Sorority 102 for Moms - Terminology Explained
There are multitudes of languages that we all are fluent in and speak at different times. Think of all the different terms that you might use at work to explain a project that does not have the same meaning around the kitchen table!!
The same holds true with sorority recruitment. It has a language all its own. One of the best ways that you can support your daughter through the process is to understand the terms that are used.
Today I am sharing some basic terms that you and your daughter should become familiar with as you begin the process. I am only going to cover the top few here today. At the bottom of the page you will also find a link to a downloadable that will help you navigate the rest of the terminology. Don’t worry!! Before you know it, you are going to manage this all one bite at a time.
Panhellenic
First up, PANHELLENIC – “Pan” meaning all and “Hellenic” meaning Greek. You will hear panhellenic referred to in a variety of ways. In general, panhellenic is a body that supports its member chapters at the collegian AND alumnae levels. At the university or collegian level they are referred to as a college panhellenic; there is a college panhellenic at every university where there is more than one of the 26 national sorority organizations that make up the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC). There will be a college panhellenic at the university where your daughter wants to go through recruitment. One of their greatest responsibilities each year is overseeing the recruitment process at that university. The collegian panhellenic is the organization your daughter will register with to go through formal recruitment. That registration process often begins sometime in the spring before your daughter is to go through recruitment. Check with your university website to find out when they will open recruitment registration. There is usually a cost to register.
At the alumnae level the organization is referred to as an Alumnae Panhellenic and except for exceptionally large metropolitan areas, there is usually only one in an area. Think of it as a hometown panhellenic. One of their purposes is to help any local universities in the area during the week of formal recruitment. They also provide support to young women from the area who are about to go through the recruitment process at the university they have chosen to attend.
Why so many types of panhellenic groups? It is about the community that each serves.
Formal Recruitment
FORMAL RECRUITMENT is the process formerly known as Formal Rush. It is a structured series of events that your daughter will attend; usually the week before the beginning of the fall semester. Most college panhellenic councils schedule this process for the week before classes begin. There are a number of exceptions to this set up. Each college panhellenic determines their dates and announces them sometime in the spring semester prior. Some universities participate in what is known as DEFERRED RECRUITMENT. Deferred recruitment is the exact same formal process previously discussed here. The difference is WHEN it occurs. Most universities that defer recruitment, push it to the week before the spring semester begins; although there are a handful that hold it sometime early in the fall semester after the beginning of classes. Each format has it’s positives and negatives.
Potential New Member - PNM
Our next term is PNM or POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER. Once your daughter signs up with the college panhellenic at the university where she has been accepted your daughter will be classified as a PNM. It is merely a classification so that everyone knows she has not joined a chapter.
Mutual Selection Process
Last up the Mutual Selection Process is the method used by sororities to find new members and for PNM’s to find a sorority home. During formal recruitment, each round of events over the defined recruitment time period is an opportunity for the potential new members and the members of the chapters on that campus to get to know one another. After each round is complete the PNM’s and the chapters vote privately, each narrowing their field until bid day when hopefully your daughter is matched with her chapter.
How was that for these first few bites of the recruitment elephant? Pretty manageable and not overwhelming when you take it one step at a time!
For more terms and information click on the button down below. And to be completely up to date on what is happening with recruitment, be sure and join my email list and follow me on Instagram.
