General Recruitment Information
*Campus Panhellenic Office – When you register with your campus Panhellenic (this is required), they will send you information about what you can expect during the recruitment process on their campus. Campus registration dates vary, so check their website or call to find out the deadline at your university. The information you will receive usually has dress guidelines and photo examples. Wear appropriate clothing for each party; this is not the time to dress down!
*Recruitment - Membership recruitment is typically 3-4 events. It is intended for you and the sorority women to meet, and for you to learn more about sorority life and their sorority in particular. The emphasis is on conversation and getting to know each other, since it is a mutual selection process. Each sorority has a variety of women in them, so don’t judge them by a stereotype given to you for the whole group. The period of recruitment varies, but usually lasts for several days. Specific dates and information for their recruitment can usually be found on each campus’ Panhellenic website.
*Sorority Membership – All sororities were created with the desire for friendship, leadership, achievement and philanthropy in pursuit of higher education. It can be your home away from home and help make the university seem smaller by providing you and easy way to connect with others. Sorority membership also provides a lifetime of friendship through alumnae associations throughout the country and abroad where you can make new friends as you move to different locations.
*Scholarship – Every sorority strives to maintain a high chapter grade point average, therefore each must consider a woman’s ability to adhere to its scholastic standards.
*GPA Requirement – Although some universities require a 2.5 for admittance, some sororities may have higher GPA requirements. Check your college Panhellenic page for specifics.
*Financial Responsibility – Membership dues finance each sorority and many sororities at campuses with physical houses assess building fees to maintain them. Women participating in the membership recruitment process should be aware of the cost of sorority membership and be willing to accept these financial obligations.
*Cost of Membership Expenses for sorority membership include pledge fees, initiation fees, building fees and dues. To secure accurate information regarding the expenses for sorority membership on your campus, go to their website and search for “Greek Life.” Review the material on the university website or contact the Panhellenic Council on the campus you are attending to find out specific costs for sorority membership at that particular campus. Fees will vary by sorority. This information changes from year to year and the Panhellenic office at each campus has the up-to-date information regarding these costs and will be your most reliable source for this information.
*It’s A Mutual Decision – Sororities which are members of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) are private social organizations whose collegiate members have the right to invite into membership the women they deem to be most congenial. The privilege of choice is mutual. Although a sorority has the right to choose whom it will invite to pledge, the recruit also has the right to choose which sorority she would like to join.
It is best not to make up your mind about joining any sorority until you have met several of its active members. Remember that you are not joining a “name” or a “reputation”, but you are choosing a closely-knit group in which you expect to make lasting friendships in college and later alumna life. Remember that sororities differ from campus to campus and there are girls in every sorority with whom you would develop lasting friendships. Go though recruitment with an open mind, give each group a chance!
When your final decision is being made on Preference Night at the end of recruitment events, please list more than one group, in preferential order when indicating the sororities you are interested in joining. Maximize your chances for sorority membership by choosing more than one and knowing that your second or third choice may be the one you have promised to join if you are offered membership. Every sorority is what you make of it. Each year we hear about girls who pledged their second or third choices and end up absolutely loving it and wonder how they could have ever put their sorority in any order but first.
Additional information can be found on the National Panhellenic Association (NPC) website:
For Potential New Members (PNM’s): The Sorority Life