Recruitment at Mizzou

[tds81510]

My daughter is preparing for recruitment at Mizzou in August. She will be a legacy to two different houses. She has recs and letters of support to every house except 3 (all new houses and don't know anyone who is a alumni at these houses).

She is out of state and was a direct admit to Journalism School and has very high test scores but she went to 3 different high schools and had a horrid year grade wise one year (moved in the middle of the year). She also received a large scholarship to Mizzou! Even with that GPA....

She graduated from an extremely tough prep school (top 50-100 in the country) and her GPA does not correlate with a student from a large public high school (had to take Calculus A/B, Physics I and II, Latin, two other languages, etc. and curriculum was all Honors and no AP offered)...She ended up being a class officer, yearbook editor, varsity swimmer, orchestra etc.

I am soooo worried about her GPA since I keep reading that she will be cut since her GPA is no where near 3.6........

She is not worried, as she feels that whatever happens will happen but I am the one worried as I don't want her crushed on Day 2-3 if she gets cut cause of grades (irregardless of her obvious brain power!!!)

She tells me it doesn't matter but I know she will be so sad---even though she told me she would go again her 2nd year after she has a 4.0.

Suggestions??? Her rec's all discuss the difficulty of the school and her having to go to multiple high schools etc.

Worried Mom!

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by tds81510

My daughter is preparing for recruitment at Mizzou in August. She will be a legacy to two different houses. She has recs and letters of support to every house except 3 (all new houses and don't know anyone who is a alumni at these houses).

She is out of state and was a direct admit to Journalism School and has very high test scores but she went to 3 different high schools and had a horrid year grade wise one year (moved in the middle of the year). She also received a large scholarship to Mizzou! Even with that GPA....

She graduated from an extremely tough prep school (top 50-100 in the country) and her GPA does not correlate with a student from a large public high school (had to take Calculus A/B, Physics I and II, Latin, two other languages, etc. and curriculum was all Honors and no AP offered)...She ended up being a class officer, yearbook editor, varsity swimmer, orchestra etc.

I am soooo worried about her GPA since I keep reading that she will be cut since her GPA is no where near 3.6........

She is not worried, as she feels that whatever happens will happen but I am the one worried as I don't want her crushed on Day 2-3 if she gets cut cause of grades (irregardless of her obvious brain power!!!)

She tells me it doesn't matter but I know she will be so sad---even though she told me she would go again her 2nd year after she has a 4.0.

Suggestions??? Her rec's all discuss the difficulty of the school and her having to go to multiple high schools etc.

Worried Mom!

Honestly, there is no good point to worrying. The GPA is what it is and nothing can change it now. It's being addressed in her recs. That's the best she can do. I would search high and low for alumnae from all groups; there's still time. There are great threads here on GC on how to obtain recs. Look in the Recruitment Forum.

Membership selection is based on many factors, of course, and the reality is that the first and easiest cuts during recruitment are based on GPA cut-offs. Some chapters may have "grade risk exceptions". We don't know. That's confidential to each chapter.

She may be better off to sit out freshman year, get that 4.0 she plans to attain, and rush as a sophomore. I'll let the Mizzou experts weigh in on that point.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Honestly, there is no good point to worrying. The GPA is what it is and nothing can change it now. It's being addressed in her recs. That's the best she can do.

This is exactly what I was going to say. If she plans to go through recruitment as a freshman, then there's no use worrying over her GPA. It is what it is and it can't be changed. And understand that there's a good chance she'll be cut by at least one chapter for that reason. Heck, there are some chapters that may cut PNMs even if they have a 3.8. There's no way to know, and there's nothing you or your daughter can do about it.

Have her get the remaining recs in order, and work on the things that she can control. Help her practice her conversation skills. When she least expects it (at the dinner table, when you're in the car, etc.), ask her a question that a sister might ask during recruitment. Help her build her confidence. Bring her to an event where she'll have to do a lot of hand-shaking and make small talk. And get her outfits in order, and make sure she'll be dressed appropriately for each day of recruitment.

And try to relax a bit, at least prior to her recruitment. If you're stressed, that's going to rub off on her. You can freak out (and drink lots of wine) when she's attending her first recruitment party.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Good luck to you both!

[Titchou]

And quit reading about what GPA will get her released! You don't know what each chapter will do. And they have her ACT/SAT score also to look at. And they know about which high schools are which and how they grade.

Get those other 3 recs. Have you asked all your rec writers if they know anyone in those 3 groups? Have you checked to see if they have alum groups in your city? Does your city have an alumnae Panhellenic? Did you register with them or contact them? Lots of options to locate a rec.

[FSUZeta]

Those recs do not have to be from alumnae of the Mizzou chapters-any Alum of the sorority will do.

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by tds81510

<snip>
She is not worried, as she feels that whatever happens will happen but I am the one worried as I don't want her crushed on Day 2-3 if she gets cut cause of grades (irregardless of her obvious brain power!!!)

She tells me it doesn't matter but I know she will be so sad---even though she told me she would go again her 2nd year after she has a 4.0.

Suggestions??? Her rec's all discuss the difficulty of the school and her having to go to multiple high schools etc.

Worried Mom!

She isn't worried. She says it doesn't matter.

Please listen to her.

It's her rush.

Please let her rush in her way. Do what you can to be of help, but it sounds like she has her stuff together. That's something that will stand her well in college. Let her develop it. IMHO, that's the biggest thing you can do for her.

[tds81510]

We are just missing Sigma Kappa and Sigma Sigma Sigma....I miscounted.. Being from the south, these are not known sororities--we have a while and I have asked everyone I know etc.

The good news is she is very outgoing and very astute when it comes to reading people---she knows how to be a conversant. Her teachers last year all complimented her at graduation with being the most mature and "she is so easy to talk to and so interesting".....
As a mom, I just don't want her sad on the first day of school as her suite mates all might have pledged..
Good news is she has a spectacular resume in every other way!

[tds81510]

Yes! I am an alum of a sorority so we have people from all over but her rec from her legacy houses are Mizzou alums as are several of her rec writers. One was the President only 5-6 years ago of one of the houses!

[Titchou]

Auburn has a Tri Sigma chapter now and Sigma Kappa is at several places in the south as well.Not knowing exactly where you are from it's hard to say but you should be able to round those up with a little research. PM me if you need ideas still.

[IndianaSigKap]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Auburn has a Tri Sigma chapter now and Sigma Kappa is at several places in the south as well.Not knowing exactly where you are from it's hard to say but you should be able to round those up with a little research. PM me if you need ideas still.

Sigma Kappa has chapters at UAB, Spring Hill College, Auburn, Central Arkansas, Florida, Tampa, South Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, UGA, North Georgia, West Georgia, Louisiana Tech, University of New Orleans, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Tennessee, Memphis, East Tennessee, UT Chattanooga, TCU, Houston. Not to mention women who went to a Northern, Midwestern or New England college and relocated to your area. I think if you look around you'll find a Sigma Kappa alumna for a rec.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by tds81510

As a mom, I just don't want her sad on the first day of school as her suite mates all might have pledged..

Please, please stop. She IS going to be sad over cuts at many points through rush... and life in general. That is growing up. She will get through it and so will you.

I am not a mom, but I do understand that seeing your child hurting is like a dagger in the heart. It is time to let that little bird fly on her own & become strong and independent.

I hear that wine helps ;-)

[FSUZeta]

[QUOTE=thetalady;2433205

I hear that wine helps ;-)[/QUOTE]

Yes it does!

[NorthernMom]

My daughter is at Mizzou in a sorority. Her GPA was not a 3.6 (almost) - and she rushed as a transfer sophomore. She did experience some pretty significant cuts, but she did attend 2 preference parties and ended up in her favorite of the two. She is also very much out of state.

She went through recruitment with her 3 suitemates. 2 were dropped....not sure why and no idea of their resumes, though they seemed like nice girls. The other ended up in the same chapter she did.

There is no cut and dry recipe - some girls who seemed to have all the right things either got dropped or dropped themselves.....and other girls who might not have the resume got through based on other qualities.

It sounds like she's got a good attitude about it.

I can't say as a Mom I didn't sweat it out. Especially when I started to hear about cuts that she and others she knew had experienced. But in the end it all worked out.

And yes....wine helps quite a bit!

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

Those recs do not have to be from alumnae of the Mizzou chapters-any Alum of the sorority will do.

Also, some sororities allow actives to write recs, so long as the active is not at the chapter where the PNM will be rushing. I'm not sure whether Sigma Kappa and Sigma Sigma Sigma are among them, but if they are, perhaps your daughter has a friend who went to a different school and joined one of those sororities and is still an active?

Originally Posted by DGTess

She isn't worried. She says it doesn't matter.

Please listen to her.

It's her rush.

THIS.

She may call you, ecstatic that she got a full schedule. She may call you in tears because her favorite chapter cut her. All you can do is listen to her and cheer her on and urge her to keep an open mind and keep smiling. And, hopefully, she'll be calling you on bid day with some good news.

And, yes, wine is your friend, but don't overdo it!

[mizdove]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

Also, some sororities allow actives to write recs, so long as the active is not at the chapter where the PNM will be rushing. I'm not sure whether Sigma Kappa and Sigma Sigma Sigma are among them, but if they are, perhaps your daughter has a friend who went to a different school and joined one of those sororities and is still an active?



THIS.

She may call you, ecstatic that she got a full schedule. She may call you in tears because her favorite chapter cut her. All you can do is listen to her and cheer her on and urge her to keep an open mind and keep smiling. And, hopefully, she'll be calling you on bid day with some good news.

And, yes, wine is your friend, but don't overdo it!

Sigma Kappa allows actives to write recommendations, even for the chapter they are in