Collegiate Panhellenic Council Recruitment

Click here to register for Continuous Open Bidding Fair!

Thank you for your interest in joining a Panhellenic sorority at Iowa State! Joining a Panhellenic organization is one of the most important decisions that you will make during your undergraduate years. Being a member of a Panhellenic sorority is a lifetime commitment, and we are happy you have chosen to look further into this opportunity.

Questions? Read below or Contact us! Office of Sorority and Fraternity Engagement 515-294-1023 or at cpcrecruitment@iastate.edu

Interested in also, learning about culturally-based sororities? Click to learn about MGC and NPHC sororities.

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Collegiate Panhellenic Sorority Primary Recruitment

Held each fall before classes begin, potiential members will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek into all Panhellenic organizations. Women have the opportunity to move into their assigned residence halls early, meet women in their residence halls living around them and visit with each chapter.

Women will move into their assigned residence hall room a week before classes begin and be placed in a group with a Recruitment Counselor with 15-20 other women who also live in residence halls or off-campus housing. An assigned Recruitment Counselor (often called a Rho Gamma) will serve as their guide through the week. Women will visit all chapters during Welcome Weekend, after Welcome Weekend women will return to fewer chapters each day. Women will attend events based on this mutual selection process during Preference Night. Bid Day is the following day when women are offered invitations to join one of these organizations. Many women who join one of our Collegiate Panhellenic Council organizations join through the Primary Recruitment process.

Mutual selection is a process which allows the potential new member to select which chapters they would like to return to and the chapter to invite potential new members back each round. Potential new members have the opportunity to find a chapter that matches their values and will help them grow. Chapters have the opportunity to select women whose values match theirs and who will contribute to the chapter. Invitations are only guaranteed to potential new members for the first round, which begins on Friday and concludes on Saturday. There is no guarantee a potential new member will be invited to attend the following rounds of primary recruitment. Invitations to each round are made based on the preference of the potential new members and the chapters this is why we refer to this process as mutual selection.

There is no guarantee a woman will receive a bid to any sorority. However, if a potential new member progresses through the week, attends all the events she is invited to during the preference round and lists each chapter they attended on their preference sheet, they will receive a bid to a chapter they attended. There is no specific formula that explains why a woman is released from a particular chapter or why a woman prefers one chapter more than another. During primary recruitment, you will have the opportunity to select which chapters you want to be invited back to, however this does not mean you will be invited back. Every potential new member is encouraged to keep an open mind and find a way to connect with each chapter.

If you are interested in joining a Panhellenic organization, we recommend that you participate in Primary Recruitment, as many chapters will reach their capacity during this process.

Continuous Open Recruitment:

Continous Open Bidding is an informal process that sororities use to take in new members after the conclusion of Panhellenic Sorority Primary Recruitment and during the Spring semester. There is no guarantee that all 16 Panhellenic organizations will partake in Continuous Open Bidding. Due to this, we highly recommend registering for Primary Recruitment to meet all 16 chapters. If sororities are partaking in Continuous Open Recruitment, they simply contact a potential new member on their own or you may contact the chapter currently recruiting. The chapter will hold a series of informal events to get to know you better. Each chapter does it differently. Some might go to dinner with a potential member. Some chapters might hold a 'craft night' at the chapter house and invite potential members to attend.

If you are interested in Continuous Open Recruitment you can attend the CPC Recruitment Fair hosted each semester. If you have further questions, you can reach out to cpcrecruitment@iastate.edu for more information.