And Alpha Gams. There are lots of us in Michigan.

I say that based on a few things. When I went through recruitment, girls gave the same reaction to recs as brighteyedgirl, they only knew if they were legacy status and had no clue what recs were unless they came from a rec-heavy area. In terms of my own chapter, we didn't see many recs at all, unless the PNMs came from a rec-heavy area (SEC country, primarily). I also was curious as to if this was just us, since we don't have a ton of chapters in the area = harder access to alums and thus recs, so I asked members of other chapters and they said the same thing. We get some recs, but not the stacks and stacks of them you see at an SEC chapter. Legacies yes (some chapters could fill their PCs with legacies), recs...not so much. Sure, it helps get your foot in the door and an early early advantage, but in the long run, they just don't have a ton of weight at IU.

I agree. IU is not a rec heavy school. Since IU is a Dec & Jan recruitment school, recs are helpful for pre-recruitment activities, but the majority of women don't have them. (to give a rough idea, last year there were approximately 1600 women that went through recruitment, our chapter had about 100 formal recs- incl. legacy forms).

(edited for brevity!) Thanks, I see now. It's a very helpful explanation! It helps to have context. Much appreciated.

ETA: I could veer off on a tangent (no worries, not going to) and wonder if some chapters get lots of recs. But it is a tangent and not germane to the topic and I'm not going to wonder about it. Any more. At all. Ever again.

I concur with FR and IUHoosierGirl88. Recs really just get a girl invited to a pre-rush lunch or dinner. That way the chapter can say they gave the PNM and extra look without committing to inviting her to 14 party. From others I have talked to on campus, 100 recs seems to be about the average for IU. I know some chapters s get a few more and some even get less than 100. I know that it must sound odd that with a recruitment that large and competitive recs just aren't a big deal, but they aren't.

I think I understand what y’all are saying, but perhaps I’m missing something. Isn’t one of the reasons of securing a recommendation – regardless of the school – is to get that "foot in the door" and perhaps an "early advantage”?

If I remember correctly, IU’s unique recruitment structure is such that quota is not set based on the number of women attending preference. Each chapter bases the number of bids to extend based on the number of “bed spots”. As such, many women do not receive a bid - even some who attend three preferences parties.

So it seems to me that while a recommendation may not be needed to receive a bid (well, other than those sororities that require one), having any type of an advantage (i.e. recommendation) might help a PNM to maximize her options. Of course, once the PNM has her “foot in the door”, it is still up to her to win over the members.

^^TSteven, I am going to go out on a limb and say something that might get me some fire, but with RFM and strong recruiting chapters having to make heavy cuts early, the "foot in the door" as you called it is just a formality. Inviting the rec over to a pre-rush dinner is way to say your gave them an extra look, but in reality it's a way to be able to let them go after 14 party if you have to make heavy cuts. They believe it appeases the rec writer without having to give up a spot in their invitation list during heavy cuts.

I see what you are saying. Thanks.

i have a university up for debate. the university is California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

when i went to the greek life website today it had a webpage just for letters of rec. when i went through in 2002, i was so clueless and had no idea what they were. i think this had some part in why i didn't get a bid. now, from personal experience i know a lot of girls who go through are legacies and are prepared with recs.

just putting this out there for people to think about...

I have a question about recs, can you get recs from your local panhellenic AND local alumnae for each sorority?

Recs are best gotten from someone you know personally. Going to alumnae panhellenic is what you do after you have gone through all people you know who may be sorority alumnae.

are recs really Realistic? i'm going to use myself as an example here, even though i don't THINK recommendations are something that i require for the sororities at my school. i'm a first generation college student and i haven't been exposed to a lot of college graduates, let alone greek alumane. rushing was a whim decision for me, so how really would i be expected to collect recs?

It depends on the school, which is the purpose of this thread. While girls CAN get bids at even the most competitive schools without them, the expectation is that you need them and that cuts will be especially harsh if you don't do the legwork in advance. I'm not a fan of the process, except where the rushee is a close personal friend of the rec writer. But If I were close friends with an 18 year old heading off to one of the schools listed here, I'd still suggest she do the legwork and get the 2 recs per chapter. If you're going to one of these schools, do the reading here to get up to speed and then start beating the bushes to find the recs.

So none of your high school teachers, counselors, coaches, Sunday School teachers, employers, parents' employers, neighbors, etc went to college???? And if they did and weren't Greek, they don't know anyone in your town who is????? That's what we mean by networking....

Titchou hit the nail on the head.