I would say, after being a Membership Advisor for, oh, 15 of the last 20 years
the disadvantage of being a Legacy I see most often is that Legacy (or, maybe sister/Mom/Grandma) actually being poorly-prepared for Primary Recruitment.
How do you poorly-prepare your Legacy for Primary Recruitment?
You perpetuate or believe any or all of the following inaccuracies:
1. Primary Recruitment isn't competitive at Dear Legacy's school
2. Legacy Chapter at ABC University doesn't have to make cuts each round
3. Just having DL register as a legacy when she registers for Recruitment is plenty of introduction and help
4. If a PNM is not invited back to a chapter, that means the chapter did not like them
5. Legacy status guarantees invitations in Primary Recruitment
If Mom (or whoever is the "Legacy-maker") only focused on her organization, and hasn't promoted all sororities and their opportunities AS A WHOLE, that doesn't bode well for Legacy's recruitment experience.
Corresponding Corrections & Details:
1. Most PNMs aren't attending Ole Miss or Indiana Recruitment, but that doesn't mean that the process at their school isn't competitive. I wasn't proud of the placement percentage this year at Wisconsin at all, but it was almost completely due to PNMs withdrawing themselves from PR, not being released completely from all chapters.
The prepared PNM should be able to present, interview, and connect well (and quickly!) with all types of active women recruiting her. If she isn't ready for that or is expecting to just coast through Recruitment rounds without trying to make good conversation and connections, she will be disappointed.
Some chapters, some years have to release a majority of PNMs before the first invitational (Round Two). That means, if PNMs want to see that chapter a second time, they will have to score higher than more than half of the other PNMs around them.
2. Every chapter makes cuts and selections, it just depends a bit how deep those cuts happen and when. And it very likely varies a bit from year to year, even with the same chapter. So, someone might have told you DEF isn't a strong recruiting chapter? Well, their RFM numbers might be different this year, so they are more-selective after a round than they have been before. Everyone makes cuts, so don't expect your Legacy to be immune to them!
3. If you do decide to note your legacy status when you register for Recruitment, at least make sure you submit the correct "Legacy-maker" info so the status can be verified.
I'm also going to say something semi-controversial here and recommend that you DO submit a Legacy Introduction letter/Recommendation form if you're disclosing your Legacy status. Make sure it is a well-written, helpful introduction letter, though, if you’re bothering. Someone who has known the Legacy for a few years AND is proficient and experienced at writing good post-secondary education recommendations is what is going to help you here. What might not help Dear Legacy would be 3 recommendations all listing the same bullet points from DL’s resume written by alumnae who haven't even met her (excluding maybe Southern/SEC recruitment where “recommendations are required” so better those resume recs than nothing, I guess).
The recommendation should help the Legacy shine, and also be a good resource for the active Chapter to match her with similar chapter members. I also think it can't hurt to note how Legacy is prepared well for her undergrad experience = how she is looking forward to finding her people on campus, whether it's in Legacy Organization or not!
As some of the other posters have said, we’re not seeing New Member Classes composed completely of Legacies. That’s true, but at many schools, it would be
possible. If a chapter has more than quota number Legacies going through that year, they could fill a class with Legacies. As we have New Member Classes with non-Legacy members, Legacies are clearly getting released. I don’t believe anyone thinks it reasonable to expect that a chapter take a New Member Class of only Legacies, so yeah, that means if Legacies are getting released from their Legacy chapter(s), that means your Legacy could get released. The math indeed applies to her, too.
4. Many PNMs with good scores are not invited back to chapters in subsequent rounds. Depending on when a Chapter has to make cuts, these are usually women that the chapter liked, but they liked other PNMs more (scored higher). I know that doesn’t make the PNM feel any better- that there were other women preferred to them; but it would almost always be an untruth to say that they were not invited because no one in the Chapter liked them at all. Don’t let your PNM or Legacy say they weren’t invited back to a chapter because the chapter didn’t like them, because that’s probably not true!
5. Different organizations have different Legacy policies. Some of those policies recognize aunts, great-grandmothers, step-sisters, etc., as “Legacy-makers” and some do not. Some organizations give Legacies various different benefits (like invitations or placement on lists) during Primary Recruitment and some do not. Some have changed the Legacy benefits for Recruitment in the past few years. You should make sure you know your own Organization’s up-to-date Legacy policy and benefits. You should also inquire ahead of time what is required or allowed as to notification if a Legacy is released during Recruitment. It might be that your Organization does not notify the Legacy-maker, and leaves it up to the Legacy themselves if they want to notify their family member(s).
Over the years and a few campuses, I have seen my Organization release Legacies, release in-house Chapter Legacies, have multi-generational Legacies in the New Member classes, release multi-generational Chapter Legacies, have recommended Legacies in the New Member class resign before Initiation, have Legacies resign their membership prior to college graduation, have Legacies of other PHA orgs in the New Member class, remove our Legacy benefits in Recruitment, have GPB Legacies choose other PHA orgs over us, have PNMs only disclose their Legacy status after they have withdrawn from Primary Recruitment, etc., etc.
Your Legacy is unique, just like everybody else.
I still think the best way to prepare her (like any other PNM) is to be realistic, grateful, and positive about the process and opportunities in Greek Life as a whole.
Prepare yourself (and any other Legacy-maker) by knowing your Legacy will not be invited back to all organizations for all rounds of Recruitment. That means there may come a time when she is not invited back to her Legacy Organization(s).
Thank you for coming to my TED talk
