spring

Some sororities say a letter is required when they really don't take that into account

Unfortunately rec letters don't mean anything! Legacies get dropped frequently, not just utk.

totally agree! I'm a sophomore in a sorority here. Coming from out of state I had no clue about how seriously they took recommendations. I didn't have any going through rush, but had I know that would have benefited me tremulously I would have gotten multiple recs for every house and probably would have landed a top tier sorority. My advise to you is to not accept any bids from sororities you dont want. Wait until spring to see if they offer you a snap bid, or go through rush again next year. There's an upperclassman quota all sororities must make.

Snap Bids are only offered tomorrow morning. (So chapters that didnt meet quota can do so without appearing to have fallen short.) Some chapters will do COB, "continuous open bidding," but not all, and mostly chapters who have trouble meeting total. Same with Spring Recruitment- some will participate, but can only bid to total. I'd suggest either stick it out with any bid you may receive this year or waiting until fall 2014. Otherwise you may be out of luck. Dont want you to get advice that may lead you in the wrong direction, especially if you're talking about wanting to get into one of the top tier sororities who will more than likely not extend bids until the next formal recruitment.

And also- rec letters typically just get you past round 1 so the girls can get to know you better. That's it. Even if the chapter says that it's required, usually they will find someone to write one for you if they like you! You may never even know!