Do I really need recs?

Yes. You need them.

How lazy are you? If it gives you even the slightest edge over a similar pnm that doesn’t have a rec, why wouldn’t you proactively get them?

Tbh recs are a great indication of how much effort a girl is willing to put in to get in a house. I can’t speak for other houses but mine won’t let you past philanthropy without at least one and preferably two.

I don’t think you realize that there will be 1,600+ girls rushing with you. There will be a lot that are smarter than you, prettier, trendier, better dressed, better reputation AND they have recs. Not getting two recs for every house is just lazy and will land you in a bottom house.

Hey! I know rush is super scary and recs can be kinda a controversial topic. If you’re coming from out of state (especially if you’re looking to go old row), recs are a really great idea because it just gets your name out there and makes a positive association for the house with alumni. It’s def not the end of the world if you can’t get any, but a lot of the more southern houses (kappa, kd, chi o, axo, agd, ddd) are much less likely to cut a girl if she has recs. Some houses, like Phi Mu, don’t even accept recs anymore. However, having an alumni put in a good word for you can really go a long way at any house If possible, try to get recs from Bama alums, but other schools are totally fine too if you don’t know anyone. Not having recs doesn’t make you a bad candidate or mean you’re necessarily going to get cut from a house, but they’re 100% a good idea if you’re able to get them. Recs are a great way of showing you’re well-connected and come from a good family as a pnm, and sororities definitely are interested in those things. If you’re looking to get an edge up in rush I would suggest reaching out to alums and getting recs in before July 1st.

Plenty of pnm's get them so they will have a slight, and I do mean slight, edge when it comes to cuts at the stronger rushing houses for pnm's they are on the fence about (except Phi Mu). You have no way of knowing if you will be one of their highly ranked pnm's that a rec won't matter for, or one of the middle of the road pnm's where having a rec could make the difference in a cut or not. Most pnm's fall in the middle of the road category, like a bell curve, and the subtle things can tip the scale. So pnm's who are serious about their rush will get recs to cover every base they can. Many sororities now allow third party rec writers, meaning non-alumnae who know the pnm well. Check the national sorority sites for this info. If you have a teacher, coach, boss, friend of parent, school counselor, whatever, who knows you well, and especially if they were in a sorority, well there you go and they could cover multiple houses for you.