Sorority Recruitment 101

This series of posts is for the parent who has zero experience with sororities. My goal, that you better understand what your daughter wants to be a part of, what it takes to go through the process, and why it is still a relevant, valuable experience.  Those of you who have never done this before, you absolutely are not alone and you are in the right place.  Those of you that have, might still want to hang around.  Things do change. 

Regardless of your location in the knowledge pool, the better understanding you have of the process, the better you will be able to support your daughter.  At the end of this series of posts, you will have an arsenal of tools and tips to help you and your daughter prepare. Be on the lookout for templates for everything; from how to track activities for social resumes, to how to build that information into one. How to secure references, how to organize a packet, what to expect when visiting with alums, and what makes a great recruitment photo, to name a few. 

Why?  

There are many misconceptions out there that have circulated over the years.  If you were not in a sorority and there is a possibility your daughter wants to join one, then I suggest you learn about it from someone who has been through every bit of the process.  Since I joined, I have served both my sorority as well as the alumnae groups surrounding it. I have met with, advised, and written references for countless young women as they prepared to go through the recruitment process.  Last but not least, I have been the parent of two as they began their own journeys of sorority recruitment and membership. 

Basics

So, let’s jump in with some basics. 

What we grew up calling rush is now known as recruitment, and with chapters at over 650 campuses in the US, it is safe to say that sororities are an integral part of college life across the country.  Greek life makes up anywhere between 10% of the undergrad student population to as much as 35% - 40% of the student population depending upon the size of the university and the system at that school. 

Going through recruitment requires preparation. It is totally your daughter’s experience but there are some aspects that most likely need shepherding from you depending upon how much experience your family has with the process and where your daughter is going to school. 

History       

Believe it or not, the fraternal organizations for women now known as sororities were born out of necessity; some were called women’s fraternities but all are more commonly known as sororities.  The first groups were founded on campuses across the country in the second half of the 19th century.  In the mid-1800s, higher education for women was a revolutionary concept; often thought of as unnecessary and odd.

Women were in the minority on college campuses.  As a result, small groups of young women began to band together to help and support each other. Their purpose, forming sincere friendships, personal growth, and development, and to make a difference in their community.  After over 150 years of existence, these ideals continue to drive them now.  

Today

Each organization has its own special details that make them unique; think creed, colors, flowers, crest, and pins. Underneath it all though, each sisterhood shares similar beginnings and philosophies including a focus on academic achievement, philanthropic work in the community, and social events. 

Every group requires academic excellence from its members and usually offers various forms of support when needed and where able.  All sororities have chosen and support separate national philanthropies.  The chapters at the universities provide programming for their members as well as the community at large in support of their philanthropy.  And finally, each group hosts social events for their members ranging from sisterhood events to collaborations with other sororities and fraternities on campus, including themed, semi-formal, and formal parties. 

For those members that wish to develop their leadership skills, sororities provide leadership opportunities in-house as well as encourage their members to be leaders on campus.  Sororities encourage and sometimes require members to participate in other organizations on campus including student government, mentoring programs, and inter-mural sports to name a few.  Sorority members learn quickly if they did not arrive knowing, how to manage their time. 

Are they perfect? 

Of course not!  Are they for everyone?  No, they are not.  If your daughter does not like structured organizations with rules and participation requirements, sororities may not be a fit.  Can there be problems?  Absolutely!!  Anytime you have large, structured organizations, combined with a variety of personalities, managing a group of people there can be problems.  Who has not experienced how one or two can ruin things for many?  For the most part, that is the exception as opposed to the rule. 

Sorority women have frequently been portrayed in the media as vapid, or self-involved often mean-spirited individuals who only care about designer labels and how much money is in someone’s bank account. Please remember that stereotypes often serve a narrative; you don’t have to be a part of a sorority to be those things and some of the meanest women I have ever met were never a part of sororities and did not honestly appreciate truly being friends with other women. 

For the record, I would take Elle Woods as my sister every day of the week and twice on Sunday!  She initially comes across as a fluffy caricature of who sorority women are but, she also exemplifies smart, independent, resourceful, driven women who are in support of one another not in competition with one another. 

Sorority women are in every profession and leaders in every industry and discipline available.  They are entrepreneurs, public figures, athletes, teachers, lawyers, judges, professors, authors, influencers, entertainers, actors, directors, producers, doctors, nurses, therapists, musicians, civil servants of all types, chemists, engineers, astronauts, moms, daughters and grand-daughters.  You know more of them than you realize. 

FREEBIE

Now one of the key items needed to help your daughter participate in this process is a social resume’.  Why? Well, that’s a whole other discussion but in a nutshell, it organizes what she has been doing and gives her reference writers something to work from.  Social resumes do not have to be fancy or expensive.  They do need to be complete.  The free download I have for you today is helpful in organizing and tracking valuable information for that resume’.  Once you download it, save it to your google or hard drive, and then you and your daughter can begin completing it. Just click the button down below to download it right away.

WHAT’S NEXT?

So now that you have learned the general basics about sororities, what do you want to know about next?  How to create a social resume’? How to help your daughter find references? or How to help her create her information (aka packets) to take to alumnae?

Let me know in the comments down below. If there is something else you want to know about, be sure and tell me that too!  Also, DON’T FORGET to join my email list so that you are up to date on the latest recruitment and empty-nesting information. 

Lastly, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @partialtopearls

The form provided was created as a Google Sheet. You may save it to your own google drive or save it as an Excel Spreadsheet