yet another question about recs...lol

[lawgal]

I definately would not be mass emailing. Would it be wrong to ask if they know of any local (or regional) alumnae chapters for their sorority? Or would it just be better to try the sorority's national for that? Or would that be inappropriate also? I really appreciate the advice, since it looks like some pnms take the wrong steps to get their recs and I would not want my daughter to do anything that would hurt her, or that would teach her the wrong things to do....

[violetpretty]

There are a lot of places your daughter can find alumnae. Once you find one sorority alumna, she will often know of others! Many sororities do allow collegians to write recs, so don't discount one if your daughter knows her personally (assuming her sorority allows collegians to write recs). It would, however, be inappropriate to contact University of Michigan chapters soliciting recs.

This list should give you some ideas of how to find sorority alumnae:

Teachers
Coaches
Activity sponsors
HS staff members
Parents' friends
Grandmothers' friends
Older friends
Older siblings' friends
Older sisters of friends
Older friends of friends
Women from a place of worship (if applicable)
Women from your daughter's job (boss/coworkers)
Babysitters

Recs are best when the rec writer knows the PNM personally. Since you have a whole year to try to hunt down rec writers, you should be able to find a good amount. Once you've asked everyone you could possibly think of, THEN you should "fill in the gaps" with alumnae panhellenic or alumnae chapters of sororities. I live in a small town (granted it is only 45 minutes from Washington DC---but it's only 5,000 people and pretty redneck) and I could point a PNM in the direction of alumnae from at least 3/4 of the NPC. You'll find some alumnae.

[AlphaXi_Husky]

Originally Posted by lawgal

I definately would not be mass emailing. Would it be wrong to ask if they know of any local (or regional) alumnae chapters for their sorority? Or would it just be better to try the sorority's national for that? Or would that be inappropriate also? I really appreciate the advice, since it looks like some pnms take the wrong steps to get their recs and I would not want my daughter to do anything that would hurt her, or that would teach her the wrong things to do....

Most alum chapters are listed on national sororities' websites. If that's a route to take (and I'm not sure it is as I don't know much about getting - or writing - recs) then I would recommend looking on the websites and contacting people from there.