So you’ve battled the hard decision between whether or not to go Greek, and have finally decided to go through with it—Panhellenic (Panhel) Recruitment at Duke. On the plus side, you don’t have to come back early, on the negative side—just signing up costs $60! Not sure what you got yourself into? Well, here’s all you need to know about Recruitment for the Panhel sororities at Duke.
First off, The Duke Panhellenic Association is comprised of nine Panhellenic chapters: Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Zeta Tau Alpha. Duke Panhel is the largest student group on campus, and its approximately 1000 women collectively contribute thousands of dollars and hours towards their individual philanthropies and the Durham community.
The Dates of Formal Recruitment:
Luckily, the Duke Panhellenic Association does not require you to come back early in the Spring semester unlike at some other schools. Not only does this mean you get to enjoy the (excuse my sarcasm) lengthy winter break you have with your family, but it also means you get to have the first week back to settle into Duke life before being bombarded with the stress of Recruitment. The official dates of Recruitment for 2012 are:
Round 1: Friday January 13thand Saturday January 14th
Round 2: Sunday January 15th
Round 3: FridayJanuary 20th
Round 4: Saturday January 21st
Bid Day: Sunday January 22nd
Recruitment Counselors
Once you have registered for Recruitment 2012, you will be randomly assigned to a group of approximately 20 girls. There will be two Recruitment Counselors (RC’s) who will help your group throughout the process. These two girls will be current members of a Duke Panhellenic sorority, however, they are disaffiliated. This means that they cannot contribute to the recruitment of their sorority, and they cannot tell you which sorority they are in. This is a good thing, trust me. This ensures that if you have any questions about certain sororities, you won’t need to worry about any bias or judgment from your RC’s. They have also been trained to deal with any recruitment-related situation you find yourself in, so they will be with you throughout the entire process—just in case you need them.
An important reminder: You will be meeting your RC’s on December 8thin Page Auditorium at 8pm.
The Ins and Outs of Recruitment Rounds
The four rounds of Recruitment are split over 2 weekends. Here’s what you need to know about each round:
Round 1: Open House
Round 1 is a busy round. Period. It’s split over the first Friday and Saturday and it is definitely draining—however, it’s also the only round where you have the opportunity to visit every sorority. Your RC’s will take you and the rest of your group to each “party,” so you don’t need to worry about finding your way between East and West Campus. There will also be Recruitment-specific buses to take you between campuses—so no waiting for that elusive C-1.
On Friday, each Recruitment group will meet four Panhel sororities, and on Saturday, the remaining five.
In terms of outfit choice (a very important part of the Recruitment process for us fashionistas), Round 1 is completely casual. This means that you can wear whatever you are most comfortable in (especially because you’ll be walking around a lot)—whether that be jeans, leggings etc. My recommendation, however, would be to try to wear something that you feel really good in, because that often gives you the confidence boost you need to walk into the room feeling like a million dollars.
Round 2: Philanthropy
Ever wondered what that $60 dollars was for? Well, besides a whole bunch of Recruitment-related expenses (most especially, your VIP private buses), Panhel also gives every girl going through Recruitment a t-shirt to wear for this Philanthropy round (so breathe easy, you don’t need to decide on another outfit for this round!). The maximum number of sororities you can be asked back to for this round is seven—and do not worry if you do not get a full schedule, it is very natural and does not mean you will not get into a sorority at Duke.
The Philanthropy Round is an opportunity for you to see the national and community aspect of each Panhel sorority—how they get involved with the larger Duke/Durham community, and why their national philanthropy important to them. Both of these questions, and more, are vital to understand the type of community a particular sorority encompasses, and deciding whether or not you fit into this community is an important decision to make.
Round 3: Sisterhood
Time to get ready to dress up. The outfit choice for this round is semi-formal/business casual. So get excited—plan that outfit that is too dressed up to wear to class, but too cute to leave at the back of your closet. Something important to remember for this round, however, is that you still have to walk from party to party—so my suggestion would be to carry a pair of comfortable shoes in your bag so you don’t have to walk in your heels the entire day (my Uggs saved me during this round, I swear!) The maximum number of sororities you can get asked back to for Round 3 is five.
This round is all about discovering the bonds that create the sorority’s community—how do they bond as sisters? This is an important round for figuring out whether the bonds that tie the sorority together are the right type for you, and whether you’d enjoy being a part of this sisterhood.
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Round 4: Preference Night
And now—the final round of Recruitment. You can get asked back to maximum three sororities in this round (so you can finally give those feet a rest!) This is the round where each sorority illustrates why you would be a perfect fit for their sorority (and be wary, it often gets very emotional). During this round, girls will explain to you what being in this sorority has meant to them, and how it has benefitted their Duke experience. Pay attention in this round, because at the end of it—you will be ranking the sororities you visited in order of preference (in the order in which you will accept a bid). For the first time during Recruitment, the arrangement of sororities is very important, so remember to pay attention to this.
Round 4 is also time to bring out the big (stylish) guns—this means you get to take out that shimmering, formal dress you’ve been dying to wear one more time. Have fun with this round—it’s not often we have an excuse to dress up this much!
Bid Day
Finally. Despite the hours of conversation, incessant travel between campuses, and unwavering nerves, the time has come when you get to find out which sorority you will be receiving a bid from. Your RC’s will set up a time and place to meet, where they will let you know which sorority you have received a bid from, and from then on you’ll meet your new sisters and your new pledge class—and spend the entire day getting treated like royalty!
Important Panhel Terms
Strict Silence
The week between Rounds 2 and 3 employ the term strict silence. This means that upperclassmen in sororities are not allowed to talk to girls going through Recruitment about anything related to Panhellenic sororities or Recruitment. This can sometimes be a really awkward week—all of a sudden the girls you met during Rounds 1 and 2 aren’t being as friendly as they were during Recruitment, and you’re wondering what that means. Well, don’t take it personally—it’s National Panhellenic Association rules, and upperclassmen girls are often afraid of crossing that line.
Maximizing Your Options
This term is very important, because it guarantees you a bid to a Duke Panhel sorority. If you go to every sorority you’re asked back to, and rank every sorority you went to (that means include every sorority on the ranking sheet you hand in at the end of every round)—at the end of Round 4 you will get a bid to a Panhel sorority. However, this guarantee is conditional on the fact that you make it to the end of Round 4 with at least one sorority.
Dues
Unfortunately, dues are a part of being in any sorority at Duke. Oftentimes girls do not fully think through the financial commitment that comes with accepting a bid. For those of you who are worried about this, the Duke Panhellenic Association will be holding an information session on January 19th at 7pm—where they will go through every financial commitment a sorority will require from you.
Generally, dues range from $420 to $900 a year (on average $639), and while there are Panhellenic Scholarships, as well as individual chapter Scholarships, these are limited and few and far between (and are often given for one semester only)—so I highly recommend that you do not count on these for your entire three-year sorority experience.
So there you have it—all you needed to know about Panhellenic Recruitment at Duke University! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments feel free to friend Duke Panhellenic on Facebook or email du.panhelrecruitment@gmail.com.
Mandatory Dates:
– December 8th at 7pm in Page Auditorium: Meet your RC’s
– January 11th at 7pm: Final Details + Free Shirt!
– January 19th at 7pm: Fiscal Responsibility (Dues!)