Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment

Each chapter has specific standards for member behavior. These standards include abiding by all national, state, and local laws, as well as University and individual chapter policies. Standards also include fulfilling all financial and housing obligations, such as paying chapter dues on time and abiding by all chapter house regulations.

All sororities at The University of Mississippi have high academic standards and expect members to achieve their scholastic potential. Chapters may offer mentorship, peer tutoring, and study hours. Studying completed in a proctored environment may be required based on academic achievement. Typically, most students find that they will need two hours outside of the classroom for every one hour spent in the classroom each week to prepare for and do well in their academic coursework.

New members can expect to attend one chapter meeting and one new member meeting per week. While these two meetings may vary in length from week to week, the average number of hours spent in meetings held by Panhellenic chapters is 1-2 hours each per week depending on the items on the agenda.

Members are expected to participate in philanthropy events, community service, recruitment, homecoming, and other campus events.  While they may not occur every week, but members are encouraged to attend all sisterhood and social events that their chapter may host. The College Panhellenic Council will host a variety of philanthropic, educational, and community events that members are heavily encourage to attend and participate in.

There are several costs associated with participating in recruitment. Payment is required at the time of completing registration. The various fees are as follows:

• $150.00 Recruitment Registration Fee: This fee is required for every student that registers for recruitment and covers the cost of participating in the process. This fee includes T-Shirts, a tote bag, access to our recruitment software, and Convocation and Bid Day programming. The recruitment registration fee is solely used to provide resources to those participating, and does not ensure an invitation to membership for any organization.
• $168.00 Early Meal Plan Fee: This fee is required for every student that registers for the recruitment process and ensures that all Potential New Members (PNMs) are able to eat on campus during recruitment week.
  • More information regarding meal plans
• $100.00 Early Move In Fee: This fee is required for any students living on campus, including in any off-campus apartments that are owned and under agreement with the University of Mississippi. This fee allows Housing and Residential Life to prepare the facilities ahead of time and provide support during early move-in for PNMs.
  • More information regarding housing on campus
• Because both are required for any student participating in recruitment, the registration fee and Early Meal Plan fee will be collected together, totaling $318.00. If you are living on campus, including in any off-campus apartments that are owned and under agreement with the University of Mississippi, you will also be required to pay the Early Move In fee, totaling $100.00. The recruitment registration fee ($150.00) is non-refundable under any circumstances. This includes withdrawing registration before attending the university, being removed due to ineligibility, being withdrawn or released from the process during the week, or not receiving a desired outcome at the conclusion of recruitment. If a PNM chooses to withdraw before or during recruitment, or is released from the process, they can contact Housing and Residence Life and Contractual Services to explore refunding the Early Meal Plan and Early Move In fees.

You should reach a confirmation email once you click “Submit” when registering online. If you don’t reach the confirmation page, please email collegepanhellenic@olemiss.edu. You will also receive an emailed receipt for your registration fees when paid.

Once a student registers for Primary Recruitment, they will begin receiving email updates from the Panhellenic Council from the email address, greeks@olemiss.edu.

Log back into CampusDirector any time using your Ole Miss WebID and password to edit your registration. Note, once you are logged back into CampusDirector, click on “Edit Account” on the left side of the page. You may see some information missing in “read only” fields. Don’t worry! The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life staff will update that information every Friday afternoon leading up to Primary Recruitment. There will be some fields that you will not be able to edit; however, you will be able to edit those fields that you entered at the time of your registration.

Due to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life using your Ole Miss WebID to generate your CampusDirector account, sometimes that authorization times out for security reasons. Simply clear your web browser’s history, cache, cookies, etc. from the past hour or so. If you refresh the page, you should be able to proceed. Feel free to call 662-915-7609 if you have any issues with this!

A Recommendation/Reference letter (also called a REC or RIF) serves as your introduction to the sorority, so that active members can get to know you in advance of primary recruitment in the fall. You may choose to have a recommendation or reference letter sent on your behalf to each of our chapters, and we encourage all potential new members to participate in this process. However, recommendation letters are not required to participate in the primary recruitment process – they are more like bonus points!

Reference and recommendation letters do not guarantee a bid for membership. Instead, they will help the chapters to learn a little about you in advance of primary recruitment. Many of our sororities strongly encourage a reference from an alumna before a woman can join; however, they are not essential for any sorority and most will accept a third-party letter as well. Every year we have women participate in recruitment that did not have a recommendation prior to the start of recruitment. If a chapter is interested in you becoming a member, they are well-equipped to obtain the information they need to invite you to the next round or extend a bid to membership.

Additional “letters of support,” are personal handwritten letters on stationery from a sorority alumna who has a personal relationship with a PNM, recommending her for membership. “Letters of Support” differ from Recommendations/References in that they are not on the official sorority recruitment information form and are often sent to the chapter either alone or as supplement to the recruitment information form. While commonplace in some areas, “Letters of Support” are neither encouraged nor recognized at The University of Mississippi.

If you cannot find a letter of recommendation for each of the 11 NPC sororities participating in primary recruitment at the University of Mississippi, please do not worry! Recommendation letters are not required, they are just highly encouraged.

We suggest that you consider family, friends, parents’ work colleagues or other people in your life who may be sorority alumnae. Another option is to acquire third-party recommendation letters from adults who are non-Greek.

It is a policy within our University that all students interested in joining an organization within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours and hold a 2.7 cumulative GPA. Any potential new member who does not have a 2.7 GPA at the time of registration closing will not be permitted to participate in the primary recruitment process. To read more about this policy, you can refer to the M Book, policy DSA.DS.400.005.

First-year students or students with less than 12 college credit hours will use their final cumulative high school grade point average as reported by their high school. Students with more than 12 college credit hours will use their college cumulative grade point average as reported by their academic institution. To help students understand how their GPA may affect their primary recruitment experience, Panhellenic Council created Grade Zones to show how academics may factor in Primary recruitment.

Students should submit their final high school or college transcripts after graduation or course completion. Grades are verified by the transcripts on file with the University of Mississippi. The cumulative GPA on the transcript is the one used for Primary Recruitment. Please do not send transcripts to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. We will work with the University to update your GPA based on what you submit to the Office of the Registrar.

Students should make sure their academic transcripts reflect a cumulative GPA on a 4.00 scale. Because your high school or college understands your courses and credits best, UM Fraternity and Sorority Life and the University do not calculate a cumulative GPA. Please make sure the cumulative GPA on a 4.00 scale is listed on the transcript before it is mailed to the university.

Mail transcripts to:

The University of Mississippi
Office of Admissions, P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677-1848

Each chapter has financial requirements, which families should discuss before considering joining a sorority. Financial requirements may include membership dues, a meal plan, house fees, as well as room and board if you live in the sorority house. As prospective members, students need to talk with active members during recruitment events to learn more information about the financial obligations specific to each chapter, especially as payments are due following Bid Day.

New Member First Semester

• High: $2,890.00
• Average: $2,300.00

Members Residing Out-of-House (Per Semester)

• High: $2,950.00
• Average: $2,160.00

Members Residing In-House (Per Semester)

• High: $5,350.00
• Average: $4,210.00

Note: In most organizations, the first year of membership may be more expensive as new members pay one-time fees for items such as a membership pin, new member books, etc.

The dues for each sorority vary from chapter to chapter. However, dues are most commonly used on meals, staff salaries, chapter house maintenance, social events, international and local dues, educational programming, leadership development and materials, and community service projects. Again, be sure to ask specific questions about finances during recruitment!

The College Panhellenic Council and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life facilitate the logistics of recruitment. This means that we ensure recruitment events can happen on campus effectively. We plan Convocation, work with the chapters to set event times, plan Bid Day, and more! While we facilitate the logistics of recruitment, its important to know that neither CPH or FSL make any membership decisions on behalf of the potential new member or the chapter. More so, we are not able to know why certain membership decisions are made. Those remain confidential to the individual PNM or the chapter and are not shared with us unless deemed appropriate.

Recruitment Counselors are juniors or seniors who temporarily disaffiliate from their chapters to serve as an unbiased source of information for each potential new member. These counselors have been on both sides of recruitment and because of this, they have the experience and knowledge necessary to assess difficult and emotionally taxing situations, as well as be great leaders.

Prior to recruitment, Recruitment Counselors will hold meetings with their groups to educate all potential new members on recruitment logistics, personal values, and chapter values. They are open to answering any questions a potential new member may have regarding recruitment, and questions can be anything from what to wear to how rounds work!

Throughout Primary Recruitment, Recruitment Counselors will be stationed at each of the chapter houses during the day and can also be found at the designated selection building. They are meant to be available for their PNMs and help recruitment run smoothly. In addition, they will work closely with the Standards Board to keep rounds and the recruitment process a positive overall experience.

Every single Recruitment Counselor has signed a contract where they promised to uphold all Panhellenic values as they serve in this role. Each Potential New Member should use their Recruitment Counselor as a resource during their time going through Primary Recruitment and utilize their knowledge and experience. Recruitment Counselors are role models who should embody the true ideals of a Panhellenic woman at the University of Mississippi. They will serve as an ongoing source of support and advice throughout your time as a Panhellenic woman here at the University of Mississippi. The Recruitment Counselors are so excited to meet the PNMs and help them through their exciting recruitment process!

Members of the Ole Miss Panhellenic Standards Board are active Panhellenic juniors and seniors selected through a competitive application and interview process to help monitor Primary Recruitment and ensure the process runs smoothly and efficiently. Each Standards Board member is an active sorority woman who has disaffiliated from her chapter throughout the recruitment process to allow for unbiased conversations and monitoring of both Recruitment rounds and logistics.

Each Standards Board member has received extensive training pertaining to all Recruitment rules, logistics, and potential conversations between PNMs, active members, and chapter leadership. This training process helps ensure each Standards Board member understands the expectations of both active members and PNMs alike during the Recruitment process.

During Recruitment, Standards Board members take PNM attendance, time rounds, monitor each round, and help monitor the selection process. If there are any questions regarding a Recruitment procedure, or a potential violation of Recruitment rules, Standards Board members are available to help.

After Recruitment, Standards Board members re-affiliate to their respective chapters. Through this experience, these individuals remain a role model within the Panhellenic community and are available to answer questions. Most importantly, they rejoin their chapters with a greater appreciation of the Panhellenic community and the Recruitment process.

College Panhellenic Council encourages all women going through the Primary Recruitment process to keep an open mind. The National Panhellenic Conference and its member organizations promote an accessible and inclusive recruitment, meaning that if you are a legacy of that organization, you are not guaranteed a bid to that organization.

The primary recruitment process takes place before classes begin. However, you may be attending extended orientation or various campus welcome events. We ask that recruitment be a priority, but if you need to be excused from an event for any reason there will be a form to fill out from your recruitment counselor. If an emergency arises on the day of your round, please let your recruitment counselor know immediately.

The University of Mississippi requires all freshmen to have a University meal plan. Students can choose any meal plan that works best for them.

When students join a fraternity or sorority, their membership dues include meals at the house, when available. Typically, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served Monday through Friday, with dinner not available on Friday and no meals on Saturday or Sunday. If students become members of a fraternity or sorority in their freshman year, there is an opportunity for them to switch to a Greek meal plan, which you can learn more about here. For more information about meal plans, contact Ole Miss Dining Services.