Schools where you absolutely positively need recs

[Pingyang]

Originally Posted by Jill1228

I would think that UC Berkeley, UCLA and USC would require recs (or HIGHLY recommend recs)
Correct me if I am wrong on that

I went through formal recruitment at UC Berkeley as a senior (planning to stay a full 5th year) in 2004 without any recs and didn't get cut from all houses until after 3 rounds; the younger women I knew without recs didn't have a problem, and all were ultimately happy with their houses. Unless things are much different at Cal now, I would think that recs would be incredibly helpful, but not strictly necessary. Maybe the people I knew were just lucky.