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Fraternity & Sorority Life FAQ
Helpful information for students
If you have questions, we have the answers. Search our frequently asked question topics below and for further information, contact us.
1. How much time does it take up? Can I still be involved in other activities and/or have time for a job? Accordion Closed
Your first semester of being a new member will be your most active with chapter involvement because you will be going through a new member education program. As far as weekly time commitments, there is a chapter meeting every week that is mandatory and some events throughout the semester that may be mandatory (i.e. philanthropy events or service projects). Chapters also encourage weekly attendance to proctored study hours.
2. If I am a member of an NAU sports team (NCAA) can I still join a chapter? Accordion Closed
3. How do I choose which chapter is the best for me? Accordion Closed
4. How much does it cost? Accordion Closed
5. Does it cost extra money to be in a sorority? Accordion Closed
Dues cover the cost of the activities that you will be participating in, supplies that you need, and operating the organization. Other costs may come up throughout the year if you want to participate in other activities that are not covered by the chapter. These activities are not mandatory and you can choose if you want to spend additional money to participate.
Additional costs for sorority members will be clothing options for sorority recruitment in the fall. Chapters will give an idea of what to purchase, and then you can choose how much you want to spend.
6. What is the difference between Interfraternity (IFC), College Panhellenic Council (CPC), and United Greek Council (UGC) organizations? Accordion Closed
7. Can I join in the spring semester or my sophomore year? Accordion Closed
8. What is the new member/pledge process like? Accordion Closed
It is an 8-12 week process in which new members or “pledges” are assimilated to the organization that they join. During their pledge process, they will learn various things such as time management, chapter management, core values of the organization, history, and more about themselves and their brothers.
While “pledging” it is thought that the new member will be required to be doing something fraternity-related at all times of the day. It is possible to be doing that but also unnecessary, the new member needs to find the right amount of balance between his studies and his extracurricular activities no matter what they are. Required time for new members throughout the week consists of attending both active and new member meetings, study hours where there will be active members proctoring to make sure that school work is being accomplished, and lastly intramural games and community service projects that they would like to participate in. It seems like a lot but if the free time new members have is used effectively then there should be no reason why both academics and pledge ship cannot be accomplished together.
During the process of learning chapter management, new members will learn how to run an effective business meeting. They attend both active chapter meeting, as well as the new member meeting both, held once a week. During the active meeting, they observe to see how meetings should run and then replicate that during their meetings. After the process, the new members should feel comfortable in the active meetings to voice their opinion and to properly bring items to the table.
During their interactions with members of the fraternity, active, alumni or new member, they will learn about the organizations’ history every day. While doing this they will see how the core values of the fraternity have been incorporated into the founding and continuation of the organization. By getting to know the active members, as well as the member of their “pledge class” the new member, will learn a lot about the different backgrounds that everyone has and how that has affected their fraternity experience.
Throughout the pledging process, new members will learn a lot of information. Whether it is how to manage their time to do well in academics as well as have fun with their fraternity, or if it is learning about the history of their organization and how the challenges that have faced both past and present.
9. What exactly is Sorority recruitment? How does the process work? Accordion Closed
10. Do you have a join a sorority as a freshman? Accordion Closed
No, you can join at any point in your college career. About 15% of women going through Fall formal recruitment are upperclassmen (Sophomore-Senior). The advantage of going through recruitment in the Fall is that you can have a chance to join all the sororities because they are all recruiting. Spring recruitment is informal and more casual. If the sorority has spaces, then they can recruit in the spring, but not all may be open for recruitment. You can get more out of your experience by joining your freshmen and sophomore year.
11. What is Rush Week? What do you do? Accordion Closed
Fraternity and United Greek Council (UGC) recruitment is an informal process. The chapters will give a listing of their events that you can attend during Rush Week. The events are social and a way to get to know chapter members and more about their chapter. Some chapters may have invite-only events for those moving forward in their process and have interviews. At the end of the week the chapters hand out bids, an invitation to join their organization, and you can decide if you want to accept their bid. It is possible to receive a bid from more than one chapter but you are only allowed to accept one bid.