Recruitment FAQs

I am having trouble finding the MCPAA form that needs to be printed for each sorority?

After you fill out the online registration form, you preview it, then print it the number of times you need packets you are putting together PLUS an EXTRA packet for MCPAA AND you then hit the SUBMIT button. There is not a different form that you complete to attach with the paper packets. The printed online form is the one used.

Photos. What size portrait photo and what size full figure photo? Also, do the photos need to be on photo paper or regular paper as a copy?

Photos should be 4x6 or 3x5 on photo paper. They do not have to be professional photos. They can be printed at your favorite drug or copy store or wherever you typically have your photos printed.

Can I send my resume as .pdf?

Yes. All documents should be a .pdf or .doc.

My university says I don't need recommendation letters.

Each sorority has its own requirements; and we've been told that even though the school says you don't need a recommendation letter, you should still get them. For example, last year one PNM followed her school's advice and did not secure any recommendations. She was cut by all but one house after the first round. Reference practices vary greatly by chapter/ If you were evaluating a future sister, would you move forward with the one with recommendation letters or the one without?

Whom should I put as a reference on my forms and resumes?

Teachers, coaches, counselors, neighbors, people you have for whom you babysit/pet sit, employers, clergy. Any of these would be a good choice.

I am currently a college freshman and will be a sophomore in the fall. Do you still need a copy of my high school transcript or do you only need my college transcript? Do these need to be official or unofficial transcripts?

Since you are in college, we only need your latest unofficial college transcript. If your social security number is anywhere on the transcript, please be sure to block it out before submitting to us.

If a University Panhellenic requires a sophomore going through recruitment to submit their final transcript from spring semester should we wait to submit our registration through Montgomery County Panhellenic Alumnae Association (MCPAA)? If so, I cannot meet the May 1 deadline?
If your fall transcript would not qualify you for recruitment then wait until your spring transcript is done. Our recommendation is if you had a 2.0 1st semester and a 4.0 second, then yes wait. If you had a 3.2 and a 3.4, don't wait. We want to write you the best recommendation and remember GPA is just one piece of the big picture.

My school does recruitment in spring--why do I have to turn in my packets so early?

Here are a couple of things to think about. 1) You've been getting these same or similar documents together already, you already have them in one place (resume, photos, transcripts) 2) Our alumnae are available to write the recommendations as they are writing for all the girls. Often alums will set aside weeks/days on their personal calendars in the spring specifically for writing recommendations 3)Sororities will review PNMs during fall semester, so get your recommendations in early to them and 4) You will be so busy in the fall, you won't want to have to try to assemble all the items for recruitment.

My university panhellenic website does not have a registration form available and the website says "registration will open soon." If the registration form is not published on their website until after April/May 1st, will I still be able to register after this due date?

There are two different registrations needed--one with the university, and one with us (MCPAA):

The university registration notifies them that you are going through recruitment. Continue to check with them periodically until registration opens.
The MCPAA registration gets your recommendation letters started. We need your information by April 1/May 1 in order to get our recommendations written and sent to the sororities in a timely fashion. We write more than 2100 recommendation letters each year. The earlier we have your information, the better positioned we are to help you.

What if I miss the deadline altogether?

You may still register, however, we do not guarantee that every sorority will be able to write you a timely recommendation.

Can I only submit the electronic form?

Yes, however, some sororities will only accept paper, so you will not get a recommendation from them. And, some sororities require both before a recommendation will be written.

The site only allows me to upload one document for my transcript and my transcript is actually two documents.

The issue is typical that it's a two-page document--page 1 is a document and page 2 is another.
Solution One: Rescan page one of your transcript. After you scan the first page, there should be a + sign somewhere on the page. Click on the + and then scan the second page, making your transcript a single document.
Solution Two: Open up the first document. Add a page break at the end of the document, creating two pages. Then open the second document. Copy the image and paste into the first document on the newly-created second page. You'll have a single document of two pages.

I already have a few women who agreed to write my references. How do I notify you of the references I already have?
That is great you have some ladies writing you personal recommendations. We would also suggest you have us write you a recommendation as well. The reason we suggest this is that maybe one of the ladies promises to write you a recommendation, you give her your packet, time passes and all of the sudden she remembers she forgot to write you a recommendation. She isn't necessarily going to tell you that she forget--life sometimes gets in the way. If you have two recommendations for a sorority, the sorority isn't going to penalize you for it.

We know that putting together all those packets is time-consuming. If you really don't want to duplicate your efforts, then feel free to only provide packets for those sororities you know you don't have recommendations for. As a courtesy to us, please include a little note attached to your extra packet saying what sororities you DID NOT include paper packets for and why. The reason we are making this request is because of past experience.

Here is an example: Someone who writes recommendations knows you are going through rush. She does not get a paper packet for you because you have arranged for others to write your recommendation. That someone then calls us saying I know this girl is rushing, why did I not get her packet, she assumes that your packet is lost, phone calls and emails are flying, databases, forms, and procedures are being checked to make sure that everything is working as it is supposed to. We race around to make and deliver a copy of your "extra" copy for the person who knows you are going through recruitment, and she writes a recommendation even though you did not need it.

I would like to get letters from people other than MCPAA members, but I'm struggling to find a few sorority alumnae. I've exhausted my friends and family.

Do a google search--sorority name + alumnae + The Woodlands, for example. You might find a name you recognize or even one you don't. Message them. If you aren't successful, contact the National HQ of each sorority for which you need a recommendation and ask for a contact in the area. If that doesn't work, then contact the chapter at your chosen university. Ask for a chapter advisor's contact information. Contact the advisor and ask for local alumnae.

When I printed my forms to include in each packet, there is no place for the sorority name.

Please write each sorority name in the upper right-hand corner. If you are a legacy to that sorority, please circle. There is not a notation for it on the page.

When delivering the envelopes, what is the best way to leave them?

There is a marked cooler by the front door for you to leave your packets in at Ms. Durkee's house.

I delivered the package to Ms. Durkee's home as instructed. However, I did not include the letters of recommendation I've already received from friends/family in different sororities. I want to make sure I can send those recommendation letters at a later date and also need to know how and where I should send them.

You are correct in assuming the letters of recommendation you received should not be given to us as part of the packets you submitted to MCPAA. Typically the letters of recommendation that your personal friends/family wrote for you are submitted by the letter's author directly to their sorority. Each sorority has their own system/expectations for receipt of recommendation letters. For example, if I were writing a letter for my niece in California, my sorority requires me to submit my recommendation electronically through their national computer system.

You should reconnect with those personal friends or family members who wrote your letters and ask that they submit them directly as per their sorority's protocol.

From the package you delivered to us, our members will write a recommendation for their house on your campus. We will submit those directly as per our sorority's specific instructions.

I haven't received my recommendations from MCPAA.

We do not send recommendations to you. They go directly to the sorority or through the sorority's national headquarters. Each sorority has their own procedure on how to submit recommendations.

One last thought...

Remember a letter of support or recommendation is a letter of introduction to a collegiate chapter on behalf of a potential new member (PNM). Membership selection is the privilege and responsibility of the collegiate chapter members. A reference or letter of recommendation does not guarantee an invitation to membership. Reference practices vary greatly by chapter and specific questions can be answered by an alumnae chairman in the university's area or by the collegiate chapter chairman or by the university's panhellenic.

Still need help? Click here to check out our video: Completing Your Registration