Formal sorority recruitment at The University of Alabama is only conducted in the fall semester, prior to the start of school. 2017 Recruitment week begins Friday, August 11, 2017, and concludes with Bid Day on Saturday, August 19, 2017. It is important to note that the UA Panhellenic does not host a formalized spring recruitment. If you are unable to participate in fall formal recruitment, but are interested in joining a sorority, you may participate in Continuous Open Bidding (COB).
COB begins immediately following the end of the formal recruitment process, on Bid Day. COB is also sometimes held in the spring semester; however, not all sororities are eligible to participate in COB. In order to host COB events, a chapter must be under Chapter Total (I.e. Median Chapter Size). For fall 2017, Chapter Total at Alabama is currently set at 444 members. Women interested in COB, should complete a COB Interest Form. Once we receive your COB interest form, we will share it will be shared with those sororities under Chapter Total that have elected to participate in COB. For more information about the COB process, please contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at (205) 348-2693
No. Snap bidding ends when bids are distributed on Bid Day. Continuous Open Bidding (COB) begins as soon as Bid Day begins. Further, Snap Bidding is ONLY allowed for those chapters that did NOT match to quota in the bid-matching process of formal recruitment. The Snap Bidding process takes place before bids are distributed on Bid Day and eligibility is limited to women, who participated in at least the first round of recruitment (I.e. Open House). Snap Bids are coordinated and extended through the College Panhellenic, prior to the distribution of bids and the start of Bid Day activities.
Yes. Provided you are a full-time female student at UA and have not been initiated into an NPC sorority at UA or on another campus, you may participate in fall formal recruitment. Alabama utilizes an seconday quota that separates upperclassman from incoming freshman. A dual quota system is used to specifically to place upperclassmen potential members. Its purpose is to give upperclassmen and transfer students a greater opportunity to pledge during Formal Recruitment.
Although Panhellenic does not require a specific grade point average (GPA) to participate in formal recruitment or COB, each sorority has a minimum grade requirement to be eligible for membership. Every sorority strives to maintain a high chapter grade point average (GPA), therefore each must consider a woman’s ability to adhere to the chapter's scholastic standards. With the large amount of women that participate in the formal recruitment process, GPA tends to be an easy way for the chapters to begin to manage the numbers. As such, it is HIGHLY recommended that women participating in formal recruitment or COB have at or above a 3.0 cumulative high school or college GPA at the time they are seeking membership.
No. Although majority of the women participating in Recruitment are invited to join a chapter at the end of recruitment, for the last five years, more than 83% of the women participating in the Open House Round of Recruitment have received a bid, it is possible to go through recruitment and not pledge a sorority. For comparison, the National average for women receiving a bid during formal recruitment is 79%. Recruitment is a process of mutual selection, and as such, there are many different outcomes to this process. Typically, approximately 4-8% of women participating in Recruitment voluntarily withdraw themselves from the process during the week, choosing not to continue participating in Recruitment, even though they have chapters available to attend. Each sorority at UA has their own membership criteria, oftentimes governed by their national organization, which they use to make there selections. As such, unfortunately, we also have women who are completely released from the recruitment process, although this number is relatively low, around 5%.
No. Unfortunately, all registration fees are nonrefundable, no exceptions. This is clearly stated on the recruitment registration payment link, so before you register for recruitment, please take this into consideration.
The Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (MRABA), is a one-year binding agreement signed by a potential new member when ranking chapters after the final round of Preference events during the Formal Recruitment process. Prior to signing the MRABA, PNMs have several options to consider and reflect on with regard to membership options.
(1) A PNM may choose not to complete the MRABA, thereby withdrawing from recruitment. If a PNM chooses this option, she is eligible to accept a bid for membership from any sororities participating in Continuous Open Bidding (COB). However not guaranteed, a small number of sororities may be able to recruit a limited number of women through the COB process after formal recruitment, if their chapter is below Panhellenic Total (I.e. Median Chapter Size).
(2) A PNM may choose to list any sorority whose preference event she attended and from whom she is willing to accept an
invitation to membership (a bid). PNMs should NOT rank any sorority on her final selection that she is absolutely
not willing to accept a bid for membership. If a PNM matches with a sorority that she listed on her MRABA, regardless of whether she accepts the invitation for membership or not, she is bound to that sorority for one calendar year (August 2017-August 2018), and is not eligible participate in COB or accept a bid from another NPC chapter until the next formal recruitment period.
(3) A PNM may choose to list only one or two preferences, but she must understand that by choosing to single intentional preference that she is not guaranteed to receive a bid for membership. Only potential new members who maximize their options and list ALL of the chapters that they attended during the Preference Round are guaranteed to receive a bid for membership, although it may not be their top choice. If a PNM does not receive an invitation to membership (a bid) from any of the sororities that she listed on her MRABA, then she is eligible to participate in Continuous Open Bidding (COB).
If at the conclusion of formal recruitment a PNM receives a bid to a chapter that she listed on her MRABA and later decides to declines it, she is still bound to the chapter for one year or until the next formal recruitment period, meaning she cannot participate in COB and/or accept a bid for membership to another NPC sorority.
Immediately after completing registration, you will receive a confirmation email. The 2016 Sorority Recruitment Guide will available online in June. All potential members participating in recruitment, will receive a bound copy of the Sorority Recruitment Guide when they check-in at Convocation.
Although it is not required that you submit your high school and/or college transcript to each individual sorority, it is recommended that it is sent to the chapters along with any other documents (resume, headshot, etc) that are sent in with a recommendation from an alumna. It is also in the PNM's best interest to submit a transcript, especially if she has a low high school grade point average.
We kindly ask that you please do not send copies of your transcript to the Alabama Panhellenic Association or the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Yes! If you have not already done so, you will need to request that a final copy of your high school or college transcript be sent to the Office of Admissions by August 1, 2016. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that UA has your FINAL high school and/or college transcript. In order to verify the academic standing of all Potential New Members, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will request a grade report from the Office of Admission and the University Registrar, which will be shared with all the chapters participating in formal recruitment. Please note that all the sororities at UA will ONLY recognize the Grade Point Average (GPA) on listed file with The University of Alabama as the OFFICIAL recognized GPA for all students. As such, please have your high school or college send a certified copy of your FINAL transcript to the address below prior to July 17, 2017. The University of Alabama Office of Undergraduate Admissions Box 870132 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0132
As a reminder Potential New Members NOT required to secure recommendations in order to receive a bid. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the sorority to obtain a letter of recommendation if one is needed for membership. While letters of recommendation are not required to participate in recruitment; PNMs can reach out to sorority alumnae or an Alumnae Panhellenic for assistance. If you choose to seek out Letters of Rec, you are only encouraged to secure one to two recommendations per chapter.
Helpful Hints in Securing Recs:
If you are looking for an alumna to write you a recommendation, think about family members, teachers, friends, coworkers, members of your religious/spiritual affiliation, etc. Professional service and civic groups like the Junior League and Rotary are also good places to look. If you start asking around, you will likely be surprised at how many people you know that were Greek while in college.
You can also contact a local Alumnae Panhellenic, if one is available in your area.
For additional assistance with letters of recommendation, please visit the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) website, which has contact email addresses for each NPC sorority: http://thesororitylife.com/Recruitment-101/recommendations.aspx. Simply email those groups at UA in which you are needing recruitment assistance, and each group will pursue any needed action based upon their individual organizational policy.
*Please note that ALL registration fees are non-refundable, no exceptions.
Sorority Membership Costs
Sorority members pay dues each semester. Many groups use financial management companies, which offers online access and monthly payment plans. It is important to remember that sorority membership is the most expensive during the first semester due to one-time new member fees (i.e. pledging, initiation, badge or pin fee, etc.) and we suggest that you anticipate the total fees using the higher projections provided below. Women participating in recruitment will need to reference the Living Out of the Sorority House fees and New Member Fees. Please note that the semester fees vary by sorority and depend on housing arrangements.
Each chapter has a financial requirement, which should be taken into consideration before pledging a sorority. Financial requirements may include membership dues, house fees and room and board if you live in the facility. It is important to note that membership fees vary by sorority.
Living In-House Fees (per semester): *Includes room, chapter meal plan, chapter fees, and national fees
High: $7,100.00
Average: $6,200.00
Living Out-of-House Fees (per semester): *Includes chapter meal plan, chapter fees, and national fees
High: $3,400.00
Average: $3,100.00
New Member (first semester as a new member): *Includes out-of-house fees as well as one time fees associated with pledging and initiation
High: $4,600.00
Average: $3,500.00
*If you are interested in individual sorority costs, please visit the Chapter Profile page to see if that information has been provided by the chapter in either their Panhellenic Preview brochure or on their Chapter website.
What is the Greek 55 Meal Plan and How Does it Work?
Since the majority of the Panhellenic sororities have their own mandatory meal program, the University automatically downgrades new members to the Greek 55 meal plan at a cost of $538 per semester, when they join a sorority that has a full-service kitchen. If you join a sorority with a full-service kitchen, the chapter provides 14 meals a week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily Monday - Thursday, and breakfast and lunch are
available on Fridays.
Greek 55: Average of 2-3 meals per week, perfect for weekends when the chapter is not serving meals. Students who would like more than 55 meals per semester may change their meal plan to one of the following: Bronze (90 meals per semester), Silver (125 meals per semester), or an All Access plan. The University generates an official list of all new Greek members, and student accounts will automatically be credited the difference between the original meal plan and the Greek 55 downgrade.
This year Bid Day at UA will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 19, 2017. Bid Day activities begin at Bryant-Denny Stadium with the official opening of the bids ceremony and continue along sorority row, as each sorority hosts a Bid Day lunch to welcome new members and their
parents.
Bid distribution is traditionally followed by a lunch hosted at the sorority houses for the new members. While parents are invited to participate in the excitement of Bid Day, visit the sorority house for brunch and learn about the chapter, due to space constraints, each new member is limited to 2 adult parents/guardians.
On or soon after Bid Day, sororities plan retreats so that their new member class has an opportunity to bond and get to know each other. On this retreat, the new members are able to meet their new sisters, learn about their sorority, and celebrate finding their home away from home for the next four years. Since many parents travel to UA for Bid Day, it is important to know whether the chapter you end up joining will be leaving on Bid Day for a new member retreat.
