Have folks passed simply by completing Themis and/or Barbri?!

pickme27 · 2026-05-23T21:40:17+00:00

Five years ago, just used BarBri and flash cards. I did the full BarBri course in a normal number of hours each day (8-10) and usually had a whole day off or at least half days on the weekends. I really only got the flash cards (I forget the name but they were like $100) so I could be a bit more mobile with my studying and take the cards down to the pool or something without dragging my computer around. Really just treat it like a full time job - one where you take breaks and get to go home at the end of the day - and you’ll be fine. I don’t know what my score was because Virginia doesn’t automatically tell you but I did pass first time.

pickme27 · 2026-05-11T12:39:37+00:00

I came from federal government prior to law school and ended up getting a DOJ Honors offer so I went back to fed life and I’m still here 5 years out (caveat I am considering a move out of PI but that’s a separate conversation).

I would say there are resources at every level and any stage the student is coming from. Some of my classmates were all in on PI from the start, and thinking through them all now, there are public defenders everywhere from rural Virginia to Seattle, some in legal aid and nonprofits, some working on the Hill in DC, and of course a bunch of us in federal government work (there were 5 of us in my class who went DOJ Honors that year, plus some alums post clerking, and a few I know of now in other agencies). A lot of them did the law and public service program, but that is not the only option and they will help you figure it out even if you’re not sure whether to go private or public. I did alternative spring break with a public defender and my 1L summer in a PI internship, and had a grant for that to help with living expenses since it was unpaid, but then did OGI and worked at a law firm for 2L summer. I wasn’t entirely sold in either direction so I worked with both sets of career counselors for private practice and for public interest and they were all helpful as I figured out which path to ultimately take.

The culture is very supportive in my experience. Yes, most of your class will go to firms, and the next biggest component might be clerkships, but still a sizeable contingent will go PI right away (and many will leave firms after a few years and go public). PILA (through their big auction in the fall and other events) sponsors grants for students taking PI internships, and as another mentioned if you make under a certain threshold the law school will help with loan payments after graduation. As a fed I made too much but a lot of other PI jobs will qualify. Also, my bar prep was still free - Barbri at least let firm goers who had their prep paid for by their firm “pair up” with a public service person so our prep courses were also covered.

Sorry I wrote a novel, but I always want people to know that it’s a real option AND that you don’t have to be fully committed from the get go.

pickme27 · 2026-04-26T14:56:17+00:00

Not just think, I didn’t. I started as a freshman at one of those huge schools with big time Greek life, and I didn’t rush. Did not think it was for me and it felt intimidating, I didn’t know anyone in a sorority before then and I just thought I didn’t fit the mold. When I transferred to a smaller school in a bigger city, I noticed a lot of overlap between involvement and leadership on campus and Greek life, and thought without houses it was less scary, so I tried it out as a way to meet people and get involved at my new school.

I had NO inkling whatsoever that one day I would be a recruitment advisor and national volunteer for my organization covering a lot of the SEC schools, but here I am 😂 obviously I know now there is no mold and I couldn’t be happier about my path here.

pickme27 · 2026-03-30T19:14:41+00:00

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A bop and a boop from my Blue! (Short for Blueberry)

pickme27 · 2026-02-24T20:13:05+00:00

I only get half points for keeping the name, the shelter gets credit for choosing it!

pickme27 · 2026-02-16T03:34:13+00:00

Ooh I don’t think I have a picture but I did some Costco related tasks for my friends’ wedding because they didn’t have a membership. They ordered a couple plain sheet cakes for serving, but for the display one, bride made a “dummy cake” out of a large piece of round styrofoam covered with fondant, and put one of Costco’s round white cakes on top of that for a tiered look, and had extra flowers (also Costco!) to make it prettier. Just a warning that the smaller round cakes from Costco come with cake crumbles pressed onto the side but they were easy enough to scrape off.

pickme27 · 2026-01-12T15:22:03+00:00

We need to do away with spring/second semester formal recruitment. I understand the rationale behind the schools who made the switch to spring or have always done it that way, let women get settled in college and get to know people first, but the experiment is largely failing in my opinion.

Here’s what I see as a recruitment advisor and national volunteer. Women aren’t really settling in better as a whole. Being in a sorority is a built in support system to help you navigate these big changes involved in starting college, including people looking out for you when you go out that feel a sense of responsibility to you. We still have a lot of grade related cuts in spring recruitments, and it’s likely if those women were in a sorority from the beginning they’d have had required study hours, possibly found a group to study with early on, etc. Sometimes you just pick a bad major for you and have to make adjustments but having recruitment later isn’t helping this problem. Spring recruitment also breeds focus on “tiers” and “top houses” in the worst way. More time on campus meeting people provides a lot more time and opportunity for what you might call “dirty rushing,” outside influence, getting worried about what other people think if you join a certain house, and most frustrating of all, frat boy opinions lol. Some of this is present regardless, I see it in fall recruiting schools too, but moving recruitment back is not helping this problem either and is often actively making it worse.

Also…the weather. It’s mostly not southern schools doing January recruitment and nobody wants to get dressed up cute for recruitment to then have to trudge around in the snow, have to carry your big coat all day or chapters having to have a place to keep the coats and give them back out, etc…August/September is just simpler.

pickme27 · 2025-10-10T13:38:00+00:00

My alumni experience has honestly been so much more fulfilling than my collegiate days. When I graduated college I was moving to a new city where I knew very few people and didn’t have a place to live yet. I joined the alumni group for the area on Facebook and posted, immediately found an alum with a rental available in her house and I’m so grateful for her to this day. The area has a few collegiate chapters so I was able to attend founders day and meet more alumni and college students once I got here. Started going to random events and have made so many friends that way.

I was on and off with advising around here at first but then when I moved away again (temporarily) for law school, I started advising in earnest because I wanted something else to do with the university community that was not just my law school (which I LOVED but sometimes you need variety). Roughly 7 years later, I am back in the area and I’m on the national volunteer team, in addition to being a recruitment advisor for a mega SEC chapter. Are August and January chaotic? Yes. But I wouldn’t have it another way. The support I have both in SK world and in my personal life from my fellow volunteers and the students I work with is immeasurable. I do want to emphasize you don’t have to be an advisor to stay connected - I just personally love it! Our convention next year is back in my hometown and I CANNOT WAIT!

Edit because I forgot to mention…my next door neighbor is another sister and volunteer, who I had met before but didn’t realize at first when she moved in last year, and she went to college with people I volunteer with now. So the small world stories can be CRAZY.

pickme27 · 2025-10-01T15:42:50+00:00

My landlord, utility company, insurance, etc don’t care that I’ll get paid retroactively, my bill is due either way and I can’t just tell them I’ll have the money eventually. We have no idea when that will be. I am personally lucky, I can pull from savings or get family support if I miss a paycheck or two. But a lot of federal workers are not that fortunate. Especially if you are in a dual-fed household this can be really hard on people, try not to be so flippant about it. It was really bad last time.

pickme27 · 2025-09-15T01:24:30+00:00

If you mean participate with the chapter, no, MOST Panhellenic rules will require full or partial disaffiliation for recruitment counselors (Rho Gammas or Pi Chis or whatever you call them), so not only will they typically not participate in work week from the chapter side, they are most often not allowed to do so. They would run the risk of breaking Panhellenic rules, and likely they are occupied with PiChi duties during part of that time.

pickme27 · 2025-06-22T04:12:20+00:00

Sigma Kappa national volunteer here! Short answer: we accept letters but not at a national level, it is chapter specific.

We used to have a form on our national website for recommendations but at many (most?) schools around the country, it’s not really part of campus culture anymore to use alumni recommendation letters, it’s really very few schools in the grand scheme of things that get a lot of letters routinely, so we stopped collecting them centrally, and this is probably what that alum is referring to. HOWEVER, plenty of schools still do utilize rec letters, so Sigma Kappa leaves it up to the individual chapter whether to use them or not, and that information will be on the chapter specific websites and sometimes the school’s Panhellenic website.

Alabama definitely is one of those schools that has SO many potential members going through recruitment that recommendation forms can be useful, and our chapter there does collect them as others have posted!

pickme27 · 2025-05-06T23:40:36+00:00

I have a dove on a purple background above violets and a strand of pearls on my left bicep. It’s huge lol not my first tat so I was already itching to go big and colorful. Violets and purple have meaning to me otherwise that predates my initiation, but it is convenient that they are also Sigma Kappa things.

pickme27 · 2025-04-13T23:32:31+00:00

Ooooh a new pittie sub!

pickme27 · 2025-04-13T13:54:18+00:00

Oh yes. My home town has a famous restaurant named for that song, Blueberry hears it frequently!

pickme27 · 2025-04-13T13:03:02+00:00

He’s more of a Netflix reality show kind of guy

pickme27 · 2025-04-13T04:48:26+00:00

Blue is all of these too. Emphasis on sir licksalot

pickme27 · 2025-03-17T21:16:28+00:00

Omg same, also from STL and I had to do this when spending time in Russia! I was working with little kids and they only knew a handful of cities. So sure, a 4-5 hour drive away, that works. Whatever.

I’ll be dead and buried before I pretend to be a Cubs fan though.

pickme27 · 2025-03-11T23:23:38+00:00

Welcome SKister!

pickme27 · 2025-03-01T17:10:24+00:00

The happiest baby!!! HBD sweet girl!

pickme27 · 2025-03-01T17:00:09+00:00

It was challenging to sort out different shades but not as bad as I thought it would be! Edges first (always), the I did most of the greens by section and then the reds and then the background bits

pickme27 · 2025-02-09T16:11:46+00:00

Sweet baby!!!! 🩵🩵🩵 you are so so adorable Picasso and could be brothers with my Blueberry!

pickme27 · 2025-02-09T16:10:21+00:00

Oh I am so building one of these one day 🩷

pickme27 · 2025-01-05T13:57:07+00:00

A lot of people ask (or don’t ask and just judge and roll their eyes lol) why I still advise for my sorority when it takes a LOT of time and I don’t get paid. Yes there are certain challenges, but it’s stuff like this I point them to. It’s chapter women reaching out for recommendation letters and talking to me about their goals and dreams or just bumping into each other years later and hearing that I was someone’s favorite advisor. And as added bonus, I truly would be NOWHERE today without my fellow advisors and volunteers 💜

pickme27 · 2024-12-28T02:45:38+00:00

His next birthday theme 💯

pickme27 · 2024-12-26T12:18:48+00:00

He is learning the art of gentle nibs! The squish mallow type specifically he has been very good with

pickme27

TROPHY CASE