I am from Pittsburgh PA and have lived here my whole life, I’m not super southern, but I love to dress up with the pearls and the boots and all that good stuff. I have a very high GPA, tons of community service, and I’m a very outgoing person! What are the chances I don’t get a bid?! And what’s the deal with the recommendations? Do they have to be from people who were also in the same sorority?
Recommendations are very important at southern schools like Auburn. Each sorority requires a letter of recommendation from an alumnae of that sorority. You should start asking the women you know if they were in a sorority and can write a recommendation for you. You will need to put together a “packet” for each person writing a recommendation. Your packet will include your social resume, transcript, photographs and (possibly) test scores. Our local Panhellenic group has a lot of info on their website. This link provides information about creating your packet.
http://ndhaap.com/recruitment-guide/creating-your-reference-packet/
Here’s some information from the Auburn Panhellenic website. Please note that the website indicates that a sorority will get a recommendation for you and they may be optional at some sororities. Don’t believe this lie! It’s YOUR responsibility and you need them for EVERY chapter!
https://cws.auburn.edu/panhellenic/afterreg/reccomendations
There may be an alumnae Panhellenic group in your area that can help connect sorority women with PNMs (Potential New Members). Do some research online and ask all your friends.
You asked, “What are the chances I don’t get a bid?!” Nobody can answer that question, but you can maximize your chances of getting a bid by preparing packets, getting recommendations for every sorority on campus, and keeping an open mind. Don’t listen to “tent talk” (aka gossip about chapters on your campus) and be open to a bid from any of the 17 chapters at Auburn. Everyone says to trust the process and you’ll end up where you belong. Good luck and War Eagle!
Um, it’s not a lie that the chapters will track down a rec for you if it is required. My chapter contacted me just last year about a girl rushing from my area. I live in Virginia and I am an alum of a sorority at Auburn. Before I could submit the rec, they got another person in our area to write one.
Be sure your Facebook, etc. is clean. That was the first place I checked since I didn’t know the young lady directly.
While most sororities will make an effort to find you a rec, they simply don’t have time to continue to pursue until they get one. It’s best if you go ahead and find what you can on your own. First you need to find the alums. Ask everyone you know. Put it on your Facebook page and ask your mom to put it on her Facebook page. As you find women, keep a list of who, which sorority, and how to contact them. Put together your packets and get them out as soon as you can right before or after graduation. Or even now! Also keep it in electronic form - many sororities are going to these things being totally e-mailed, so ask your rec writer which she’d prefer. A tip for hard to find groups - once you find a sorority alumna, ask if she knows any members of your missing sororities. Also, you might be able to find alumnae groups in cities by googling the name of your closest big city and the sorority name. Also search Facebook for alumnae groups by the same method (search for “Pittsburgh Delta Gamma” for example). Then you can e-mail or message the group asking for help. I think you’ll be surprised to find how many sororities you can find!