<p>I’m sorry, I know this is very last minute, but I was wondering if anybody here would be able to put me in contact with a Chi Omega alumna who’d be willing to write me a letter of rec? I tried contacting both my city’s local panhellenic association and a specific Chi Omega alumnae association in the area, and neither have responded. I am really interested in their sorority, and since it’s one of the “harder” ones to rush, I’d be very grateful if anybody could help me out! I have stamps and envelopes ready to mail wherever.</p>
<p>Also I am still working on recs for Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Pi Beta Phi, & Zeta Tau Alpha if anybody happens to have any connections to these!</p>
<p>Chi Omega recs we’re due June 1st as they have to go through someone else to get approved. I didn’t get one either.</p>
<p>One of my very good friends is Chi O at UA and I just texted her about the June 1st thing. She said your rec needs to be someone from your hometown and should have been submitted by the end of June at the latest. This is only for Chi O as far as she knows though so I would still try and get recs before July 15 for the other ones you’re missing!</p>
<p>*was Chi O
She graduated this year but is helping with recruitment this fall.</p>
<p>I have a quick question for you (or your friend) kda1119. I found a recommendation writer for Chi O from my town, but she just sent in her rec to the person who has to sign off on it on June 24th. Does the recommendation have to arrive at Alabama by the end of June, or would they potentially accept the recommendation since it was technically submitted before July 1st? If they receive late recommendations, do they just ignore them?</p>
<p>Here is what the Alabama chapter of Chi Omega has to say about their deadline for recs:</p>
<p>“Once an alumna has completed a RIF [Recruitment Information Form – rec] form, the form goes through a very long process before it reaches Nu Beta. Please respect this process and the length of time it takes. All forms must make it to Nu Beta by July 15. In order for this to happen, alumnae need to turn in their RIF forms to the ARICs [Chi Omega Area Recruitment Information Chair – located in the pnm’s hometown] by June 1st. Please respect these dated guidelines as well as our policy that we do not accept late RIF forms out of fairness to other women going through recruitment whose alumnae had their forms in on-time and also because of the enormous of amount of women going through recruitment each year and the amount of time it takes our active members to process all of the paperwork.”</p>
<p>[Recruitment</a> « Chi Omega Fraternity Nu Beta Chapter at The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://nubetachiomega.com/recruitment/]Recruitment”>Recruitment — chiomeganubeta)</p>
<p>I texted her your whole question and this is all I got. </p>
<p>“There is no way a rec submitted to the area recruitment chair that late in June would make it to Chi O by July.”</p>
<p>She didn’t say they would ignore it but I’m not sure what they do with them! It is possible it might not even get there in time for recruitment which makes it irrelevant, I guess.</p>
<p>Don’t give up! ChiO has their own process for recommendations, and part of it is that it has to be signed by a particular person. You probably won’t know who that person is, but the ChiO that you ultimately find WILL know.
You need to keep looking for a ChiO, and for members of the other sororities. Keep asking people you know or meet. Teachers, people at church, work, your parents’ friends, your friend’s parents. Even men! They may have a wife-sister-mother-aunt-daughter-cousin who is a member.
You said you’ve gotten several recs already - ask the women who wrote those recs if they know someone in your missing groups. Often, they do!
Another method might be to go to a particular Facebook page. PM me and I can send you the name etc.</p>
<p>Do you have extra packets of your info to hand people when they do agree to write a rec? This would be a resume that includes your parents’ names and if they went to college and were in Greek groups, a photo or two, and a transcript.
These are very, very helpful to rec writers.
And be sure to write thank you notes!</p>
<p>I saw in another post that you had contacted an alumnae panhellenic organization. How did that work out?</p>
<p>It was astonishing to me that my “recruitment clueless” DH actually found three great rec writers for our DD…</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply! Would the same go for other sororities? (I guess this question is for everyone). What would happen if an alum sent your packet in late? I did all of my requesting and all of that, but some of the ladies never contacted me when they completed the recommendation. If they don’t send it until after the deadline, do those recs not get looked at? I’ve heard that if a girl doesn’t have recs by recruitment, some sororities try to find alums to write recommendations themselves (true?). Does that mean that if recommendations make it to the sororities by recruitment, they will still look at them? I know it won’t look as good for the PNM, but will they still be considered? I’m just starting to totally stress over the fact that we’re actually only a month away from moving in and going through recruitment! I found ladies for all of the sororities, but I’m just not sure if all of them sent in the recs on time. Also, what would happen if you sent in more than the suggested 2 recommendations per sorority? Just curious if this would hurt or hinder you in any way. :)</p>
<p>The only question I can confidently answer is the one about sending more than 2 recommendations. In my town women will come up to me and ask if I’m rushing at Alabama, usually I’ll be wearing a hat or shirt that indicates that’s where I’ll be going, and then ask if they could write a rec for me. It’s hard to say no but at some point you have to. And after asking around I found the rule of 5 to be the consensus. Having more than 5 makes you look kind of crazy. However, if you do choose to send 5 recs to one sorority that shows you’re very interested. So if you’re not that interested in a particular one I would stop at 2. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Wow, it was easier for me to get into the NYPD than it is to get into a sorority. At least I get a pension along with my life long friends too. LOL</p>
<p>Thanks! I don’t think any have reached the 5 mark yet, so that’s encouraging! I usually asked about 3 ladies in hopes that at least one or two would follow through with sending them in. In some cases, only a couple replied, and, for some, they wrote my recs and connected me with even more people. Thankfully, I have at least one for each, but it was kind of frustrating when I had a bunch of offers for recs from one sorority and none for a lot of others! I had a wonderful sorority alum from a school in the south who is still very connected with Greek life at her school who helped me secure a lot of recommendations. She was truly a blessing, but now I’m not entirely sure how many recs I have for certain houses since she passed on my information to a bunch of women. </p>
<p>For any future PNMs, I would definitely say make an effort to find a woman who is still in good standing with her sorority who might still have a connection with her school and/or classmates who could write some of your recommendations. It is always better to find women who know you personally, but networking is a huge part of the process as well. Make a nice letter to pass on to ladies that are potential rec writers along with your pictures, resume, and transcript, and you’ll be amazed by how many women are so gladly willing to help you out! All I can say is that I’m so happy that my part in this step of recruitment is over, and now all I have to do is stress over whether or not they all arrived in time! Haha.</p>
<p>I delivered a rec packet to a friend today. Should be the last one. The rest were done last month. This is the only one I had to deliver but it was a friend from church that offered the other day that did not realized D was going to rush. YEA! </p>
<p>D had 5 for a few, if they all sent them in. There were a few (2-3 houses) she did not have even 1 rec for but she seemed fine with that. </p>
<p>I too am glad that part is over. YEA!</p>
<p>Judging by the amount of emails and phone calls I received recently I think this is a stressful time due to the “lull”…recs should be distributed and sent, you’re shopping and putting together outfits but for many that’s done as well and so there’s a lot of “hurry up and wait”. My suggestion…don’t stress over things you have no control over. It’s hard to believe that its now less than a month away. At my house we are sad as this will be DD’s last recruitment as an active but she is looking forward being on the other side as an alum next year.<br>
Remember it only takes one, one rec, one house, one bid. Geek Chic should be arriving soon…that will keep you busy :).</p>
<p>Yay!!! Greek Chic!!!</p>
<p>I can not wait.</p>
<p>The tedium of buying new socks is wearing thin…(pun intended).</p>
<p>Ah okay then I guess I must give up on Chi O sadly.
Also, one last question. If I cannot secure a rec for a sorority, should I send them anything else? I read that you should send them a “rush packet” with your transcript, resume, & headshot (like what you’d give to your rec writers), but I already submitted that stuff online when I registered for rush. Should I do it anyway to should that I still do care about the sorority & that I’m not just blowing them off?</p>