Panhellenic FAQs

• What is a recommendation letter or RIF?

  A letter of recommendation, also referred to as a Recruitment Information Form(RIF), is written by an alumna member of an organization for the purpose of introducing a woman to a chapter. It provides a brief description of her interests, activities, and personality. A letter of recommendation is often a checkbox and may not even be viewed by the chapter so please do not stress if you are unable to get one for a chapter. The standards and policies set by the National Panhellenic Conference regarding letters of recommendation state:

  • "The responsibility for providing letters of recommendation for prospective new members rests with the members of NPC fraternities, and recruitment information distributed through College and Alumnae Panhellenics shall contain nothing that infers that letters of recommendation must be secured by the potential new member. 

    Individual NPC member groups will clarify this responsibility with their membership. NPC area advisors will clarify this responsibility with College and Alumnae Panhellenics. Remuneration from the potential new member or her family for any such letter is inappropriate."

  Recommendation letters may be considered in the membership selection process, however they are in no way required for joining any chapter and some chapters may not accept them. An alumna member unfamiliar with the recommendation letter process can visit her inter/national organization’s website for further instructions. The letter of recommendation should be submitted electronically via the inter/national organization’s website. Any recommendation letters received by the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs and/or by the Panhellenic Council will be destroyed. Registering with a local Alumnae Panhellenic Association for recommendation letters does not register you for recruitment. To register, you must complete the online registration form.

• When are recommendation letters due?

  There is not a due date for recommendation letters. The earlier they are sent in, the better off you will be. However, recommendation letters can be sent in as late as August. Please note, recommendation letters must be sent directly to the chapters using the addresses found on the Chapter Profile Pages. Alumnae are also encouraged to submit electronic recommendation forms online by visiting their inter/national chapter’s website before recruitment. 

• What if I don’t have a recommendation letter for every chapter? 

  You are not required to have any letters of recommendation to go through recruitment. If you know alumnae from chapters we have on campus, ask them to write you a letter. These letters are written to introduce you to the chapter members, but it does not guarantee you will be given a bid to a certain chapter.

• What is a legacy?

  A legacy is defined differently by each inter/national organization. However, in general, a legacy is defined as a woman whose sister, mother or grandmother is a member of a National Panhellenic Conference sorority. Some chapters are asked by their inter/national organization to get to know each of its legacies participating in recruitment. Policies have changed in recent years, please check with your organization to check the lastest policies. It is important to note a sorority is not obligated to offer a bid to a legacy, and a potential new member is not obligated by anyone to commit to a chapter where she is a legacy.

  Please remember that the ultimate decision to join a chapter rests with the potential new member. The potential new member should not make a decision or be under pressure based on her legacy affiliation. The potential new member should make a choice based on where she is most comfortable, not on the experience of another individual.

• What if I don’t visit the maximum number of chapters during each round? 

  During the recruitment process, the number of chapters a PNM will visit each day will vary from one woman to the next. The majority of women who go through recruitment at OSU do not have full schedules of events to attend. The number of events is not important; it is the conversations and people you are interacting with that are important.

• If I am going through recruitment as a sophomore or going through again, am I at a disadvantage?

  Many women choose to go through recruitment as a sophomore or junior for various reasons. As long as your high school GPA is at least a 3.0, or your college GPA is at least a 2.7, and you have been involved in campus and community activities, you should not have a problem. For those going through recruitment a second time, there is a chance that chapters that released you the first time through will release you again. You should keep an open mind and discuss all the activities in which you have been involved over the past year as well as let the sororities know why you are going through a second time.

• Am I guaranteed to receive an invitation for membership (bid) from a chapter?

  Invitations are only guaranteed to Potential new members for the first round, which takes place in early August. There is no guarantee that you will be invited to attend the second, third, or forth rounds. There is no specific formula that defines why a woman is not invited back. Therefore, there is no guarantee you will receive a bid to any sorority. However, if you progress through the week and attend all the events you are invited to during the fourth event round and list each of those chapters on your preference sheet that night, you will receive a bid to one of those chapters.

• Will my grades suffer if I am in a sorority?

  The all-Greek average GPA at OSU is consistently higher than the non-Greek average GPA. The average Panhellenic women’s undergraduate GPA is 3.5 while the All Non Greek undergraduate Women’s GPA is 3.2. Each sorority has its own scholarship program that will help you succeed academically as well as learn to effectively manage your time outside of class.

• Will I be able to work in addition to being in a sorority?

  Many chapter members at OSU have part-time jobs in addition to being in a fraternity or sorority.

• Terms to know
  • Alumna (Plural:Alumnae) - An initiated sorority member who is no longer in college.
  • Bid - An invitation extended by only one sorority per potential new member on Bid Day; this is the formal invitation to become a new member of that sorority.
  • Chapter - The women comprising each local collegiate group of an inter/national sorority. OSU has 12 sorority chapters on campus that participate in recruitment.
  • Colony - A new fraternity or sorority that is working to receive a charter from the inter/national organization to which it is affiliated.  When a charter is received, they become a chapter of that inter/national organization.
  • Continuous Open Bidding (COB) - Another form of recruitment other than Formal Recruitment that is a more informal and relaxed way for Potential New Members to go through recruitment and join a Panhellenic chapter, and for Panhellenic chapters acquire new members. If a chapter has less than their set total number of members, they may participate in COB. It is not a guarantee that every chapter will participate in COB.
  • Current Member - The term used to indicate a current sorority woman or a fraternity man who has been formally initiated by his or her chapter. 
  • Formal Recruitment - The formal process of mutual selection by which chapters invite potential new members to join their sorority prior to the fall semester.
  • Initiation - The formal ceremonies by which new members complete membership into a chapter and receive full membership privileges.
  • Legacy - A woman whose mother, sister or, in some cases, grandmother or half-sister is an alumna or active member of a sorority. A sorority is not obligated to offer a bid to a legacy, and a potential new member is completely free to choose the sorority of her individual preference.
  • New Member - A potential new member who has accepted the bid of a sorority and has taken the first step toward full membership but has not yet been initiated.
  • Panhellenic Association - The term that refers to all members of the sorority community at Oklahoma State University.
  • Panhellenic Council - An organization composed of representatives of each sorority chapter who act as the central governing body of all sororities.
  • Potential New Member (PNM) - An unaffiliated woman who attends formal recruitment or participates in Continuous Open Bidding.
  • Quota - The number of new members that each Panhellenic sorority may select during formal recruitment.
  • Recruitment Counselor (Gamma Chi) - A member of a Panhellenic chapter who assists PNMs during the recruitment process. This woman completely disaffiliates from her sorority to provide objective advice and support.
  • Recruitment Group - A group of 50-60 women women who live in close proximity to each other and are led by a Recruitment Counselor. This group will attend all of the Open House events together on the first and second days of recruitment. 
  • Rec. Letter - A recommendation letter is written by an alumna of a specific chapter. These letters are not required for participation in recruitment. Any letters Potential New Members are given are to only be submitted online to the national organization. Any letters given to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs will be destroyed.
  • Sorority (Women’s Fraternity) - A values-based, social Greek letter, sisterhood organization based on the fundamental right of a free people to form voluntary associations. 
  • Total - The allowable chapter size that is evaluated and determined by the Panhellenic Council every year. It includes both new and active members, and usually reflects the average or median chapter size. Chapter total is the total number of members that a chapter may recruit to during Continuous Open Bidding.
• General FAQs

  Visit the main Fraternity & Sorority Affairs site for additional frequently asked questions.