Go Greek! These two words ravish across university campuses throughout the academic year. Joining a Greek Life organization has been a very popular way to connect with other students, make lifelong friendships and memories, and be a part of an organization bigger than yourself. While Greek life is tainted with negative stereotypes and can be controversial among students and family members, being in a Greek life organization is a huge aspect of college for thousands of students every year.
Joining a Greek life sorority can be a very grueling process, physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, once you open your bid (an invitation to join a Panhellenic sorority during the formal recruitment process), everything you’ve endured in the process has been worth it! If you are an incoming freshman, a transfer student, or an upperclassman looking for a new experience and want to go through your school’s next formal recruitment process, here at a few pieces of advice and some insight into what to expect when going through recruitment!
(*Disclaimer: these thoughts pertain to being a member of a Panhellenic Council chapter and do not reflect the process of the Interfraternity Council, Diversified Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, or professional Greek life organizations.)
- How To Prepare For Recruitment
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When you enter your university’s Greek Park or Row (the location of all the sorority houses on campus), you need to come prepared for anything and everything you may need for the entire day. Once you step foot on Greek Park for each day of sorority recruitment, you cannot leave until you finish your last party. A “party” refers to the time you enter a sorority house or the location the sorority is recruiting out of to talk to the sisters of that chapter. Some important checklist items to remember to bring with you are snacks/lunch, water, sunscreen, nice sandals and comfy sandals/shoes, extra makeup, oil bloating sheets, and portable chargers. Additionally, you want to make sure you dress nicely (examples can be a cute skirt or sundress) as you will be making lots of first impressions throughout the recruitment cycle. You also need to mentally prepare yourself to talk to dozens of people each and every day as the sorority recruitment process is entirely structured around conversations and the connections you make within them.
- Stay clear of The Four B’s: Boys, Booze, Barack, and Beliefs
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These are definitely four conversation topics you want to stay away from when talking to sisters during a recruitment party. These four B’s focus on topics that can be controversial, uncomfortable, and upsetting to some, so it is best to not bring them up in a recruitment setting. If you like to party, have a boyfriend in a fraternity on campus, or you want to know what religious affiliation the sister you’re talking to is (trust us it has been asked before), do yourself a favor and do not bring it up. Sisters are not likely and are highly encouraged against asking you such questions during preference days. Bringing up these topics will not score you extra “brownie points” for potentially joining that chapter. If a sister ends up changing the subject matter if these topics do get brought up, don’t get offended, simply go with the flow and move on.
- Use Your Recruitment Guide
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A recruitment guide, aka Rho Gamma, Pi Chi, Rho Chi, etc., are sisters of different chapters within the Panhellenic Council who disaffiliate from their chapters (“not considered a member of their chapter”) during the recruitment process to help guide and offer unbiased advice to you, the PNM (potential new member)! Utilize recruitment guides as a resource for all of your questions! I personally was a Rho Gamma for my university’s recruitment, and we have access to many resources to make sure your recruitment is a memorable experience! Even if you just want to know more about sorority life, Rho Gammas can give you the inside scoop into what it is like without revealing ourselves!
- Don’t research sororities going into recruitment!
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It sounds counterintuitive, but researching and getting ideas on different sororities can create an unconscious bias towards certain chapters, and you want to go into recruitment with a completely open mind. Stay away from comment sections or discussion boards, even YouTube videos, listing your university’s (or others’) opinions and takes on Greek life and certain chapters. This is your experience and you need to go in with the mindset of joining a chapter that is best suited for you, not what others think. Lastly, you are the one spending your money to pay for dues to be in this organization, so you want to be in one where you’ll be comfortable and happy with your sisters!
Joining a sorority is a completely optional part of your college experience, but can enhance your experience in many ways! Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do it by being your complete, true, authentic self, and be prepared to make many lifelong memories along the way!