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  #1  
Old 10-08-2009, 03:39 PM
DDDMomof3 DDDMomof3 is offline
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Recruitment at SEC schools

Hi everyone!

I'm new to GC and have several questions.

My daughter is a high school senior currently applying from out-of-state (VA) to several SEC schools, among them Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, and the University of Kentucky. Though I'm a sorority alumna myself, I attended a mid-western university (maaaaany moons ago), where recruitment was far less competitive and very different. We're trying to get a handle on the recruitment process my daughter will be a part of and would appreciate advice...

First, when I was in school (gulp, the late 70's), references were hardly used in my chapter. Yes, if we received one on a PNM, we did invite her back to second set as a courtesy--though I understand that's not the case now at most schools. And yes, we did have to secure a reference before we could offer a bid to a girl, but honestly, references weren't looked at by anyone other than the Recruitment and Reference Chairmen. That said, I understand things are very different at most SEC schools, so she's going to do her best to get a reference for every GLO at the school she ends up attending. From what I've read here on other threads, that seems very important.

Second, GPA and SAT/ACT scores were never mentioned in my chapter. Not sure why, but my guess is that since the university's admissions were pretty tough, it wasn't an issue (or perhaps those academic stats were noted by the reference chair from registration info or references, but never discussed openly with the chapter). Still, we never had "grade cuts" like those I've read about here, and I must admit I'm worried for my daughter. Though her final GPA should remain close to where it is now (a 3.8 in what is arguably one of the most competitive school districts in the country, with a tough grading scale of 94-100=A, etc), her test scores are, frankly, not so hot. Okay, they're downright lousy. She may bring them up later this fall, but if she isn't able to, is that going to result in her being released for academic reasons? How important are SAT/ACT scores to the sororities at these schools? Does a strong GPA trump bad test scores?

Finally, she will be an out-of-state girl participating in a huge recruitment involving mostly in-state girls. I have no experience with that, since my alma mater is relatively small, private, and we had girls rushing from all over the country with no ties to any of the active members within our chapter. Will being an oos girl make it almost impossible for her to receive a bid? I saw on a thread here that Auburn takes a fair number of oos girls (which makes sense since I believe a good chunk of the students are from oos), but haven't seen anything about Ole Miss, Alabama, or Kentucky. My daughter is very outgoing (her dad is a retired military officer, so she's moved seven times and connects very quickly with people), and she has a strong resume, but I worry about her getting lost in the shuffle. Any thoughts or suggestions? I should also mention that she's a double legacy (her grandmother and I) in a GLO with a chapter at all the schools she's applying to...but from what I've read here, that doesn't matter anymore, does it?

My apologies for such a LONG list of questions! Thanks so much for your help. And if anyone would prefer to PM me as opposed to posting here, that would be great, too!.
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  #2  
Old 10-08-2009, 03:54 PM
KSUViolet06 KSUViolet06 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DDDMomof3 View Post
Hi everyone!

I'm new to GC and have several questions.

My daughter is a high school senior currently applying from out-of-state (VA) to several SEC schools, among them Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, and the University of Kentucky. Though I'm a sorority alumna myself, I attended a mid-western university (maaaaany moons ago), where recruitment was far less competitive and very different. We're trying to get a handle on the recruitment process my daughter will be a part of and would appreciate advice...

First, when I was in school (gulp, the late 70's), references were hardly used in my chapter. Yes, if we received one on a PNM, we did invite her back to second set as a courtesy--though I understand that's not the case now at most schools. And yes, we did have to secure a reference before we could offer a bid to a girl, but honestly, references weren't looked at by anyone other than the Recruitment and Reference Chairmen. That said, I understand things are very different at most SEC schools, so she's going to do her best to get a reference for every GLO at the school she ends up attending. From what I've read here on other threads, that seems very important.

Second, GPA and SAT/ACT scores were never mentioned in my chapter. Not sure why, but my guess is that since the university's admissions were pretty tough, it wasn't an issue (or perhaps those academic stats were noted by the reference chair from registration info or references, but never discussed openly with the chapter). Still, we never had "grade cuts" like those I've read about here, and I must admit I'm worried for my daughter. Though her final GPA should remain close to where it is now (a 3.8 in what is arguably one of the most competitive school districts in the country, with a tough grading scale of 94-100=A, etc), her test scores are, frankly, not so hot. Okay, they're downright lousy. She may bring them up later this fall, but if she isn't able to, is that going to result in her being released for academic reasons? How important are SAT/ACT scores to the sororities at these schools? Does a strong GPA trump bad test scores?

Finally, she will be an out-of-state girl participating in a huge recruitment involving mostly in-state girls. I have no experience with that, since my alma mater is relatively small, private, and we had girls rushing from all over the country with no ties to any of the active members within our chapter. Will being an oos girl make it almost impossible for her to receive a bid? I saw on a thread here that Auburn takes a fair number of oos girls (which makes sense since I believe a good chunk of the students are from oos), but haven't seen anything about Ole Miss, Alabama, or Kentucky. My daughter is very outgoing (her dad is a retired military officer, so she's moved seven times and connects very quickly with people), and she has a strong resume, but I worry about her getting lost in the shuffle. Any thoughts or suggestions? I should also mention that she's a double legacy (her grandmother and I) in a GLO with a chapter at all the schools she's applying to...but from what I've read here, that doesn't matter anymore, does it?

My apologies for such a LONG list of questions! Thanks so much for your help. And if anyone would prefer to PM me as opposed to posting here, that would be great, too!.

About recs: At most of the schools you've mentioned, a rec is more of a standard thing than anything else. It's one of those things that every PNM will have, so it doesn't necessarily guarantee invites or a bid to a chapter. However, they are important because depending on where she goes, it will be hard to get past the first day without them.

Being a legacy: It's great that she is a legacy but I'm sure you have heard all about how some chapters have enough legacies going through to fill an entire class with them (or close to it).

Best piece of advice: Keep an open mind.
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  #3  
Old 10-08-2009, 03:59 PM
Titchou Titchou is offline
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There are several threads on here about Alabama and Ole Miss....Kentucky not so much. If she should decide on Alabama, I strongly suggest she go to the spring PH weekend....very important. Both schools have plenty of oos so I wouldn't worry about that but the recs are mandatory both places. It's hard to get past the first round without them. Good luck!
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  #4  
Old 10-08-2009, 04:55 PM
FSUZeta FSUZeta is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Titchou View Post
There are several threads on here about Alabama and Ole Miss....Kentucky not so much. If she should decide on Alabama, I strongly suggest she go to the spring PH weekend....very important. Both schools have plenty of oos so I wouldn't worry about that but the recs are mandatory both places. It's hard to get past the first round without them. Good luck!
yes, yes, yes! your daughter needs to have recommendations to each and every chapter that are on her campus. as ksuviolet says, your daughter should keep an open mind and should not listen to "tent talk". she especially should not let everyone know which houses she likes. a pnm at my daughters school let everyone know that she only wanted "xyz" sorority. you can guess what happened- xyz did not invite her back and she ended up with only one invitation on a day when pnms could attend up to 3 houses(on a campus of 5 sororities). her invitation was to a house she and her mother deemed undesirable and mom phoned the greek life office because she was sure that the computer had undoubtedly had a hiccup-i never found out if the daughter attended her one party or not, but she has only herself to blame.

oos girls can and do receive bids at all the schools you listed. as to how her sat/act scores effect her recruitment, i couldn't say. at my daughters school and at the chapters i have advised, i have never seen those scores, only gpas. i would think if her scores would good enough to get her admitted to the school and with her gpa she should be okay. hopefully one of the sec ladies can give you better information.

best wishes to her(and to you ;it is hard on us moms,too).
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  #5  
Old 10-08-2009, 05:15 PM
Zillini Zillini is offline
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As Titchou said, there are a bunch of Bama threads here that should provide you with a lot of info. The date for Panhellenic Preview Weekend was just announced. It will be the weekend of March 27th. The UA Greek Life webpage will have a registration link put up when it is closer to the date. There is also a ton of general Recruitment info there if you click on the various links.

As a general statement, a 3.8/4.0 cummulative HS GPA should be safe from GPA cuts regardless of ACT/SAT scores. Chapters realize that not everyone tests well.

As for being from out-of-state, coincidentally I just received some stats for 2009 Bama Recruitment:

% of all PNMs Participating
OOS: 57%
In State: 43%

% of PNMs who received Bids*
OOS: 84%
In State: 81%

% of all PNMs who received Bids*
84%

*Includes both those who voluntarily withdrew and those who were released.

Last edited by Zillini; 10-09-2009 at 03:30 PM. Reason: Accidently had switched stats for all PNMs
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  #6  
Old 10-08-2009, 05:17 PM
tootiepie tootiepie is offline
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My daughter just went through recruitment this fall at LSU and grades were very important. I don't think the ACt was that important. We were told to have more than one rec for the more popular groups. I don't know if that is the case at Ole Miss and Bama. . You might want to check it out and see what is the norm. Most groups at LSU wanted 2. I think if she has a good personality and is able to talk to people easily she should be fine.
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  #7  
Old 10-08-2009, 06:29 PM
DDDMomof3 DDDMomof3 is offline
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Ladies,

Thanks so very much! You are ALL wonderful!

I was thrilled (and surprised) to see so many oos girls pledge at Bama, and if my daughter ends up going there, we will definitely go to the Spring Preview weekend...which just happens to fall over her Spring Break!

And I'm glad no one who's posted so far seems to think her test scores will be a problem. The poor girl can take these darn things--and do really well-- sitting at our kitchen table, but put her in a real testing situation and she completely freezes up. It's been a huge disappointment to her, but we're just relieved that anxiety doesn't extend to taking tests in the classroom!

One more question. Since we've moved around so much (eleven moves for my husband and me), I've lost touch with many of my old friends (civilian and military) who could provide sorority recs for my daughter, and, unfortunately, I haven't met any sorority alums since we settled here. My understanding is that we don't have an alumnae panhellenic group in our area, so recs are pretty tough to come by. I do have some military friends who can cover a few of the chapters...any thoughts as to what my daughter can do to acquire the rest??
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  #8  
Old 10-08-2009, 06:58 PM
tootiepie tootiepie is offline
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Do you know anyone in the community who had daughters that went through recrtuitment at other schools? One of the people who helped me the most was an older lady that worked with me. Her daughter was in her 30's but she still remembered the names of all the ladies in town who wrote recs for her daughter. It ended up I know most of them but I didn't know that they were in sororities. I don't think I could have done it without her help.
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  #9  
Old 10-08-2009, 08:43 PM
FSUZeta FSUZeta is offline
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your daughter should mention to her teachers that she is planning to participate in recruitment; surely some of them are sorority members. she should also ask parents of her friends, your neighbors , ladies at your church, people that you or your husband work with(some pnms have found recs. from men that one of their parents worked with whose wife is a sorority member) as well as people in organizations that you are members of.

also network with the sorority members with whom you have kept in touch. they may know women in different sororities who would be willing to write your daughter a rec. based on your friends recommendations.
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Last edited by FSUZeta; 10-08-2009 at 08:46 PM.
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  #10  
Old 10-09-2009, 11:46 AM
DDDMomof3 DDDMomof3 is offline
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Great ideas all!

Several people have PM'd me since yesterday with tons of advice and wisdom and offers of assistance. Many thanks to all of them--and to all of you here on the thread! The generosity here at GC is truly amazing!!
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  #11  
Old 10-31-2009, 08:21 PM
Dsull3503 Dsull3503 is offline
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SEC recruitment question

hey everyone, i have a question too. Im from NY and plan on rushing spring semester at the University of South Carolina. Does being from NY really hurt my chances of getting into a fraternity? And if so, is there anything i could do to help my chances?
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