what is the point of recs?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if a PNM goes to an SEC school, and the fact that she was Miss Teenaged America, has a 4.0 GPA, and was perfectly lovable came out during Open Houses, I'm fairly certain that the house would find recs for her.

Other than that, recs have become like many other facts of adult life: a hoop to jump through to prove that you really do want it.

The question isn't about the MTAs or daughters of movie stars, etc - they're pretty high profile. They're going to find a home and get asked back.

The question is the girl who was involved in HS and has an overall decent resume - is on par with most of the other girls going through rush, except she doesn't have recs and they do. And it isn't because she "didn't take the initiative" or "prove she really wants it" - it's because she believed the Panhel site that said "you don't need to get recs, the sororities will do it." Will the sorority who has to stay up till 1 AM to cut 50% of the girls after first round do that extra work to find a rec for her?

It's kind of like the schools that say "jeans are OK for first round" and the PNM believes it, and gets there and everyone else is wearing dresses.

In all seriousness, why do Panhellenic/certain groups do this? They come out and say you have to have a certain GPA, they come out and say you need to fulfill your financial obligations, why can't they come out and say you need to get your own recs?