Schools where you absolutely positively need recs

[AOT767]

Originally Posted by Socalparent

My daughter and I recently visited OSU. Our tour guide was in a sorority so we asked about recruitment and specifically letters of rec. She said they weren't necessary but then I thought to double check here. I don't want to say the young lady didn't know but I'd rather err on the side of caution and get the recs.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as my school truly does not require them (and probably wouldn't know what to do with one if we got it!), but I feel like a lot of schools say recs aren't required, when in reality it's kind of hard to get through the first round without them. This may not be true of OSU, I have no idea about them specifically, but this is the general feeling I've gotten by reading through threads about bigger schools.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AOT767

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as my school truly does not require them (and probably wouldn't know what to do with one if we got it!), but I feel like a lot of schools say recs aren't required, when in reality it's kind of hard to get through the first round without them. This may not be true of OSU, I have no idea about them specifically, but this is the general feeling I've gotten by reading through threads about bigger schools.

Yes.

Basically, Panhellenic is its own entity, and formal rush is run by Panhellenic. They can't come out and say "you need recs to get past round 1" because Panhellenic doesn't know the specific membership selection policies of its member groups. It's true that you do not need recs at all to PARTICIPATE in rush.

And sororities don't want to put on their web pages "you can't pledge without a rec" because at some schools, that would hurt the number of interested women considerably. They also don't want anyone to misunderstand and think rec = guaranteed bid.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yes.

Basically, Panhellenic is its own entity, and formal rush is run by Panhellenic. They can't come out and say "you need recs to get past round 1" because Panhellenic doesn't know the specific membership selection policies of its member groups. It's true that you do not need recs at all to PARTICIPATE in rush.

And sororities don't want to put on their web pages "you can't pledge without a rec" because at some schools, that would hurt the number of interested women considerably. They also don't want anyone to misunderstand and think rec = guaranteed bid.

Further, if you are Suzy Awesome from the city with 8,000 XYZ alumnae, XYZ will find you a rec. It's just that the vast, vast, vast majority of PNMS are not Suzy Awesome, even if they think they are.

[Socalparent]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Further, if you are Suzy Awesome from the city with 8,000 XYZ alumnae, XYZ will find you a rec. It's just that the vast, vast, vast majority of PNMS are not Suzy Awesome, even if they think they are.

My PNM is Suzy sometimes Awesome. Glad we're in an area where there are alumnae left and right. And glad I found this site so I could look around and try to educate myself.