<p>I am an accepted freshman at the Capstone this fall, and I am so excited! I am from Pennsylvania, but I was born in Atlanta and come from a completely Southern family. Both my parents attended southern schools (my Dad went to Bama and my mom to University of Kentucky). My dad was a Kappa Sigma and my mom a Tri Delta. Everyone is my family is greek so it is nothing new to me. I’m very nervous about being out of state and going through recruitment. Though I would easily be able to get rec letters for every house and my mom and her two sisters were all Tri Deltas, I know that at a school like Alabama these things can have no impact.
My main question is will it be difficult for me to get a bid to a good (or what some call Old Row) house? I have heard mixed things so I am just not sure. Also, any insider info on recruitment or what it is like for someone out of state is much appreciated. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>you need to go into it with an open mind. if you want only old row, then you just may be disappointed. i do not know how likely that is. you may be able to look at the bid lists from the past couple years to see how many non-southern girls get in to the old row houses. </p>
<p>seems like a lot of the most desired houses are filled with girls with personal connections to girls already IN the houses.</p>
<p>if you go with an open mind and maximize your options, then you should end up with a bid at the end of the week.</p>
<p>of course, i am no expert, so take my comments with that in mind.</p>
<p>Mike is right…an “open mind” or what we call “maximizing your options” is important.</p>
<p>Each sorority treats their “legacy” status differently. I know that my sorority (which has a chapter at Bama) does not consider an aunt as part of a legacy status. I do know that as a legacy to Tri Delts through your mom you are guaranteed a invite back after ice water teas. I also know that in my sororities case if you would be invited to Pref as a legacy then they must put you on their first Bid List.</p>
<p>You seem to have your recs covered. Just to be safe I always advise the girls to get two per house. </p>
<p>Are you going to Preview Weekend? Do you know girls in some of the sororities at Bama? Are you able to get invited to the teas and parities on either during the February weekend or during Preview Weekend? Do you have family still in Atlanta? If so you might want to sign up for the OOS reception :
Atlanta: Saturday, March 31, 2012</p>
<p>Atlanta Marriott Perimeter (To Be Confirmed)</p>
<p>1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Sorority Life at the Capstone (Session 1)</p>
<p>3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Sorority Life at the Capstone (Session 2)</p>
<p>RSVP Deadline – Registration will be available online by Friday, January 13th</p>
<p>I would just caution you on wanting only old row houses. Alabama has 16 very strong NPC sororities. Each house has a lot to offer. If I were you I might not express the “old row” desire publicly. If sororities form an opinion that you are interested in only going a particular house they may decide to cut you so they can free up that slot for a girl who they think they might have a better chance of getting. If you then get cut by your “old row” sorority then you have nothing…so go in with an open mind. </p>
<p>I really think you’ll be fine if you do the above. There are several of us on here who have ties to Bama. Feel free to pm us or ask questions. We will be glad to help.</p>
<p>Make that 17 NPC sororities! ;)</p>
<p>Yep I forgot…oops!!! And from what I hear might be 18 by 2014 !</p>
<p>Word, MikeW…</p>
<p>I have plucked this quote from a poster on the greekchat website… all OOS sorority rushees at Bama who have their sights set only on certain houses need to read and understand this:</p>
<p>“I am in the south and I think this might be the way to explain how Alabama works. Somewhere out there in Prattville is a cheerleader. She has worn Bama cheerleader outfits with sorority ribbons in her hair since before she could walk. Her mom and all her moms friends are all in that sorority. Shes gone to Founders Day since she was twelve and had a ribbon with their colors on the gown she wore for the Junior Miss pageant (for luck.) She goes to church with girls in that sorority. She went to camp with them. She goes to BAMA games and hangs out with her friends now at BAMA. She has a 3.8 GPA and once a year she goes with her family on mission trips to Haiti. Thats what you are up against. There are 100 more like her and only 60 can get a bid to that group. Some of the others will transfer to UNA and go through recruitment a second time.There are at least a dozen groups that arent like that. They want to bring in new great girls but it makes for a tough week of rush”</p>
<p>SoccerGirlNYC…thanks so much for posting that!!! A similar post was sent to us when my DD announced that she was going to Alabama. Grandma had her heart ( and sequentially DD’s heart) set on her pledging her sorority. It happened to be an “old row” house, very staid in southern traditions and pledged mostly girls from the south and especially Alabama. Grandma thought because DD was what she considered a “legacy” that she was a “shoe in”. Boy was she wrong!!! </p>
<p>A lovely woman we met at Bama Bound who had happened to be an alum of this particular sorority told us that even though DD had a terrific GPA, was EXTREMELY involved in high school, held lots of leadership positions, lots of EC’s, lots of volunteering…so did every other girl coming in. In addition many houses on campus have so many legacies (their mother or sister was a member of that house) that they could fill at least 1 pledge class and another half of one!</p>
<p>Ladies…please keep an open mind. As we have said before there are 17 (yep on the ball today) NPC sororities on campus. All 17 have so much to offer…don’t choose to ignore their qualities because you set on an address that includes the words “old row”.</p>
<p>I will say that that particular sorority gave DD a good rush and as the week progressed DD found that there were other houses she would rather call “home”.</p>
<p>Just wanted to further emphasize what everyone has said about keeping an open mind! “Old Row” is a title that exists at Bama that has very little true meaning. For example, there are certain houses who simply cannot become Old Row because Old Row is sponsored by Budweiser, and their sorority’s national rules prohibit them from being sponsored by alcohol companies. Does that mean those houses are any less wonderful than the others? Not at all! Although there are certain people who are narrow-minded enough to believe they are better than everyone else because they are in an Old Row sorority, it does not necessarily mean that their house is viewed more favorably by everyone on campus. The sororities with the best reputations are the ones where members are involved, have high GPAs, and are generally kind and classy – none of this necessarily coincides with being Old Row.</p>
<p>Just wanted to say all this because as ahpimommy said, if new row sororities find out you’ve said something about only wanting old row, there is definitely a chance that they would cut you and you could miss out on a great opportunity.</p>
<p>If you keep an open mind, you will find the house that is right for you!</p>
<p>XOHAYDEN with your Dad being an alum, be sure to look at the National Alumni Association scholarship program and your state/local Bama Alumni Chapter. Fellow posters here mentioned that tidbit and my current OOS DD freshman earned her text book money for the year with an alumni scholarship. Back to recruitment…my DD went through the process with help from ahpimommy and others. There are posts about how to ask for recs. Get them for all the houses you can and ask for help here if need be. My DD’s rush experience was that she could tell during the first visit to a house whether she was on an A, B or C recruit list (her words). She focused on those houses who were clearly interested in her to find her comfort fit. Everything worked out and she had three choices on the final cut day. She loves her first choice sorority and Greek life at Alabama.</p>
<p>Wow, I was not expecting such great input! I am planning to attend preview weekend in Tuscaloosa in March. There is actually a girl who goes to my church and is in AChiO at Alabama now, which I have heard is one of the stronger sororities, and loves it. So, with her coming from a similar situation, I have some hope that I’ll have options when I rush. Just to clarify- I don’t necessarily have my heart set on becoming a member of an Old Row sorority, I just want to know if as an OOS I won’t be invited back to the sororities that are considered to be the “stronger” ones on campus. (Old Row or not.) To SoccerGirlNYC- thanks for the quote! Since the beginning of my application process, my dad has been warning me about how I will be up against so many girls who have many personal connections to girls already in the houses. Being from Knoxville TN, he experienced the same thing pledging a fraternity and found it extremely hard to compete with so many in state guys. I know that during Preview Weekend there are some invite only parties that the individual sororities host…I am hoping to go to the AChiO party, but I was wondering if I had family friends who are alumnae of certain sororities at Alabama notify the chapters that I would be at Preview Weekend would that be any help? Again, to rephrase my question, being an OOS rushee will I at least have options when I rush or will I be cut by most houses since I don’t know anyone? Also, is having full rec letters, being a legacy, having a strong transcript/GPA, and being an outgoing person who can easily connect with people be any leg up as a OOS?
I know that these questions may seem excessive, but I really would like to get a feel for what I (being in my situation) will be dealing with come August! Again, thanks so so much for all of your help and input!!! xo</p>
<p>Forgot to mention- the one thing that I am really going to focus on during this whole process is keeping an open mind. I plan on giving my all for each house because I definitely want to maximize my options and leave good impressions for every house. Also forgot to say that along with the AChiO that I know from church, a girl from my high school who graduated last year is a GPhiB. And, my grandmother is a Pi Phi…not sure if grandmothers count me as a legacy or not? As for the rec letters, I assure you that I will have absolutely no problem with any of them, if that is helpful. I could probably get 20+ recs for certain sororities! (Though I wouldn’t actually do it, that would just be overkill 
</p>
<p>One more thing- my great aunt holds a prominent position on the board for the nationals of Kappa Kappa Gamma…will that get me anywhere, especially if she contacts the house prior to Preview Weekend? </p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>As mentioned above, it’s contacts inside the ALABAMA chapters that count… not someone from a chapter at a different school… having your great aunt write to the Kappa chapter may mean they keep a special eye out for you during preview, but whether it has more sway on voting than others, none of us here can say because we aren’t the 200-odd 18-22 year old Kappa actives at Bama who will be in membership selection</p>
<p>It’s much more important that you get on well with the girls you meet. You could have the world’s most wonderful rec, but if the actives don’t think you’re a fit, it doesn’t matter at all…</p>
<p>I would also check legacy rules for each house, as they do differ in respect to who counts as a legacy</p>
<p>However, some houses could fill a pledge class several times over with legacies so this also doesn’t mean much either…</p>
<p>Adpimommy and I have written extensively on here about what to do to maximise your chance of A bid. Do what we have suggested and you will give yourself every chance. As I have written, and backed up with statistics, far more girls WITHDRAW because they don’t like their invites, than are released from all chapters…you can also look up the list of pledges from '10 and '11 and put the info in a spreadsheet and see where the OOS girls mainly go - especially those from northern states…</p>
<p>Finally, I guarrantee you that almost every other girl who rushes, especially those from Alabama or neighboring states, will have sorority recs and contacts that are equal to, if not FAR outweigh, yours. So whilst these contacts are great for securing personal recs, don’t think it is going to make you stand out in the way they might at other schools, especially those in the NE. Making yourself stand out, is your job at preview and rush, the rest is just a check in the box…</p>
<p>To answer your question…while being OOS can definitely be a disadvantage, it certainly shouldn’t automatically eliminate you from any houses (ie you will have at least some chance at any given house). Look at it this way…if two girls have the same GPAs and are just as pretty, involved, and likable as each other, the one with more connections/who is from Alabama will have a much better chance. However, most sororities would choose the pretty, outgoing out of state girl over someone less qualified from in-state.</p>
<p>As for the connections, none of us can really know how any chapter besides our own considers legacies and connections. Your best shot is to use every connection you have – it can’t hurt, and there’s always a chance it will help.</p>
<p>And just worth mentioning since you talked about AChiO – I know an absolutely fantastic girl who was from OOS and didn’t know anyone and pledged AChiO this fall.</p>
<p>So, in summary: while you may be at a disadvantage for some chapters, it is certainly not a disadvantage that you cannot overcome.</p>
<p>Can I just say that I love this board! My D is so worried about getting in to a sorority being from Chicago and I just keep printing all of this out and giving it to her.</p>
<p>Essentially, What I keep hearing is that she has more control than we originally felt. She controls her first impressions, and she controls getting recs, she needs to be prepared and present herself in the best possible light. She needs to keep an open mind thru the process and she needs to trust the process.</p>
<p>While there is a lot in this process that you cannot control, it is very reasuring to hear all of you say the same things. It will be a nerve wracking few days, but hopefully, in the end it will work out for the best.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone for helping those of us who are nervous about this part of the UA journey!</p>
<p>Quote: “Look at it this way…if two girls have the same GPAs and are just as PRETTY, involved, and likable as each other, the one with more connections/who is from Alabama will have a much better chance. However, most sororities would choose the PRETTY, outgoing out of state girl over someone less qualified from in-state.”</p>
<p>How sad that here we are in 2012, and that a girl must be considered “pretty” to get in…
Sorry, but that totally creeps me out!</p>
<p>I did not say that a girl must be considered “pretty” to get in, only that it helps her chances. Like it or not, a lot of rush is very superficial. Look up any rush guides online and they will emphasize the importance of wearing the right clothes and having your nails, hair, and makeup done. I am not saying that all of the other factors are not important – grades, involvement, and personality are extremely important – but anyone who believes that girls aren’t being judged by their looks is fooling themselves. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s the way it is.</p>
<p>In the middle of rush week last year, my daughter said to the effect…of course I’m being judged on my appearances and personality; recruitment is a week-long interview. And how do you think I am evaluating THEM? That said, the questions she received during her house visits were about her school involvement, activities and grades. The members of all the houses did seem to want to know if she could handle sorority commitments and keep up with the academics. After her first semester, I can easily see how girls can get too caught up in the social whirl. A sorority member has to know how to plan and manage time.</p>
<p>What are the sororities at UA that are considered “Old Row”?</p>
<p>idk i think it my be on wikipedia. : )</p>
<p>hey everybody…sorry for my absence, i have been super busy! i was just wondering, after which round are the heaviest cuts? also, on average how many do most have to choose from before pref round? one more thing- i need to know everything about preview weekend!!!</p>