Texas Daughter's Recruitment Thread!

texasmom · #1 08-10-2006, 05:10 PM

My daughter will be going through Rush in about a week at a large Texas school. We've both been reading GreekChat entries for the past few months and been thankful for all the previous posts describing the entire process. We are neophytes in this, and are sort of flying by the seat of our pants. She's obtained several letters of reference from some of my friends who are alumnae of the sororities on her campus, but she hasn't been able to obtain recs for every single sorority on campus. She registered with our local Panhellenic alumnae association (which is awesome, by the way!) and also attended a pre-Recruitment Event on campus last spring.

I guess you could say we're both trying to be cautiously optimistic about her chances. My daughter will be a freshman at a large Texas University this fall. She graduated from high school with a stellar GPA and participated in several extracurricular activities with positions of leadership. She has some community service on her resume also. We both realize that this certainly won't qualify her for automatic entry into any sorority. I'm her mother, and of course I'm biased, but I do think she presents herself very well. She is an attractive, personable and stylish girl. Her down side is that she has no legacy status. I wasn't in a sorority and neither were her older sisters.

She's adamant about going through the Recruitment process, though, and realizes that nothing is guaranteed. In any event, it should be a good experience for her. If she makes a few new friends, it will be worth it.

She asked me to start a thread to chronicle her experience. In honor of one of our favorite TV shows (which we've watched together for the past five seasons), we're naming the sororities for 12 of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) AMERICAN IDOL contestants/judges.

There are 12 sororities at her school. We're going to name them as follows: :

1. Kelly
2. Taylor
3. Katherine
4. Clay
5. Ruben
6. Fantasia
7. Ace (one of favorite eye-candy contestants, by the way)
8. Chris
9. Tamyra
10. Paula
11. Randy
12. Simon

After the recruitment process is complete, my daughter will post her thoughts. I'm going to be deliberately vague in some of the details until it's done (although there are many sharp GreekChatters out there and I'm sure they'll figure some things out).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

southernyankee · #2 08-10-2006, 05:15 PM

I'm in the same boat! Good luck to you and yours! My daughter is rushing soon too. Hopefully both girls will be happy in the end!

owlie33 · #3 08-10-2006, 05:22 PM

Fantastic! Best of luck to your daughter and I LOVE the names you have chosen. I think I am going to root for Randy b/c he is always "keepin' it real".

FSUZeta · #4 08-10-2006, 05:30 PM

let me add my best wishes for texasdaughter finding her home at her university.

don't let the lack of legacy status concern you-it is not as big a determinant as you might think. at some colleges(in texas and elsewhere) there are so many legacies going thru recruitment that the chapters could extend bids only to their own legacies and still not have enough spots for them all, so the legacy automatic bid does not exist anymore. indeed, at some chapters, it seems to be a strike against you if you ARE a legacy.

Drolefille · #5 08-10-2006, 06:10 PM

YAY.. good luck! I'm going with Simon because he's British.

ufpiphi · #6 08-10-2006, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

don't let the lack of legacy status concern you-it is not as big a determinant as you might think.

I second FSUZeta's remarks and couldn't agree more.
I am not a legacy my recruitment turned out fine. Furthermore, only a few girls I knew who were legacies went to their legacy chapter, the others felt much more comfortable elsewhere.

I cannot wait to hear your daughter's rush story, rush at any Texas school seems as cutthroat as the big SEC schools! Best of luck to her!

navane · #7 08-10-2006, 11:49 PM

LOL! Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, K-E-L-L-YYYYYYYY!!! <chuckle...snort!>

Best wishes to your daughter. I hope she has a wonderful recruitment experience!

.....Kelly

Stef the Pef · #8 08-11-2006, 09:55 PM

Yay! Someone in Texas! Good luck to your daughter--I hope she has fun and I can't wait to hear your recruitment story!

BadSquirrelBeta · #9 08-12-2006, 02:48 PM

That is great you are being so supportive!! My mother **wasn't** "in" to my greek or college experience, so this is nice to see.

Jimmy Choo · #10 08-12-2006, 04:08 PM

Good luck to both you and your daughter!!!

Go Clay and Fantasia!!!

macallan25 · #11 08-12-2006, 08:52 PM

I'm not sure what "large Texas school" she is going to....but if its Texas, she had better have some damn good recs for the top houses. Its very competitive.

texasmom · #12 08-12-2006, 09:35 PM

TexasDaughter has personal letters of recommendation for many, but not all of the houses at her campus. Some of my friends who are sorority alumnae and known her for years, voluntereed to write the recommendations. Also, our local alumnae association has assisted with others. However, many people have cautioned us that having a pile of recs isn't the important thing at this school -- it's much more important to relate well with the sisters.

Also, I don't want her to get too caught up in getting into a so-called "top" sorority. She's trying to keep a truly open mind about all of the groups, and wants to give all the houses a fair chance. I think she really is clear-headed about what she wants, and that is, first to truly be part of a sisterhood and second, to be involved in an organization that contributes to helping others in a meaningful way.

Incidentally, we read a thread awhile back about how loud it is during the parties at the various houses. TexasDaughter knows she's going to have to speak clearly. We both thought that was an interesting tidbit and one that many PMNs and moms might not think of.

So right now we're counting down. We've hit various shopping malls and bought a lot of shoes -- that's been a challege -- finding cute AND comfortable footwear! The old Visa card has taken a hit.

TXMom · #13 08-14-2006, 05:07 PM

my daughter rushed last year at a large texas university with 12 national sororities....this ought to be fun!!!!

BadSquirrelBeta · #14 08-15-2006, 12:31 AM

you and your daughter are striving to be very Panhellenic already. That is great!! I bet she is soooo anxious to get there. How far away from you are you going to be from her college? Wow...Rush from a Mom's perspective. I don't have girls, (3 boys), but have nieces and special extended family members I hope to encourage to Rush when it is time. Keep us posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

LouisaMay · #15 08-15-2006, 11:36 AM

Oh boy!! You're almost there. I'm excited to see how things go for your daughter. ((((HUGS))))