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

[FSUZeta]

Me too.

[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.

[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.”

[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?

[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.

[OldFLDDD]

My daughter went through at South Carolina last year. I totally agree with 33girl in that "those in the know" know to disregard any "recs are not needed" wording from the school's Greek Life page, and also know what to wear, etc. Really does a disservice to those girls coming from non-Greek families or are otherwise clueless about the process. We can keep shouting from the rooftops that RECS MATTER but you'll always have people pointing at the Shiny Brochures that say they do not...lots of debate about this on other forums, as I'm sure many of you know.

[AnchorAlumna]

I'm actually pretty angry at NPC for pretending that recs don't matter and thus handicapping so many PMs out there. Why can't they just at least say they could be helpful? I hear the verbiage, "demanding recs is so elitist" but it's reality.
By telling the truth, they're actually making it more fair for everyone.

[Jen]

I have run into a few ladies who have assumed they didn't need them because of the wording on the Panhellenic page, found out otherwise, and are now panicking to get things together. It does such a huge disservice to them, so I totally agree AnchorAlumna. I go out of my way to help ladies in this situation - almost all are from places where recs wouldn't be common, and it's likely harder to find Greek contacts, so they are already behind the eight ball.

[KSUViolet06]

I think Texas PHC was the only Panhellenic site I've seen that even came close to saying "YOU NEED THESE."

From their FAQs:

Do I need recs to go through recruitment?


Yes, you can still register and participate in recruitment without obtaining references. However, it is HIGHLY encouraged you seek out references for all of the chapters at UT. Try your best to find women willing to submit a reference, they only help the chapter to get to know you better. However, sometimes you won't be able to find a member of one or two chapters. In this case do not stress, chapters will still get to know you through your registration materials and through their conversations with you.

How many references should I try to get? Should I try to get them for every chapter?


We encourage all PNMs to actively seek recommendations for all chapters at UT. On average PNMs at UT submit 1-2 recommendations for each chapter.


Now they do not spell out "IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE, THEY WILL DROP YOU" but this is slightly better than "Don't worry! The chapters will get them and they are totally optional."

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Not to excuse any of this behavior, but most PNMs just survived college admissions, where it is A-OK to declare a favorite publicly. In fact, for the best odds, you are supposed to commit yourself "early decision" to Whassamatta U. It's normal to spend senior year discussing first choices, safeties, etc., and for the most part, kids don't get rejected at Auburn because Auburn found out that the real first choice was UGA. Maybe they are generalizing from that.

Then they are stupid.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Not to excuse any of this behavior, but most PNMs just survived college admissions, where it is A-OK to declare a favorite publicly. In fact, for the best odds, you are supposed to commit yourself "early decision" to Whassamatta U. It's normal to spend senior year discussing first choices, safeties, etc., and for the most part, kids don't get rejected at Auburn because Auburn found out that the real first choice was UGA. Maybe they are generalizing from that.

But Kids DO get rejected if they have all over Facebook their first choice was UGA and they end up at Auburn (just not by the admissions office...)