Another Clemson question
 

For those in the know, I'm curious. I am also only a bystander to this.

I have a niece attending Clemson in the fall. For various reasons, I don't know her well; I know of her accomplishments and her resume makes her seem competitive. Beauty queen, state-level office in a national organization, good grades, solid career plans, etc.

When I asked my (half) sister if niece was going to rush, I learned she has not yet prepared, but is sorta kinda interested. She doesn't know anything, apparently, which makes me think her circle of friends is not among those who have been raised for sorority rush.

Given that it's already mid-July, and she's just considering, is she so far behind the power curve that she'd have to make it her life's work to be ready in time? Not having a big-school rush experience, I don't know. My instinct tells me to let her see what school is all about first, but it is Clemson, so first-semester freshman rush may be her best chance. If she goes through with only those recs she can find last-minute, but is open, I'm sure she'd be okay, but I'd like to be able to advise a bit more than that.

Interestingly, in reviewing Clemson's rush FAQ, I note how clearly they state that getting recs is not a rushee's primary concern - they seem to go out of their way to downplay it. Yet it's on the "OMG you MUST have recs to think about rush here" list.

Downplaying recs. is politically correct, but not accurate. Recs. are important at Clemson-it is a competitive recruitment.

Your niece will have the best (most choices) chance if she rushes at Clemson during formal rush her freshman year. I would invite her and/or her mother or both to GC and have them read all the general rush threads.Perhaps you can assist by researching where the nearest alumnae panhellenic is, and provide them with that email address. At this date, they probably need help.

When I asked around to my friends in sororities, they really said recs weren't that important-several times I heard "oh, they're just pieces of paper, I had like one, you don't need them." I know that the girls saying this were freshmen who hadn't been through recruitment on the other side before, but they all seemed to have very successful recruitments, so I don't think it's a death blow to not have all the chapters covered. I wasn't really sure how to reconcile what they said with how GC says recs are necessary, so I figured I would cover all of my bases and get them anyways.

As for when to rush, while most girls are freshmen, many sophomores rush as well and there is an upperclassmen quota. AFAIK every chapter takes sophomores and many chapters take at least a few girls in spring informal recruitment. I would still recommend freshman formal rush as the best way to join a sorority, though.

The girls you spoke with might not know the inner workings of membership selection in their sororities. I would wager that recs. are not seen by the whole chapter.

Agreed, which is why I took what they said with more than a grain of salt. It's one thing for someone in the know like a recruitment chair to say that (not that they would anyways because that's MS) and another for freshmen who just went through rush to declare that they're not important.

I appreciate the advice - and the offers of help I've received.

I've only met my niece two or three times; mostly I get facebook posts of her mother's, and I know she's a beautiful woman with good grades and social skills. But I've not been much of a sorority influence on her (and, frankly, that may be a good thing). I'm going to suggest heavily that she make an attempt, but I suspect chances are only 50/50 or so that she'll rush. She's taking a very heavy course load and, as I said, is a state officer of a national organization, so time may weigh against her.

And, of course, the up side is that since she hasn't had lots of sorority influence, she hasn't picked a chapter or three that she "OMG MUST" have.

And when we look at the cut vs drop numbers, it doesn't appear that not having recs will kill your chances. The Awesome Alphas may require them because they need to do so many cuts per RFM, but the Decent Deltas might not REALLY require them. If she isn't going in with preconceived notions, the houses who won't keep her because of it might not be such a big deal.

Again please please when people are announcing individual rush results this year, would you state your rec history and results as part of it? It won't definitively answer the question, but it's the only method we've got. My OCD about can't take it!

Clemson is a competitive rush but not the same as an SEC school. Many of the girls I knew that went through recruitment last year didn't have a single rec and many of them didn't even sign up until a couple days before. I wouldn't say that rec letters are a make or break but can be helpful.