the ones they request; I think because beyond that it's a paperwork and filing nightmare AND there's not any real use for them.

But I've never been a recruitment or membership chair or adviser, so I really have no idea AND this is one of those areas for which I honestly have no recollection of what we did with them during recruitment back when I was rushing.

When PNMs ask me, I have no idea how to advise. There's a certain amount of work involved in producing recs, so saying oh, yeah get as many as you can really does carry a burden so somebody.

33girl · #3 06-12-2008, 02:53 PM

Does everyone in the chapter know how many recs a girl gets and who they're from, or do they just know she has a rec and so that issue is taken care of?

If this is too nebby, don't answer

FSUZeta · #4 06-12-2008, 03:30 PM

the chapter usually knows if a pnm has a rec. and someone with 22 would be famous!

i'm afraid that we are not going to be able to say "at uga, for abc sorority a pnm will need 3 recs. because if they are just 3 rec. forms, all with identical information, then there might as well have been one.

one terrific rec./letter should be sufficient, providing the pnm meets the criteria the chapter is looking for in a new member. one or two more should not harm the pnm. at chapters i have advised,the chapter recruitment v.p. usually keeps multiple recs. clipped together, and they are kept thruout recruitment in a filefolder in alpha order.

UGAalum94 · #5 06-12-2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

the chapter usually knows if a pnm has a rec. and someone with 22 would be famous!

i'm afraid that we are not going to be able to say "at uga, for abc sorority a pnm will need 3 recs. because if they are just 3 rec. forms, all with identical information, then there might as well have been one.

one terrific rec./letter should be sufficient, providing the pnm meets the criteria the chapter is looking for in a new member. one or two more should not harm the pnm. at chapters i have advised,the chapter recruitment v.p. usually keeps multiple recs. clipped together, and they are kept thruout recruitment in a filefolder in alpha order.

I don't think I ever knew as a chapter member who had recs, but I may have been especially clueless. I'm often amazed at what I either never knew or don't remember.

FSUZeta, is your standard answer when a girl asks how many recs she needs that "you need at least one really excellent one from someone who knows you well and one or two more wouldn't hurt"? It sounds pretty good to me.

And as long as not too many PNM exceed that by a wide margin, it shouldn't ever a problem. I just see some potential problems emerging if the moms start taking things to extremes.

FSUZeta · #6 06-12-2008, 09:41 PM

i guess it is, if i am not familiar with the desires of that particular chapter.

while recs. are important at many campuses, it really has so much more to do than just a great rec. like i said earlier, if the pnm is not what the chapter is looking for in a new member, a dozen recs. are not going to earn her a bid. on the other hand, many a great girl have been dropped because they did not have a rec. there is no perfect formula-the best a pnm can do is to do her homework, find out if recs. are expected at her school and find alumnae that can write recs. for her.

UGAalum94 · #7 06-12-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

i guess it is, if i am not familiar with the desires of that particular chapter.

while recs. are important at many campuses, it really has so much more to do than just a great rec. like i said earlier, if the pnm is not what the chapter is looking for in a new member, a dozen recs. are not going to earn her a bid. on the other hand, many a great girl have been dropped because they did not have a rec. there is no perfect formula-the best a pnm can do is to do her homework, find out if recs. are expected at her school and find alumnae that can write recs. for her.

I agree. And I guess that's one thing about advising girls to get more that concerns me. PNMS and their moms and alumnae may end up putting a great deal of effort into producing multiple letters of recommendation that ultimately won't do that much to affect the PNMs chances.

If she is well-qualified, has a good rec, and is a good fit for the chapter in the eyes of the current active members, she will do well. If she isn't otherwise well-qualified or isn't a good fit for the chapter in the eyes of the current members, a bunch of recs won't do any good.

And then of course there's just how my mind boggles at paper management of a multiple recs on each girl at a really big recruitment. 1000+ just seems like enough without having to handle 3000.

You are lucky to have an inside understanding of what particular chapters are looking for. Most of us, I'm afraid, don't have any idea of what goes on at any but our own undergraduate chapters.

breathesgelatin · #8 06-12-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

I have heard some tales about Texas alums overdoing recs, with pizzas, flowers and cakes delivered to boost their gal...and certainly women who've come through with multiple recs, even more than 22.

I don't guess it's revealing too much to say that 22-rec girl was from Texas. As were most of the other people we got huge packets on. We got packets on girls from a lot of other locales, but the Texas ones were usually biggest.

Don't know if it's just a Texas tradition or if Texas chapters just need and expect more.

LadyLonghorn · #9 06-13-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

I don't guess it's revealing too much to say that 22-rec girl was from Texas. As were most of the other people we got huge packets on. We got packets on girls from a lot of other locales, but the Texas ones were usually biggest.

Don't know if it's just a Texas tradition or if Texas chapters just need and expect more.

Everything is bigger in Texas. Y'all should know that by now!