There’s a lot of uncertainty around Greek life from people outside of the organization. Social media, especially TikTok, has shown us the intense, hectic version of Rush Week that everyone has become obsessed with. This can put an idea of what sorority recruitment is like in peoples’ minds. Here at UConn, we see sororities wearing the same shirts, promoting their different events on social media, or doing fundraising for their different philanthropies. As a recruit, it can be so scary to think that a group of women are judging whether you are right for their organization but don’t be worried. I went through sorority recruitment at UConn this fall, and I experienced the ups, downs, and all the other emotions that came with rushing.
Panhellenic Council Sororities at UConn
There are nine sororities at UConn under the Panhellenic Council. The Panhellenic is an umbrella organization that has four core pillars that each sorority follows: scholarship, leadership, philanthropy, and sisterhood. These nine sororities are:
- Alpha Chi Omega (A Chi O)
- Alpha Epsilon Phi (A E Phi)
- Alpha Omicron Pi (A O Pi)
- Alpha Phi (A Phi)
- Delta Zeta (DZ)
- Gamma Phi Beta (G Phi)
- Kappa Alpha Theta (Theta)
- Phi Sigma Rho (Phi Rho) *This sorority has a separate recruitment process because it is a STEM sorority.*
- Pi Beta Phi (Pi Phi)
For more information on each, check out the UConn Greek Life website.
Other Greek Organizations
There are many other organizations that you can join if you’re looking for something different than the aforementioned nine. There’s the Intercultural Greek Council (IGC), which are culturally-based fraternities that focuses on cultural awareness both on and off campus. There’s also the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC), which includes the “divine-nine” historically African-American sororities and fraternities. These two organizations are great options if you are looking into going Greek on campus. For each sorority and fraternity there are stereotypes, however, when going through recruitment try not to rely too much on them because it could limit the potential to find where you fit the most.
Recruitment: Day by Day
Recruitment is usually within the first two weekends of the semester and runs from Thursday to Monday. Each day has a specific topic that will be discussed in each chapter you go to, and as the days go on, the number of chapters you attend decreases. UConn operates on a value-based recruitment standard, so both you and the chapters are voting if they want you to be invited back the next day. This sounds scary, but it’s not! Some chapters know that you’d thrive better somewhere else, so they let you go. Don’t take these things personally, and keep going strong!
THURSDAY (Scholarship Round): On this day, you’re meeting with each of the nine sororities for about 20 minutes each. They’ll give you a brief rundown of how their sorority helps their members with anything related to academics. Then you meet with one to two current members and get to talk to them and see if you like the energy! At the end of the night, you vote on what chapters you enjoyed the most.
What to Wear: For this round, you can really wear anything that you feel most confident in. My round was virtual, so I wore a cute shirt with sweatpants. However, you can wear anything from a cute shirt or tank top to jeans, a skirt, or shorts.
FRIDAY (Philanthropy Round): For your second round, you’ll be invited back to seven chapters at most. Each individual round will be about 30 minutes. There, each chapter will talk about their philanthropy. Philanthropies vary between each chapter and can be found here. The philanthropies are very important to each chapter and it’s what they do most of their fundraising for. If any of the philanthropies have personal meaning to you, be sure to let a member that you talk to know! It’s great to let the chapter know that you may have a personal connection to what they raise so much awareness for.
What to Wear: For this round, the Panhellenic Council gave each potential new member (PNM) a shirt to wear for the day. I paired the shirt with a pair of jeans, but a skirt or cute shorts work as well! This Instagram post is the shirt that UConn Panhellenic designed for the Fall 2023 PNMs!
SATURDAY (Sisterhood Round): For this round, you will be invited back to five chapters at most. Each round will be about 40 minutes. You will get to talk to members in each chapter about what they do as sisters and how they celebrate their chapter together. For this (and any) round, don’t be afraid to ask questions and be your most confident self! The more you show that you resonate with their chapter, the more they will think that you are a good fit. Since you are with each chapter for 40 minutes, this is a great time to start to connect and be vulnerable with the members you meet.
What to Wear: This day, I wore a white sundress with a pair of wedges. You can also wear a skirt or dressy pants with a nice top. This is the first day where you want to dress professionally and make a good impression on your potential sisters.
“Being a little vulnerable shows the chapters that you take the process seriously and you want to find your home.”
SUNDAY (Preference Round): This is one of the most important days of the week. You will be invited back to up to two chapters, speaking to each for about 50 minutes. You are invited back to these chapters because they genuinely could picture you in their chapter, so it is an excellent sign if they are some of your top chapters. However, this doesn’t mean you can slack off. This is the final time you get to meet with these chapters, and it is essential that you show how much you want to be a part of their organization. This day can be very special and emotional, and that is okay! Being a little vulnerable shows the chapters that you take the process seriously and you want to find your home.
What to Wear: Pref is the day that you should dress the nicest. I wore a long black dress with nude heels, and you can wear a nice short dress or a jumpsuit as well. If you wear heels, it doesn’t hurt to keep bandaids and a pair of slippers in your rush bag for your breaks!
MONDAY (Bid Day): This is the day! After an intense weekend, filled with meeting other strong women on your campus, you can finally celebrate. You will open your bid letter, (hopefully) see a chapter that you love, and “run home” to your chapter’s celebrations. You will be greeted with a lot of smiling faces from current members, and you will get to meet all of the other new members. This will be a picture-heavy day, so be sure to get camera-ready beforehand!
What to Wear: You will get a shirt from your new sisters, so bottoms that match anything work best. I wore a white skirt, but jeans or white/black bottoms work just as well. I also just wore a pair of white sneakers, no need for heels anymore!
Sorority recruitment was one of the craziest and best things that I have ever done. It can be really hard to be a small fish in a big pond, but recruitment gives you the chance to meet so many amazing women who have the same goals and values as you. You get to practice some interviewing and networking skills and you learn how to become your most confident self. My main advice is to trust the process! You will find your home, and I hope you find all the joys in recruitment that you deserve! Good luck!