Recruitment A to Z

When does Recruitment occur?

Formal Recruitment usually occurs the week before classes begin (First or Second Semester). Universities have arrangements for coming to campus early. Deferred Recruitment dates vary by university, 3-8 weeks after the start of the semester.

How will I understand it all?

Every potential new member group is assigned to a Recruitment Counselor, who leads your group to each house and answers general questions. These are sorority women who have disaffiliated for the week and are assigned the important job of helping potential new members negotiate Recruitment.

How is Recruitment structured?

Most universities begin Recruitment week with an Open House, where you visit every sorority on the campus for about 20-30 minutes. The larger the university, the more sororities to visit. This first day can be hectic and tiring.
At universities where there is not an Open House, the Day 1 events are by invitation.
After Open House all events are by invitation. The number of periods or days is determined by the number of sororities on campus. Each university develops the plan that works best for that campus. Some Recruitment weeks last 3 days; some are 6 days or more; some are over 2 weekends.
As the Recruitment week continues, you will visit progressively fewer sororities each period. Each event also will last longer, giving you a better opportunity to get to know the sorority and they to get to know you.

What goes on at the events?

At each event there will be 1-2 women who talk with you so that you are never alone. Their goal is to get to know you, so be sure that occurs by talking. This is not a time to be shy. You also will be entertained with songs, skits and have the opportunity to ask questions and, if the sororities have houses, tour those. Also, you will learn about the philanthropies of the sorority, history and values. All this helps you get a good sense if you fit in.
Following the final event day, called Preference, you and the sorority make your mutual selections for membership.

How do you get included at Open House?

You get included at Open House by registering with the university Panhellenic. If you do not register, Panhellenic, and its member sororities, are not aware that you are interested in Recruitment. At some point in the registration for Recruitment you will agree to follow the Recruitment procedures and policies.

How do you know where you are going for the days after Day 1, the Open House day?

You likely will go to a general meeting, or perhaps go to an online site, where you will receive invitations to the next round of events.
There are fewer events each period, and you may not receive invitations to all the events in a period. Example: You visited all 12 sororities during Open House. You receive 7 invitations back for the next period, which consists of 8 events. You need to accept all 7 invitations.
This reduction goes on throughout the Recruitment period: the number of events is reduced each day and you receive fewer invitations.
It is possible to be invited back by more sororities than there are events. If this happens, you will need to choose which to attend.
Always accept the maximum number of invitations for each period to ensure you hold up your commitment to participate fully.

How do sororities decide how many to invite back for the ensuing periods?

Throughout the Recruitment week, sororities are guided by a number given to them by the campus Panhellenic. That number is how many the sorority can invite back for the next round of events. Each successive round, each sorority invites back fewer women based on the number that Panhellenic assigns.
For example: 1,000 potential members are participating in Recruitment Week, and all 1,000 visit every sorority on Day One/Open House. For the next period, Panhellenic may tell a sorority it only can invite back 700.
The number is reduced for each period, until the sororities are given a final number: quota. The sororities are allowed to extend a bid of membership to this final number.
It is important for you to realize that no one sorority cannot extend bids to all 1,000 potential members (the number used for this example). By dividing the number of women participating in Recruitment, by the number of sororities on campus, all sororities have an equal opportunity to fill their new member classes.

How do I increase my opportunity to receive invitations?

To maximize your choices, you should:
1) go into the process open minded to all sororities on your campus
2) have References for all the sororities
3) accept the maximum amount of invitations
4) be yourself at events and help the members truly get to know you
5) let the sororities know you like them when you leave each day

Most women who are open-minded going through Recruitment will find several sororities that feel like good choices.

How is the final decision made?

Your final choice is arrived at by mutual selection between you and the sororities you visited. Generally, after the last round of events, you will rank your choices. At the same time, the sororities are preparing their invitation lists, which are based on the number of new members that Panhellenic has said they can invite. A computer -- the only thing that "knows" choices -- then makes the match. Invitations are given out on Bid Day.

But how do I really decide?

There is no one "best" sorority. The one that's "best" for you may not be the one chosen by your mother, your sister, or even your best friend. Your choice will be right for you when you find the group where you feel most comfortable. In fact, the chances are strong that there will be two or even three sororities where you feel that you would fit.

What if I go through Recruitment and decide that I donÕt want to join a sorority?

If you feel that joining a sorority is not right for you, you may withdraw from the process at any point. We do suggest that you talk with a supportive friend, family member and especially the Recruitment Counselor before you take action.

Is Recruitment Week fun or stressful?

Your level of fun or stress is greatly dependent on your attitude during Recruitment Week. Over and over you will hear that the most important thing is to keep an open mind. We want to add that staying positive, getting plenty of rest, being prepared and keeping away from negative people will help you have the best possible Recruitment experience.

Following is helpful advice from Baylor University on the attitude to have during Recruitment:

Panhellenic recruitment is a mutual selection process, which means that both the potential members and the individual sororities are making choices. Potential members will make decisions regarding parties they want to attend, and the sororities will make decisions regarding the women they want to invite to their parties.
Potential members need to understand that they may not always get invited to the parties they would like to attend. Each sorority deserves consideration. The potential member needs to ask the question if it is more important to be a member of the Greek system or a member of a certain organization?

Each university may have slightly different policies regarding Recruitment. The policies and procedures should be clearly explained to

you by the university Panhellenic before Recruitment Week events begin. Ask questions if you are uncertain about anything. Your

Recruitment Counselor is your confidential source for all your questions if these are not answered in general meetings.