Rushing!

<p>Do you need letters of recommendation to rush a sorority at umich? I know you need them at other schools</p>

<p>Yes you do need recommendations for sororities. I’ve written recs for several friends daughters. If you’re a student, have your mother check with her friends to see what sororities they were in and if they’d be willing to write a rec for you. Then you should provide them your resume and a photo, which they can submit along with their recommendation. If you plan to rush in September, you should ask for recs now/this summer to give people time to get them submitted by the end of August.</p>

<p>You definitely don’t need them at Michigan. A strong majority of my friends are in greek life and I don’t know of any girls that got recommendation letters. It’s not like the south here, honestly most mainly want a good looking pledge class that will be social.</p>

<p>Things sure have changed since I went to school and went through rush. First of all, we called it rush. Apparently that’s really not the thing anymore.</p>

<p>Alumni recommendations were nice, but definitely not necessary or common. Most sororities were not about pretty, social girls. We were looking for interesting personalitiesohmyword… I sound like my mother now.</p>

<p>What do you mean that’s not a thing anymore? I ONLY hear it referred to as “rush.”</p>

<p>Anyway, you definitely do not need letters of recommendation. You don’t have to do anything prior to arriving on campus.</p>

<p>Yeah I mean it’s “officially” called recruitment but everyone calls it rush for both guys and girls.</p>

<p>Interesting feedback above about NOT needing recs at U of M. My son’s girlfriend is in one of the top sororities at U of M and she had recommendations going into rush. Maybe they aren’t necessary at U of M these days, but with hundreds of girls competing for a limited number of spots,a recommendation could help you get a closer look from a sorority. </p>

<p>Don’t stress over it…if you have sorority connections you can easily ask for a rec, go ahead and do it. If not, give it your best shot during rush and don’t worry about it.</p>

<p>It’s a bit confusing because girls do not need to have recs to rush but most (if not all) the sororities are required by their nationals to have a rec for each girl they offer a bid to. The sororities will work to get one for everyone on their list (mainly through alumnae from the highschool) but it sure makes it easier on them if you already have one. If you have a way to get a rec then get it. The only ones that really have impact during rush are legacy recs - grandmother, mother, sister </p>

<p>Here is the official UMich answer from Panhellenic:
Do I need a recommendation?
Recommendations are not required for sorority recruitment. Should a family member or friend offer to write a recommendation, it should be sent directly to the chapter. Recommendations forms can usually be found in each sorority’s national magazine or on their website.</p>