As your daughter makes the transition from high school to Ball State University, one decision that will impact the rest of her life is whether or not to join a sorority.
Whether you have never heard of Greek life before or are a fraternity or sorority member yourself, the Greek life staff and this Web site are dedicated to helping you better understand the opportunities that Greek life at Ball State has to offer your daughter. Below you will find information about joining a sorority and information that will help to answer your questions. Be sure to browse our Web site about the history of Greek-letter organizations at Ball State, information about Greek housing, information about our community and how to contact a member of our staff should you have any additional questions.
The best thing to do before your daughter participates in recruitment or membership intake is for you and her to review the information on our website and visit the chapters websites. You can learn more about the sororities by visiting the chapters page and reading our information about Greek terms, our anti-hazing policy, academic requirements, financial commitments, the advantages of membership and frequently asked questions.
Fall Recruitment
The Panhellenic Council sponsors formal sorority recruitment each year during the fall semester. Formal recruitment is always planned during the beginning weeks of the fall semester so it does not interfere with your daughter's course work.
Recruitment involves five days of recruitment activities. During these days of recruitment activities, the sororities invite your daughter to come over to their chapter houses or suites to see what sorority life can offer. Through different recruitment activities such as philanthropy projects, lots of conversation and a short presentation by the sorority women themselves, your daughter can get an idea of what sisterhood means to each individual chapter. Each day has a different atmosphere where it could range from a relaxed feel to a more formal feel. The last day of recruitment is what we call “Bid Day,” where, if your daughter chooses to participate, she may receive her formal invitation of membership to join a sorority.
The Panhellenic Council executive board and recruitment guides (or Pi Chi’s) organize these different events of recruitment. Your daughter will be led in a small group by a Pi Chi throughout the recruitment events. This group is referred to as her “recruitment group,” and each group sticks together throughout the entire week, supporting each other through the recruitment process.
Recruitment is an exciting and fun experience that allows your daughter to make new friends both in her recruitment group and in the chapters she visits. We urge your daughter to consider the recruitment process as a way of becoming a member of the Panhellenic Association and the Greek community as a whole. We encourage your daughter keep an open mind about all the chapters and ask for assistance with this process. Take a look at what each sorority has to offer and what makes it stand apart from the others!
Remember, going through recruitment does not obligate your daughter to join a chapter. However, by participating in formal recruitment she can gain a better idea of what sorority life is all about.
To participate in formal recruitment, your daughter will need to complete the registration form.
Spring Recruitment
The spring sorority recruitment process is informally structured and is designed to give both chapter members and your daughter a chance to get to know each other. Each sorority has different dates and length for when they conduct recruitment. At the beginning of each spring semester, the Panhellenic Council sponsors a sorority informational session that allows your daughter to learn about which sororities may be conducting spring recruitment.
Ball State has 10 chapters that make up the Panhellenic Council. Sororities recruit year-round, but we encourage you and your daughter to begin researching chapters and the recruitment process a semester prior to joining. If your daughter chooses to participate in the spring instead of the fall she may be limiting her options to only the sororities participating in the spring. Therefore, researching to find out which chapters are participating and when they will be conducting recruitment will be critical to her participation.
We recommend contacting the chapters that interest her. The recruitment process works best when she takes the initiative. You daughter should contact directly the recruitment chairwomen of the chapters that she might be interested in.
Ball State is home to one traditionally African-American sorority and one traditionally Latina sorority. These chapters recruit through a process known as intake. Although these organizations consist primarily of multicultural women, they are open to all women at Ball State.
The intake process for every chapter is defined by its international/national organization. Membership intake consists of attending a meeting, submitting a completed application directly to the sorority of interest, receiving approval from the organization and being educated on the group’s history and traditions, and initiation.
The National Pan-Hellenic (NPHC) intake process at the Ball State is designed to give both your daughter and chapter members a fair and equal opportunity to become acquainted.
The NPHC each fall hosts a week of events to welcome your daughter to Ball State. The week of events allows your daughter to meet members from the chapters and learn more about their events and the intake process. During NPHC's week of events, they have an NPHC Meet the Greeks that allows your daughter to learn more about their member chapters.
Throughout the year, chapters hold social, informational and educational events, which provide your daughter the opportunity to meet the members of each organization. When conducting membership intake, chapters hold interest meetings to provide your daughter information and membership forms. Membership intake is held at various times during the year. Please check the Web site of each sorority for informational dates, details, and contact information. You can also find the sorority websites and contact information on the sorority profiles section of our Web site.