"I'm rushing 'for' a certain chapter"

[BlueBayou]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Hmmmm...this link is to Southern California University(USC) not the University of South Carolina (also USC)....

Yikes. Sorry about that. https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and...ylifeuofsc.pdf

Here is South Carolina- I don’t see any mention of references. Eight or so years ago the brochure (printed) I saw at my in-laws house specifically said references were not needed - I was SHOCKED. I was reading it right before my niece was heading off to USC.... with only one reference. Once home, I wrote one for my sorority and secured two more sororities for her. Less than a month before recruitment.

You can guess how her recruitment went. Heavy cuts. Did not pledge. Later her freshman year she pledged COB and had a wonderful Greek experience. The girls were super sweet when we went to graduation.

But I was left disturbed by the communication coming from The Panhellenic to the PNM. I think her formal recruitment would have gone differently if her family had any idea about securing references.

[FSUZeta]

We have seen this before. That line that says “It is the sorority’s obligation to find a recommendation for you”. Um.....no, that isn’t going to happen unless you are super-duper awesome, with tippy top grades, and a patent or cancer cure to claim. And that will happen toward the end of the process, not at the beginning when a rec might be crucial in order to advance to the next round. Bottom line-girls, do yourselves a favor and work real hard )it is work and it can be hard) to get one rec per house. Network with neighbors, relatives, teachers, you parents friends, your friends parents, girls from your HS who graduated before you, etc. Notify your contact list via FB that you are looking for recommendations. Have your parents and close relatives do the same.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by BlueBayou

Yikes. Sorry about that. https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and...ylifeuofsc.pdf

Here is South Carolina- I don’t see any mention of references.

That booklet isn’t from Panhellenic- it’s from U of South Carolina Greek life. I hope to goodness that Panhellenic (either the school or the nearby alumnae Panhellenic chapter) puts out one dealing with NPC rush only, because while I applaud their effort to be inclusive and show ALL the Greek organizations, it is also super confusing and not nearly enough specific information for ANY of the councils.

I feel like that was put together by someone who says “we don’t see color at all!” Which of course is a ridiculous and harmful thing to say.

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by BlueBayou

Yikes. Sorry about that. https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and...ylifeuofsc.pdf

Here is South Carolina- I don’t see any mention of references. Eight or so years ago the brochure (printed) I saw at my in-laws house specifically said references were not needed - I was SHOCKED. I was reading it right before my niece was heading off to USC.... with only one reference. Once home, I wrote one for my sorority and secured two more sororities for her. Less than a month before recruitment.

You can guess how her recruitment went. Heavy cuts. Did not pledge. Later her freshman year she pledged COB and had a wonderful Greek experience. The girls were super sweet when we went to graduation.

But I was left disturbed by the communication coming from The Panhellenic to the PNM. I think her formal recruitment would have gone differently if her family had any idea about securing references.

Several things I see: the booklet is for ALL Greek councils at Carolina. I can see why they wouldn't put anything there about recs. There is a very cool online tutorial for the women. Since we can't see that because we can't sign up for recruitment, I bet something about recs is covered there. $5 on that one,BB?

[Remiechi]

Florida State’s Panhellenic Recruitment FAQ page still says recs “are in no way required and do not impact the recruitment process in any way.”

[BlueBayou]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Several things I see: the booklet is for ALL Greek councils at Carolina. I can see why they wouldn't put anything there about recs. There is a very cool online tutorial for the women. Since we can't see that because we can't sign up for recruitment, I bet something about recs is covered there. $5 on that one,BB?

I promise you. About 8 years ago, I saw the glossy Panhellenic brochure in my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws home during a summer trip to Tennessee. NPC sororities only.

My niece told me she was going through recruitment. I asked her what references she had, and she only had one from her best friend's mom. Then she and her mom said that you do not need references at South Carolina and pulled the brochure out to show me. It plainly stated that you did not need references to go through recruitment at USC.

This then became a source of a marital argument between my husband and me. I kept whispering to him that they were wrong, that USC was very competitive and references were most likely a must. He said "they wouldn't write that in the pamphlet if it wasn't true." Oh and "things have changed since the 80s when you were in a sorority." And USC is different from the school you went to. Me: "Yeah, USC is COMPETITIVE, my school was not!"

But I asked for my niece's resume - and once we flew home I wrote a reference for my sorority and secured a KKG and I believe a XO. These would have come in about a week or two before recruitment. Way, way late.

Recruitment was brutal - from talking with my non-greek SIL - I don't know if she dropped out after heavy cuts or if she was actually released. My niece is a super outgoing, popular kid with great grades in HS. (She was in the honors program at USC and only made 1 B her entire college career - so grades were not a factor). But she learned most PNM - had tons of references.

My husband then told me "What the hell kind of system tells you one thing and then expects another?"

I know right after formal recruitment - the girls from the chapter she ended up pledging reached out to her and she went through an informal process to join.

[BlueBayou]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Several things I see: the booklet is for ALL Greek councils at Carolina. I can see why they wouldn't put anything there about recs. There is a very cool online tutorial for the women. Since we can't see that because we can't sign up for recruitment, I bet something about recs is covered there. $5 on that one,BB?

I FINALLY found their current wording:
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are not required but if submitted, are strongly encouraged to only be submitted electronically. If you have a coach, teacher, counselor, or mentor interested in writing you a letter of recommendation, they can make their recommendation electronically through the USC Sorority Recruitment Letter of Recommendation form by Aug. 4. The letter of recommendation form will open on May 1 and close on Aug. 4.

https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and...ecruitment.php

It was under the legacy notification and letter of recommendation form section.

[33girl]

That’s a SCHOOL recommendation form. It’s completely pointless as far as being the form that is preferred/required (depending on the GLO) by the sorority to offer a bid. Plus people who aren’t Greek - not to mention people who have zero to do with USC - not to mention men - can use it. What a confusing waste of time!! I can’t imagine what happens when these chapters get dozens of forms from Joe Schmo the science teacher from Walla Walla High. (Actually I can imagine - they go in the wastebasket) Plus the legacy section above makes it seem like the only time you need to use a form from a national sorority is when the rushee is a legacy. Gahhh, if you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Remiechi

Florida State’s Panhellenic Recruitment FAQ page still says recs “are in no way required and do not impact the recruitment process in any way.”

I can only hope that people who know better super-spam their Facebook and Instagram pages with the correct information.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I can only hope that people who know better super-spam their Facebook and Instagram pages with the correct information.

THIS times a zillion. Thanks once again, 33.

Here's the bottom line: many NPC chapters require a letter of recommendation as part of the membership intake process.

SO? Get the (insert adjective/expletive of your choice here) recs/letters. Just get them. There are so many excellent threads here on GC about how to secure recs. I have even written "informational recs" for pnms that I do not know personally, as a courtesy to my NPC sisters who ask for help with PNMs. It's no skin off my fingers to do it and I do not want to stand in anyone's way when it comes right down to it.

/swerve: BlueBayou I had breakfast this morning with my Tri Delta buddy (the one I already told you about) and one of her pledge sisters was also at the same restaurant. You guys are everywhere! My friend also has a pine sticker with "alumna" on her car (don't ask me to take a photo, I won't, I was in the generation that didn't photograph anything! thank GOD for that!!!). About the sticker - envious, so I ordered a really cool kite decal for my rear windshield. I ordered some extras for my GC Theta sisters, too. I may mail them before Christmas. Don't hold your breath.

[BlueBayou]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

/swerve: BlueBayou I had breakfast this morning with my Tri Delta buddy (the one I already told you about) and one of her pledge sisters was also at the same restaurant. You guys are everywhere! My friend also has a pine sticker with "alumna" on her car (don't ask me to take a photo, I won't, I was in the generation that didn't photograph anything! thank GOD for that!!!). About the sticker - envious, so I ordered a really cool kite decal for my rear windshield. I ordered some extras for my GC Theta sisters, too. I may mail them before Christmas. Don't hold your breath.

Too cool! I do think PNM really need to understand it is life long membership - should they choose to embrace it.

Back on topic/
I just don't understand why some school's Panhellenic that have a pretty competitive rush make it sound like references are completely not needed. Obviously some schools, like Alabama, do a much better job an realistically posting what is Panhellenic required and what is individual chapters may require.

It's kind of like back in my day - we had deferred rush - so only college grades count. And the Panhellenic threshold to go through rush was something ridiculously low. Like a 1.75 or a 2.0. But a couple of the sororities had their thresholds set in the 2.75 range. For us specifically - there was one rush where more than 1/2 the girls were below our threshold and absolutely could not be pledged. At least now - most literature shows some sororities having higher grade requirements than the Panhellenic minimum. And I think I saw that Alabama had a chart that showed how many invites you are likely to get based on GPA alone. To me that is eye opening to a lot of PNMs who don't understand how grades really do impact their options.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by BlueBayou

I just don't understand why some school's Panhellenic that have a pretty competitive rush make it sound like references are completely not needed. Obviously some schools, like Alabama, do a much better job an realistically posting what is Panhellenic required and what is individual chapters may require.

It’s a misguided attempt to make the rush process seem more egalitarian and class free. Same with telling people to dress more casually than what is acceptable. Of course it completely backfires because only those “in the know” get the recs and the right outfits, and the old girl network perpetuates.

I mean you can wish for something to be a certain way until the cows come home, but by denying reality, you hurt people, not help them.

[granipc]

Originally Posted by Remiechi

Florida State’s Panhellenic Recruitment FAQ page still says recs “are in no way required and do not impact the recruitment process in any way.”

That's just straight BS... of course they can and do affect the recruitment process! How can Panhellenic even say that when they are not privy to what goes on behind closed doors in each chapter?

[granipc]

Originally Posted by BlueBayou

I FINALLY found their current wording:
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are not required but if submitted, are strongly encouraged to only be submitted electronically. If you have a coach, teacher, counselor, or mentor interested in writing you a letter of recommendation, they can make their recommendation electronically through the USC Sorority Recruitment Letter of Recommendation form by Aug. 4. The letter of recommendation form will open on May 1 and close on Aug. 4.

https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and...ecruitment.php

It was under the legacy notification and letter of recommendation form section.

And this confuses me... my sorority would not want it submitted through a university panhellenic form, they want it submitted through our national website on our form. Am I misunderstanding what this is saying?

[naraht]

Originally Posted by granipc

That's just straight BS... of course they can and do affect the recruitment process! How can Panhellenic even say that when they are not privy to what goes on behind closed doors in each chapter?

And frankly any school that forced this to be true would probably be abandoned by the NPC pretty quickly.