For the past 5 or 6 years, out of state enrollment at UA has outstripped instate student enrollment. At the end of sorority recruitment the number of Alabama students pledging only was slightly more than OOS. Many sororities have a majority of OOS women. I think there were more Alabama women because it’s a much bigger deal in Alabama and the south than outside the South.
You WILL need recommendations, and I know they’re hard to find in your area of the country because there are just not that many sorority alumnae there. Start asking around NOW and compile of list of who, which sorority, and their contact info. After February or March, you’ll need to put together packets with your resume and a photo or two of you in just regular clothing, no special prom duds and a transcript (unofficial OK). When you ask women to write you a recommendation to their sorority, you’ll hand or e-mail them this packet, which will give them everything they need for the recommendation
You need at least one recommendation per sorority that participates in formal recruitment in August - that’s 16 different sororities. For the sororities you can’t find close by, think about other places you’ve lived, or your far-flug relatives - maybe they know members of that sorority and could ask on your behalf. As you meet sorority alumnae, ask if they know members of other sororities who could write you a rec.
As for houses being “full of shallow and self-centered women,” every sorority has shallow women, but every sorority also has women who are the opposite. There are beauty queens, yes, and campus leaders, barely making grades and members of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board, women who lead Bible studies and women who lead the drinking at the fraternity houses. Out of 300 to 400 members per house, you should be able to “find your tribe” of close friends and future bridesmaids.