Reno Panhellenic Association
University of Nevada, Reno
Recruitment General Information
Recruitment can be confusing or overwhelming! We want to give you as much information as possible to make the process easy for you!
Common Terminology
Here's some common terms used in Fraternity and Sorority Life!
Bid: a formal invitation to a join a fraternity or sorority chapter
Chapter: international or national sorority or fraternity organization on campus
Potential New Member: any person participating in a recruitment process or any person interested in joining a chapter organization
Primary Recruitment: the time in which the main recruitment events take place on a campus
Recruitment Counselor: We call them Rho Gammas! They guide potential new members through the recruitment process. Check out the Recruitment Counselor page for more.
Philanthropy: A charitable event or project that raises funds for a particular cause or organization that the chapter supports. Our campus has an entire round of recruitment dedicated to discussing our organization's philanthropic efforts.
Mutual Selection: A mutual membership selection process between potential new members and chapter organizations. This is utilized during all of recruitment. The process entails that both the potential new member and the chapter organization must select one another for a potential new member to receive a bid from the organization.
Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (MRABA): A binding agreement that a potential new member signs following the last round of recruitment. The agreement binds the potential new member to a chapter until the next primary recruitment period. More info on this will be shared with you!
Fall and Spring Recruitment
Our campus does primary recruitment in the fall semester. The primary recruitment is the structured and formal process of recruitment where women are assigned to specific rounds and times to meet with every chapter.
Primary recruitment is the opportunity for the MOST amount of women to join a Panhellenic sorority.
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Our campus may hold a continuous open bidding (COB) after the fall recruitment and during the spring semester. The purpose of the COB process is to find more women who would mutually select a sorority chapter and for that sorority chapter to select that woman. This process tends to be more informal, with causal events on or off campus.
However, not every chapter will participate in a COB process. Further, the number of bids distributed during a COB process will be much less compared to the number of bids distributed during the primary recruitment.
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Because of this, we encourage women to go through the primary recruitment process if possible for the highest likelihood to match to a chapter.
Financial Information
Women are expected to fulfill the financial obligations of the organization they join. Upkeep with your fees (known as dues) ensures the organization can run properly.
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Your dues/fees go toward a number of things including:
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National Dues
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Insurance
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Chapter Facility Upkeep
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Philanthropic Events
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Sisterhood bonding events
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Social events
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Chapter Events, like Founders Day or Retreats
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Family Weekends
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Chapter apparel
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and MORE
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Basically, you pay in dues for all the amazing and fun events and opportunities you get through the chapter!
Finance Expectations
Women can expect to pay anywhere from $800 to $1400 per semester as an active, initiated member, depending on the organization.
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The first semester may tend to be more expensive as there are additional costs as a new member for the organization. For example, there are often new member registration fees with the national headquarters , or purchase of membership pins, or other misc. costs during the new member period.
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The first semester may look more like $1100 to $1800. Again, after the first semester, the costs will typically be much less per semester per year.
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Members also have the option to live-in the chapter house facilities if applicable. Members who live-in will have the costs of room/board, meals, and their dues all together. This can look anywhere from $2500 to $6500. This may seem like a lot, but the pricing is often MUCH less than the cost of rent in the area, groceries, and sorority dues when living out of house!
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Each chapter does have payment plan options and are often willing to work with individual members about payment solutions that fit their needs! Be sure to ask each organization about what this looks like and what plan may work for you!
