Terms You Will Hear As You Prepare For Recruitment

sorority: A women’s organization with objectives of philanthropy, scholarship, leadership, and sisterhood. Traditionally, a Greek-letter organization.

women’s fraternity: Some NPC sororities were founded before the word “sorority” was actually coined and therefore technically were chartered as “women’s fraternities.” It is acceptable to refer to the group as a sorority.

National Panhellenic Conference: An umbrella organization made up of 26 different member sororities. Each sorority’s national home page is linked at the NPC site. Some of these sororities will have chapters at the university where you will go through recruitment, so you can learn more about them from the national websites.

University Panhellenic Council: The group at a university that governs collegiate sorority activities. Made up of sorority members and faculty advisors.

Area Alumnae Panhellenic: A group of alumnae women from different NPC sororities who live in the same community, and organize to promote Greek life and education.

recruitment: A process by which sororities and potential members meet and select each other. Formerly called rush.

formal vs. informal recruitment: All universities with a Greek system will have a formal sorority recruitment process, where participants meet members from every chapter on campus and get the most comprehensive look at Greek life. Some will also offer an informal recruitment; check with your school’s Panhellenic Council for more details.

potential member, prospective member, prospect or candidate: A female student who is going through sorority recruitment. Formerly called a rushee.

active member: A college student who has been initiated into NPC sorority membership.

silence: Around and during formal recruitment, each University Panhellenic will set a silence period, during which active members and alumnae are forbidden from communicating with prospective members, outside of organized recruitment events. This is to help potential members make their recruitment decisions without undue influence.

bid: At the end of recruitment, a sorority will extend a formal invitation of membership to a potential member, or a bid to join.

preference: The secret process where you express your preferred sororities to University Panhellenic and the sororities express their preferred new members to University Panhellenic. University Panhellenic will then match the lists to help the sororities extend bids.

Terms Pertaining to Sorority Membership

new member: A student who has joined a sorority but has not yet been initiated. The space between bid and initiation is called the new member period, formerly called pledgeship. New member periods vary but most are between four and twelve weeks long.

Bid Day or Bid Night: After receiving bids from Panhellenic, new members go straight to their new sorority house for a welcome event.

Big / Little Sister: A new member will be paired with an active member for the duration of new member period. The older girl will assist the new member as she learns about the sorority, and will be her mentor through the first year of Greek life.

initiation: The ceremony at which a new member learns her sorority’s traditions.

badge: The jeweled pin that a new member will receive upon her initiation, symbolizing her entrance into full membership.