Central Orange County Alumnae Panhellenic

Sisterhood is for LIfe! The National Panhellenic Conference is made up of 26 national and international NPC women's fraternities or sororities. Sororities are rich in tradition and history. By 1900 there were 18 Greek letter organizations for women. Young women have been joining these organizations for over a century, and some of the organizations are over 150 years old.

Sororities have five basic benefits: sisterhood, scholarship, leadership, philanthropy, and socializing. Many college women seek something more than just classes and casual friends. Sororities can provide an environment that fosters personal growth and promotes lifelong friendships. In fact, many collegiate women see their sorority as a home away from home.

Along with friendship, laughter and fun, sorority membership provides opportunities for a life of learning and involvement. All Greek groups have a standard of excellence based on ideals, purposes, principles, and values, and sorority membership offers opportunities to help you reach your goals. Sororities not only set the standards for scholastic achievement, leadership development, and community service, they also stand by you as strive to achieve your personal best. Regardless of which chapter you join, you will find a strong bond with women who will celebrate your accomplishments and share your hopes and dreams.

Sorority membership spans a lifetime. After collegiate days are over, alumnae women continue to stay involved in their local alumnae chapters as members and many serve as advisors to collegiate chapters. And when moving to a new community, you may find supportive network of sisters to ease your transition.

Sorority membership means commitment. When you join, you will make a promise to uphold your sorority's standards and to support your sisters. Two other obligations of members are time and money.

In addition to the time commitment to your studies, you will be expected to attend chapter meetings and other sorority events. Your attendance is required at some of these meetings and events.

You also have a financial obligation to pay your sorority expenses. All sororities have fees and those amounts vary from chapter to chapter. Examples of expenditures are one-time fees for new members, badges, and national enrollment. Other variable fees include dues, housing, and depending upon the campus-meals. The details regarding your financial commitment will be listed prior to your final decision to become a member.

Sororities strive to make membership as affordable as possible. Many sorority women hold jobs, receive financial aid or earn scholarships. There are also programs and scholarships for those who need assistance with membership.

WHY JOIN A SORORITY?

Fraternity & Sorority Membership Helps Keep Students in College
Students who belong to a fraternity or sorority are more likely to stay in college than other students. A study by the Center for Advanced Social Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia found fraternity or sorority membership increased student retention by about 28% as compared with the results that would be expected by "chance".

Alumni Members Achieve Success
College graduates who belong to a fraternity or sorority tend to be more successful financially than other college graduates. After factoring out the effects of parents' education level, gender and year of graduation, the Center found fraternity or sorority membership correlated positively with higher income.

Fraternity & Sorority Alumni Give More to Alma Maters
Colleges receive more gifts -- and in greater amounts -- from fraternity and sorority alumni, research shows. In one study, 22% of members from the 1945 and 1955 eras said they gave their alma maters $500 to $1,000 in 1996. Four percent of other alumni made comparable gifts. Eleven percent of member alumni gave $1,000 to $5,000 versus 1.4% among non-members.

Brothers & Sisters Are More Active in Campus, Community Activities
Student members tend to participate more fully in extracurricular campus activities -- including, of course, their membership in a fraternity or sorority -- than do other students.

Fraternity and sorority members also nurtured their "social capital" -- involvement in the community -- in later years. A Center for Advanced Social Research study indicated 1965-1994 era fraternity and sorority alumni took part more fully in volunteer organizations, charitable activities and nonprofits than did others. A study of 1945 and 1955-era alumni showed member alumni fully as active in the community as non-member alumni.

Rating the Value of the College Experience
Research showed fraternity and sorority alumni members rated the "overall value of the college experience" at the same level as other graduates.

Member alumni gave higher ratings than other alumni to their college social experience. Older members were as satisfied in retrospect with their academic experiences as were other graduates.

But members from the 1965 to 1994 eras felt less satisfied with the academic aspects of their college experience than did others. The dissatisfaction was highest amongst male fraternity members.

RECRUITMENT INFORMATION

How do I Join a Sorority?
Sororities participate in sorority recruitment annually, during which time invitations for membership are extended to potential members. You must register with the Panhellenic organization at your college or university to participate in sorority recruitment.

What is Sorority Recruitment?
Sorority recruitment is a formal process for prospective sorority members to meet women of the sorority chapters at the campus, and for the sorority women to meet the potential members. This is the time to learn about the values, traditions, and programming of the individual sororities. Recruitment is a mutual selection process that takes place over a period of several days. Recruitment is different at every campus. Traditionally, colleges conduct formal recruitment in the fall, but some campuses conduct sorority recruitment in the spring. Contact your campus for more information and to register for recruitment.

How do I register for the recruitment period?
The registration process varies from campus to campus. You should receive information during the summer from your college. College orientation is also a good time to ask questions. If you do not receive information by mid-July, we suggest you contact your college's student affairs, Greek affairs or Panhellenic office. Many universities now offer their services through the Internet.

How can the Central Orange County Alumnae Panhellenic help me with sorority recruitment?
Sorority alumnae assist in the sorority recruitment process by providing references or recommendations to their collegiate chapters at various colleges and universities. To facilitate this process, prospective members from Orange County may register their intent to participate in sorority recruitment with COCAP, and complete an application to provide our member groups with basic information about each prospective member. If you wish to register your intent with COCAP, you may access our application here. Please use this form to request recommendations from COCAP member sororities. For additional information about sorority recruitment in general or about references/recommendations, please contact our Collegiate Membership Chair at collegiate@ocpanhellenic.com.