Letters of Reccomendations

I was reading "Cut Once, Cut Again" in the Rush posts and I was wondering how important letters of recommendatons are if you are rushing a Panhellenic sorority? In the post, it seemed they were extremely important to get in. I have some acquantiances and friends in sororities, as well as a couple cousins involved. Some of these people I'm not even that close with anymore, so I don't knowe if I can get letters from them. I know it might be a little early to be worrying about this since I won't be transfering from a CA community college to a University of California campus until next fall (Fall 2001). I just want to be prepared and be a great candiate, especially since I'm going into rush as a junior. I've been thinking about asking my mother's coworkers and my own (I work in a large L.A. city department). Thanks for your help and sorry if I sound completely nuerotic!!

If anyone would rather answer me by email, just post that and I will email back, since I forgot my password to post mine. Thanks again.

[juniorgrrl]

CAgirl, I think it all depends on your school. At LSU, its *very* important to have recs, but when you consider how formal our rush is, it makes sense.

Someone on this board once said something to the effect of "my sisters and I got a recommendation form for a rushee once. We didn't know what to do with it!"

I would try contacting the Panhellenic Council or Office of Greek Affairs at the school you will be attending. They will be able to give you the best answer.

[DGMomofZeta]

CA Girl: It seems to be different everywhere. My daughter considered one school in Texas that wanted them, she ended up attending another school in Texas that did not emphasize them. She did not get cut at any rounds and ended up pledging. You do not have to know the people who write them...I have written them for people all over the country that I have never met. You just note that on the form and take the info off their resume or from whoever asked you to write it. As these girls from LSU have pointed out, they are important at many schools, particularly large Southern ones. I also live in California and the girls I know who went Greek at UC Schools (UC Irvine) did not get recs. At Pepperdine it is also not needed, I have worked with our chapter there.
I would call the Greek Affairs at the school. If you get the feeling rec's are needed, try to get them. As someone else mentioned in another thread, you can call your local panhellenic to find contacts. You might even try the NPC website as a starting point. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. DGMomofZeta, you said that I should contact the local Panhellenic or NPC website to get reccomindations, how do I ask for recs?

[DGMomofZeta]

CA Girl...In the rush booklet handed out to my daughter, it listed every Panhellenic rep in the state of Texas and said if you had specific questions about rush or rec's to call the one in your city. I don't know if the schools in Ca do the same. Rush is generally more relaxed on the West Coast and I don't think this will be the issue it is at some schools. As far as asking for rec's, be bold. When you call the Greek Affairs or Panhellenic tell them your dilemma, you are not the first person to have this problem. When I thought my daughter was going to the school where they were more needed I just bombarded everyone I knew and it turned out several of my husbands coworkers were Greek.
I live outside Los Angeles, feel free to email me if you want more info. Unfortunately I am from Texas and really more familiar with the Southern rush. What school are you going to?

[PenguinTrax]

CAGirl,

The best way to get a recommendation is to ask your mother if she, any of your relatives, or your family's friends were in a sorority. Teachers are another good source. Tell them that you are rushing at XYZ University and ask them to write and submit a letter of reference on your behalf. It is up to them to write and send the letter and they should know you well enough to do this. You only would need to have letters from women whose fraternities are on your chosen campus. So, if your Mom is a Kappa, and there is no Kappa chapter, she can write a general letter and you can enclose it with your application, but the chapters on campus may ignore it.

That being said...although it is nice to have letters sent in about you, it is the responsibility of the chapter to verify references of the potential members they will be pledging. Every NPC group has a system in place to do this. The best way to guarantee that a chapter can get a reference on you is to submit your application early.

Barbara
Rush Forum Moderator

DGMom of Zeta, I will be hopefully transfering to BERKELEY (#1 choice), UC Davis, or UCLA. I've been trying to contact at least one of the schools, especially since I know they all have pretty large and active greek systems. So, if anyone as any info. on the Greek systems at these schools, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[Tweety]

CAgirl

I go to UCD and if you have any questions about the greek system you should contact our Panhellenic association at greeklife@ucdavis.edu they arevery good about answering e-mails, you can also find out more about the greek system at UC Davis log on to www.gogreek.com/dcpa.html.