Letters of Recommendation

A Recommendation/Reference (also called a REC or RIF) serves as your OPTIONAL introduction to the sorority, so their members can get to know you in advance of primary recruitment in the fall. These official forms, which are unique to each individual sorority, are provided by the national organization for their alumnae members to fill out on behalf of potential new members. Please note that each sorority has its own policy as to whether or not they require a recommendation/reference and that the Alabama Panhellenic Association does NOT require letters of recommendation or have access to individual sorority Recommendation/Reference Forms.

Only a sorority alumna, or potentially a collegiate member of a sorority, can write a recommendation to her sorority. It is also recommended that the alumna use her sorority’s official recommendation form, which can can usually be found on sorority’s national website or in the sorority's national magazine. Please note that additional “Letters of Support,” personal letters written on stationery by alumnae recommending a PMN whom they know personally for membership into the sorority, which are commonplace in Texas, are not encouraged or recognized at The University of Alabama.

Securing letters of recommendation is ultimately NOT the obligation of the potential new member, so below are a couple of things to keep in mind if you choose to seek out letters of recommendation:

• If a PNM decides she wants personally seek out alumnae to write a rec of her behalf, she need only secure ONE to TWO recommendations for each of the 17 NPC chapters at UA that participate in primary recruitment. More than two per chapter is unnecessary.

• While there are 26 NPC sororities, when seeking letters of recommendation for recruitment, you ONLY need letters for those 17 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities participating in primary recruitment at the Capstone. They are: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, and Zeta Tau Alpha.

• If you ask a sorority alumna or collegian to write you a recommendation or if an alumna or collegian offers to write you one, it is customary that provide the individual writing the recommendation with a professional headshot (4x6), an unofficial copy of your academic transcript, a social resume (a sample social resume is provided below for your convenience), and a pre-addressed stamped envelope. A thank you letter is also appropriate after the fact.

• If you cannot find a letter of recommendation for each of the 17 NPC sororities participating in primary recruitment at UA, please do not worry! Recs are like extra credit—it’s great if you can get them, but THEY ARE OPTIONAL. If a sorority really wants to pledge someone and they have a policy that requires a PNM have at least one recommendation/reference form in order to be eligible for membership, they will find a recommendation for her. They won’t let her get away just because she can’t find her own recommendation!

• While chapter specific letters of recommendation are preferred, for women unable to find an alumna from each of the recognized sororities at UA to write a letter of rec, we have added a new option to the recruitment application. This year as part of the recruitment application, women participating in recruitment may elect to submit a generic, supplemental academic letter of recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor, or principal. The individual writing the letter of recommendation does not have been a member of Greek organization; however, the letter should speak to your character as it applies to leadership, scholarship, community service, and friendship. Please note that this is an optional feature and as such, is not a required part of the online application form. The weight given to these Supplemental Academic Letters of Recommendation is up to each chapter’s discretion.

• Supplemental academic letters of recommendation can be uploaded directly to the PNMs online recruitment application in Campus Director.

• We strongly recommend that all recommendations being mailed to the chapters are sent out by July 1, 2024 to ensure they arrive and are reviewed prior to the start of Recruitment, and submissions being submitted electronically are submitted by July 17, 2024.

If you have additional questions about letters of recommendation, please feel free to email the Alabama Panhellenic Association Directors of Recruitment at alabamarecruitment@gmail.com.