rec letters
 

My friend has me kind of freaked out about rush. I am going to SMU next year but I am still a senior in high school. Rush at SMU is after winter break. When should I start asking for letters of recommendation?

Now. You need to be lining them up, getting them your resume. Schools that have winter recruitment like to have recs in the fall so they can check you out on campus - so keep that in mind!

Thank you! I personally know a few people who can write rec letters for me, but for the chapters I don't know alumni from, should I try to contact a local alumni organization for those specific chapters to see if I can get in touch with an alumnae who may be willing to meet with me and then write a letter for me?

No, because you don't know if you know any women from those groups. They do NOT have to have attended SMU. They could be members from any chapter. So, make a list of all the groups on the campus. Note who you know in each group.

THEN, ask each of those women if they know members of the other groups you need. Greek women know other Greek women.

THEN, make a list of every women you know who might have gone to college: coaches, teachers, employers, mentors, parents of friends, neighbors, your parents' co-workers. Ask them if they were members of any of the needed groups...orif they know any.

Once you have exhausted all that, then you locate the local alumnae groups and try that when all else has failed.

Just rushed at SMU and you should definitely have recs. At least 1 each, but 2-3 per chapter is great if you can get any additional letters. They should be in by the fall, but you have at least six months so don't get too freaked out!

My biggest piece of advice for rushing at SMU is to get involved on campus as early as you can - Student Foundation, Program Council, club sports, commons council, etc - this is really the best way to meet sorority women.

Thanks so much! How did you go about getting letters?

If you live in Texas, there are many alumnae Panhellenic associations in cities who host information sessions for local girls, and also help PNMs with recs. We usually have a thread here that lists many of them. Look for it.

Where do you live, smusgraves? You can send me a private message if you don't want to post here. Thanks.

I actually made a thread last month because I was freaking out about getting the last few letters. You're way ahead of me - I had one letter one month out, but I ended up with one for each chapter by recruitment. My more organized friends had 2-3 for each house which is why I recommend so many.

Here's the link http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=224976 but I got letters from my mother's friends, two from my area alumnae groups, and a couple from older friends. Some of the SMU sororities allow current members at a different school to write a letter. This isn't necessarily preferred, but would be fine for your second or third letter.

Last little tip, there are casual get-to-know-you events (there were like 2 for each chapter this year) in the fall that cost like a $5 donation to attend. Go to all of them and meet as many girls as you can!

I tend to give this bit of advice on all recs: if you attend a house of worship, that's a great place to get recs. ALL of mine were somehow connected to my church.

You can ask your (church/temple) secretary to put something in the bulletin to the effect of, "Pammy PNM is planning to attend SMU, and is interested in joining a sorority. If anyone would please help her with recs, she would greatly appreciate it!" Or, you could network to your heart's content!

I concur with checking with all the church ladies. The ladies at my church LOVE LOVE LOVE to sit around and write recs.

Our church does not have the bulletin option, however, there is a private Women's Ministry Facebook page. Those pages seem to be common, at least in my area. That would be another great place to network. One post in that group and you can reach several hundred women.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to finding alumnae women. Get creative and network! It's always easier than PNMs imagine.

My church has Senior Sunday and prints a list of all the graduates. We all use that to contact the girls graduating to see if they need a rec.

You can also post on Facebook that you will be attending SMU and look forward to sorority recruitment. You might be surprised by family friends who respond with Greek affiliations you did not know they had!

THIS!

The bottom line is, so many people think that they don't know any Greeks, and yet, they're all around. I was fortunate to have seen sorority magazines prominently displayed in a few neighbors' homes, as well as having had an albeit deceased grandmother in a sorority. I was absolutely shocked, however, when I realized that literally everyone who had gone to college on my street was a member of a sorority or fraternity!

Teachers, coaches, parents of kids for whom you babysit - we're everywhere!

I just now went on a bike ride to the end of my street wearing an SMU shirt and met an alumnae who was in a sorority who happened to also be there. In the event I see her again, do you think it would be appropriate to ask her if she might be able to write me a rec letter?