We, who make up the faculty and staff, hope your daughter will enjoy being a part
of our campus. You will find 快猫成版视频 has many varied activities and organizations
in which your daughter can become involved and a sorority is one of those options.
Many moms and dads ask me what sororities are like and how their daughters go about
becoming part of a sorority.
Sororities at 快猫成版视频 are made up of women with varying backgrounds and interests.
Sororities provide structured and planned activities to enhance their members鈥 college
years. For example, if there is a pep rally, the members get together, make signs
and go support the Trojans. A sorority may have a speaker address them on the topic
of successful job interviewing technique. Perhaps your daughter loves to play sports,
the sororities sponsor intramural teams in which she can participate. Our sorority
women also believe in helping others, you can find them tutoring children in after
school programs and playing bingo with the elderly. Sororities encourage their members
to participate in all aspects of campus life and support their efforts.
I want to point out our sororities realize that their members鈥 first priority is their
academics. I am proud to say that the all-sorority grade point average is consistently
higher than the all-women鈥檚 grade point average.
Sorority life has brought much happiness to the women who have been a part of it.
The decision whether to participate in membership recruitment is a difficult but important
one. We hope this website will help your daughter become familiar with sorority life
and help her make that decision. Also, during IMPACT, the sorority women and I will
be present to answer any questions and to meet with you and your daughter. Whatever
decision your daughter makes, we hope your family will love being a part of the Troy
University family.
Barbara Patterson Panhellenic Advisor
Information for Parents of Potential New Members
We know many parents/guardians will participate in the decision of whether or not
their daughter will participate in sorority recruitment. We want you to feel comfortable
with this decision. Some parents are very familiar with the Greek community and are
sorority members themselves, but to others it is an unfamiliar concept. For both groups,
it is important to learn about sorority life and the process of joining. In this document
we address many of the questions most parents ask us about.
Will my daughter be safe joining a sorority?
We know safety and security is a primary concern for parents. We want you to know
our sorority houses are regularly patrolled by University Police and because they
are so close to the City of Troy police station they keep an eye on sorority hill.
Each sorority has a group of alumnae volunteers who work very closely with the sorority
to make sure the sorority is operating as it should be. When a sorority hosts a social
event every effort is made to make sure the event is safe. Security is hired, they
travel on buses, adult chaperones are present and the sororities expect the host establishment
to enforce the legal drinking age to ensure safety. Women found in violation of underage
drinking are subject to discipline within their sorority which may very well mean
losing their membership. Sororities help their members to see they can have a good
time while maintaining high standards. Please remember your daughter is ultimately
responsible for her behavior and while the sorority will encourage safe behavior,
if she engages in risky behavior she endangers her life and others. Our sorority women
believe in looking out for each other, but they will not tolerate members who do not
maintain a high standard of behavior.
When should my daughter join a sorority?
We know sorority life is not for every woman. We do want you to know that Fall recruitment
is the major time sororities take in new members. Sometimes parents will say their
daughter does not want to join until spring semester. We rarely have openings in sororities
during spring semester. There might be a few openings in a couple of sororities spring
semester but that is unpredictable. Sororities design their programs to help their
new members get acclimated to college very quickly. Last Fall semester the overall
GPA of sorority women was a 3.26. The undergraduate female GPA was a 3.11. You can
see the sororities are serious about grades and getting their members acclimated to
campus. If your daughter does not go through recruitment this August and still wants
to join a sorority, please encourage her to do so her sophomore year.
My daughter isn't sure about joining a sorority - should she do it anyways?
To some college women and their parents, joining a sorority sounds terrific. They
want to have something to help them socially and academically while providing structure.
But, some look at it as too restricting and too time demanding. Each student needs
to look at their strengths and weaknesses and evaluate what they can do. Some questions
they need to be think through are, do they want to go to weekly meetings, have required
study hours, maintain a high standard of behavior, attend and participate in campus
events and volunteer in the community. If this is too overwhelming, then do not encourage
them to participate. Our campus has wonderful campus ministries, lots of service and
leadership organizations and many athletic and cultural events to attend. There are
many successful students at 快猫成版视频 who do not join sororities.
What are the costs?
The first cost cost associated with sorority life is the $60.00 recruitment fee with
a $5.00 handling fee. The first semester there will be $600 to $700 in ONE TIME fees.
Some of those fees will be paid on Bid Day or very quickly afterward. Most of these
ONE TIME fees go to the national organization as pledging, initiation and/or insurance
costs. All our sororities bill online through national companies their national organizations
have set up. Each sorority has a different way of billing whether it be monthly or
by the semester. The good news is if your daughter shares with you her user name and
password to the online billing system you can have access to her account. Monthly
dues run around $140. Some chapters may be a little less some a little more. Once
all bills are paid for a year most sororities cost about the same on this campus.
Dues are used for the operation of the sorority. Examples of chapter operations 鈥
sponsoring an intramural team, sisterhood events for the chapter, tailgating for a
football game, sisterhood and recognition events, formals, date parties, etc. T-shirts
are not included in dues and t-shirts are very popular especially their first year.
Sororities do not charge dues during the summer.
Can I sign my daughter up for recruitment myself?
College can be a tough transition for a student. Some students are eager and anxious
to handle everything while others are still expecting 鈥渕omma鈥 to do everything. Please
let them sign up for recruitment on their own. Do not fill out their online application
for them. Encourage her to carefully read the instructions and fill it out on her
own 鈥 this way any mistakes made are her fault, not yours. Feel free to assist her,
but let her do the entering in.
What is Move In Day like?
Move in day for those living in the residence hall is Saturday, August 3, 2024 and
Sunday, August 4, 2024 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. If your daughter has indicated on her online recruitment form that she is living
on campus, we notify Housing, and they will be ready for her to check in. You will
just go to the residence hall lobby she is assigned to and resident assistants will
be there to check her in. You will not be assigned a specific day or time to check
in. You can just arrive anytime between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm on Saturday or Sunday.
Please do not call the Housing Office and ask about move in for sorority recruitment.
While we closely coordinate with them, they will just refer you to us. If you have
questions call 334-670-3204.
It is important to realize that the University rents out residence halls during the
summer to conferences. Because we are coming back early some conferences may just
have checked out the day before you arrive, so sometimes rooms are not clean when
you check in. Housing does its best to avoid this but it sometimes happens, please
be patient with this. It should take you about an hour to an hour and half to unload
your car. At that time, we suggest that you leave your daughter to unpack and set
up her room. She will also have time during the week to do so. Everything does not
need to be perfect and in place before you leave. Also, we ask that unless you are
from very far away, do not stay in Troy for all of sorority recruitment. There will
be little time for you to visit with your daughter as she will be busy with recruitment.
We understand there is a natural urge to stay and protect her, but the best way for
her to adjust is to make friends with those going through recruitment with her and
spend time with them.
We do want you to know that many moms and dads are wonderful volunteers for our sororities
once the girls join. Many parents will come down and help behind the scenes with all
kinds of sorority projects. Many parents will grill for tailgates and provide meals
during sorority recruitment. So once your daughter joins a sorority, they would love
for you to help.
What if my daughter does not live on campus?
We know many women going through recruitment will not live on campus. One problem
we know happens every year is that apartment complexes will not let the women move
in for recruitment. You need to let the complexes know well in advance and ask them
to cooperate. If they will not cooperate, your daughter needs to try and bunk in with
friends. As a last resort she may want to stay in a hotel. Another challenge that
arises is that potential new members are not allowed to live with sorority women the
week of recruitment. The sorority woman is the one who is to find an alternate place
to live. Your daughter and the sorority woman should work this out well in advance.
Also, if you and your daughter live in the Troy area and are willing to take a potential
new member in for the week of recruitment, please let us know.
Should I attend bid day?
Sorority Recruitment week is for students only. Families are invited to attend Bid
Day and most do. Bid Day is when each potential member learns what sorority she has
been placed in. Families should be at sorority hill by 9:30 am. Because parking is
limited at sorority hill we will have buses running from the Trojan Center parking
lot to sorority hill from 9:00 am on for families to ride on. The women will be released
from Elm Street gym no later than 10:00 am. After the women are released from the
gym, they will go over to their sorority house and have pictures taken. Each sorority
will have a quick meeting with parents. After about an hour, families leave and the
members stay behind for lunch, get to know you games, swim parties, etc. which usually
go well into the evening. So if you live close by we encourage you to attend. If you
are coming from a far distance you will want to carefully consider whether or not
you want to attend as you will not spend much time with your daughter that evening.
If you can鈥檛 attend it is nothing to worry about. Only students are allowed in Elm
Street gym during the distribution of bids.
What are my daughter鈥檚 chances of getting in a sorority?
This is a very legitimate concern. We understand your daughter may get her feelings
hurt by either not getting into a sorority or not getting into the one she had her
heart set on. When women sign up for recruitment they are put into one of two groups
that are called the Primary Pool and the Secondary Pool. The primary pool is composed
of women who graduated from high school in 2024. The secondary pool is composed of
women who graduated from high school before 2024. Most women in the secondary pool
have completed some college hours. Each group during recruitment is treated separately
to help with maximum placement of traditional freshmen and upperclassmen. Last year
we had 222 women begin recruitment and 199 pledged. Encourage your daughter to consider
all her options and be open minded she will have a greater chance of pledging. If
your daughter is released from recruitment we have sorority women called Pi Chis who
will notify them and help them if needed. Some released potential new members select
to stay involved in their group activities. The Pi Chis also try to encourage them
to get involved in other campus activities.
It is important that your daughter realize sorority recruitment is like any other
selection process. Job interviews, scholarship interviews, and team selections are
a part of all our experiences. Sometimes we get selected and sometimes we do not.
Putting her best foot forward with her recruitment application and preparing to meet
and greet the sorority sisters is a very important life lesson. We hope that you will
talk to her about her preparation for recruitment and how to handle disappointment
if she should be released.
How does the recruitment process work?
If you were a member of a sorority, you might remember sorority recruitment as a process
where the sorority extend invitations to the women to attend their parties and the
women accepted or regretted those invitations. This model of recruitment no longer
exists. Also, you may remember the terms 鈥渞ush鈥, 鈥渞ushee鈥. We no longer use those
terms. You can see that those terms have been replaced by recruitment and potential
new member. We use a model of recruitment called priority accept model based on statistics.
Our overall goal is to place as many women as possible into sororities. To give an
example, the first day of sorority recruitment she goes to 6 sororities and the next
day she may go to 4 sororities. Your daughter will after the first round tell us which
4 sororities she would like to attend the next day and then rank the other sororities.
Then the sororities gives us their list of women they would like back. Our system
first tries to see which of those 4 have invited her back. If one does not invite
her back, the system then tries to see if she was invited back to her next preference.
Then potential member then receives a schedule letting her know where she will go.
This process is repeated the next round. Please note that the rankings of your daughter
and of the sororities are confidential and are not released to anyone.
How should my daughter decide which sorority is right for her?
Each sorority at 快猫成版视频 has something unique and wonderful to offer your
daughter just as she has talents to offer each sorority. If your daughter goes into
recruitment with the idea of only pledging one or two sororities she is setting herself
up for disappointment. Encourage her to look for what is the best in every sorority
she visits and to envision how she could make a difference in that group. Encourage
her to remain positive and make decisions for herself. Many people love to give 鈥渁dvice鈥
on sorority recruitment and when you start telling your friends your daughter is going
through recruitment at Troy you will understand this. Please encourage her to make
her decisions based on her experience in recruitment, not someone else鈥檚 opinions.
What are recommendations?
Recommendations are the most misunderstood part of sorority recruitment. A recommendation
is like a letter of reference. You will hear many people tell you many different things
about recommendations, most of which are untrue. First, it is the sorority鈥檚 responsibility
to get a recommendation for your daughter. If she signs up early a sorority should
have no problem getting a recommendation from your hometown. If she signs up late,
they will scramble to find a recommendation, but will do so if they wish to pledge
her.
We know in the state of Alabama everyone believes they must actively seek and get
recommendations for their daughter. If you wish to do so, that is fine. Feel free
to ask your friends who are sorority alumnae to write your daughter a recommendation.
Many parents will tell us they don鈥檛 know anyone who is a sorority alumnae. Just start
telling friends and associates that your daughter is going through sorority recruitment
at Troy and you will be surprised at how many will tell you of their Greek affiliation
and offer to write a recommendation.
Each national sorority has forms, most of which are now online (but user name and
password protected). The actual form does not have to be filled out. We have provided
the e-mail addresses of the sororities and if you know of a sorority alumnae who wishes
to write a recommendation encourage her to email the sorority a reference. If the
sorority wants the alumnae to fill out a form they will send it to her. Also, another
big misconception is how many recommendations are necessary. Only one recommendation
per sorority is needed. In the state of Alabama for some reason, rumors fly around
you must have a certain number or the sorority won鈥檛 consider you. This is not true.
They do not have to be a 快猫成版视频 graduate to write a recommendation, but they
do need to be an alumnae of a Troy sorority. For example your friend may be an alumni
of Alpha Delta Pi, but was an undergraduate at the University of Alabama. It is fine
for her to write the recommendation.
Do Upperclassmen Women have a chance in sorority recruitment?
Yes. In sorority recruitment the sororities look at the group of freshman women and
the group of upperclassmen women in two separate pools. So they will give every consideration
to each pool of women. Most women who go through recruitment are freshman.
How does sorority housing work?
During recruitment, your daughter will already be in the residence hall she is assigned
to (if living on campus). The sorority houses generally are full when the sororities
come back in August. On occasion a space might become open and if so they will let
their new members know and see if they have any volunteers to move in. Sorority house
prices are comparable to residence hall prices. At some point in your daughter鈥檚 time
in Troy she may be asked to move in the sorority house. Generally the houses have
waiting lists for those women wanting to move in. You will want to be careful every
year to know what the sorority would expect of your daughter before signing a lease.
The Housing Office will allow a woman to move from a residence hall space to a sorority
house space with no penalty.
What are unfair practices in the recruitment process?
Our Panhellenic Council has rules that govern sorority recruitment. These rules are
to protect your daughter. Your daughter may have friends who are already in sororities
at Troy. It is perfectly fine for their normal friendship to remain as usual. It is
important your daughter not let people overstep their boundaries where recruitment
is concerned. Often sorority members, their mothers and alumnae will overstep the
boundaries of appropriate contact and place their chapter and potential members in
awkward positions. Here are some examples:
Only organized Panhellenic groups should be holding meetings about recruitment. No
particular sorority, mothers or alumnae groups should do this.
No one should be contacting you or your daughter about recruitment if you don鈥檛 already
know them. In addition, the people who do know you should not be contacting you regarding
recruitment unless it is to write a recommendation. This includes friends taking a
potential member out to discuss recruitment.
No one should be sending your daughter cards, letters, or gifts, unless it is a gift
giving occasion and the person is someone who would ordinarily be giving her a gift
even if she weren鈥檛 participating in recruitment.
No one should be discussing your daughter鈥檚 status or supposed status within a sorority
with anyone, even you. Only a very small group of women actually see the official
information submitted by the sororities and it is confidential, so anything you hear
is going to be hearsay and mostly the opinion of people who don鈥檛 know the whole story.
During recruitment, your daughter should not receive any cards, letters, gifts, or
communication from sorority members, alums, or member鈥檚 mothers. She also should not
try to contact them from the beginning of sorority recruitment until Bid Day. Contact
includes, but is not limited to visits, phone calls, e-mails, text messages, Facebook
messages, social media message, cards and letters.
My daughter is a legacy, will this help her get in?
Sororities at Troy consider their legacies very carefully. They will not decide to
pledge someone just because she is a legacy. A legacy is someone whose mother, grandmother,
or sister is a member of a sorority. Misconceptions about legacies abound. First,
national policies vary concerning legacies. 快猫成版视频 has three rounds of sorority
recruitment. A sorority may or may not be required by their national organization
to invite a legacy back to the second round of parties. Because we only have three
rounds, most of our sororities are not obligated to invite a legacy back to the second
round. Second, legacies are given the same amount of consideration as non-legacies.
A woman will not get into a sorority just because she is a legacy. Third, if your
daughter is released, the relative may or may not be notified by the sorority that
your daughter has been released. Finally, if your daughter is a legacy, we know it
is a natural tendency to lean toward that sorority. We certainly understand that.
But, encourage her to go through recruitment with an open mind and to make new friends
at all the sororities during recruitment.