How to Join: For Women

Sorority Recruitment

(For Panhellenic Organizations)

Sororities have both informal and formal Recruitment opportunities. Informal Recruitment events are held quarterly, but the formal process for joining Panhellenic Association (PHA) sororities occurs in January.

Informal Recruitment

Please visit the PHA Events Calendar for information about informal sorority recruitment events. Please feel free to contact Helen Rotnem (rotnem.2@osu.edu) with any further questions regarding the recruitment/intake process.

Formal Recruitment

During the formal process, women are assigned to a personal recruitment counselor who helps them through the process of choosing an organization to join. In January, PHA sororities host recruitment events for potential members to attend and find out more about the organizations and their members. All women have the opportunity during this period to visit all of the PHA sororities.

Even though the formal process begins in January, you may attend events as soon as fall quarter. These events allow women an opportunity to learn more about each sorority in a no-pressure environment. A list of events can be found on the calendar, and you may attend any event open to you on the calendar (a few events restricted for upperclassmen only and will be designated as such). Do not feel that you must attend all of these events, but rather explore what it truly means to be a member of a sorority at your leisure.

For 2007-2008, Formal Recruitment will take place over three weekends in January. Please see the PHA Recruitment Event Dates page or the PHA Calendar for a complete listing of Recruitment Events.

Sorority Intake

(For traditionally African-American and Multicultural Sororities)

Any woman who is interested in joining a historically African American sorority at Ohio State is expected to participate in the intake process. Similarly, most multicultural sororities recruit membership by a comparable process. Each organization conducts membership intake according to each organization’s national and local initiatives. However, these standards vary for each organization and are held at times determined by each organization.

It is still required that all potential new members must have earned a 2.25 GPA and 12 college/university credit hours (EM/Transfer credits from high school do not apply) to receive a membership invitation from any of our University-recognized historically African-American or multicultural sororities. Please visit the Greek Events calendar for information about informal sorority intake events.

Please contact Helen Rotnem (rotnem.2@osu.edu), Coordinator of Greek Life, with any further questions regarding the recruitment/intake process.

It is recommended that any woman interested in joining a traditionally African-American Sorority or a Culturally-based organization should follow the following guidelines:

• Educate Yourself

  Do research on the Greek organization to see which one has the ideas, goals, and purpose that are most in line with your own. Check out their national and chapter websites, which are linked from the Pan-Hellenic Council (PHC) and Multicultural Greek Council (MCGC) web pages at (http://www.osugreeks.com).

• Attend Events Consistently

  Look for flyers, posters, and other publicity about programs and functions of the organization that you are interested in. Flyers may be found throughout prominent places across campus. You may also visit the Greek Events calendar for information about informal sorority intake events.

• Introduce Yourself

  If you find an organization that sparks your interest, talk to the members of that organization. Try to measure how comfortable you are with individuals of that organization.

• Be Prepared

  Because PHC and MCGC organizations are service-based, most are interested in having members who have a genuine appreciation and interest in their organization, have researched its history, exemplify its standards, have leadership and community service experience, and can contribute to making the chapter stronger.

• Attend the Informational Sessions

  For most organizations; an informational of some sort is one of the primary events where the criteria for membership are explained. These are usually publicized via a flyer or by invitation sent directly to you depending on the organization.

Register!