Terminology

Active or Collegiate - an initiated sorority member currently attending college

Alumni (plural is alumnae) - an initiated sorority member who is no longer an active

Bid - a formal invitation to join a specific sorority

Bid Day – The day on campus when all the sororities will offer their bids to new members. It’s an emotional day filled with lots of excitement.

Big/Little – A “big” is an existing sister who is assigned to a “little”, who is a pledged PNM. A big acts as a mentor to their little. The big/little bond is one that stays strong long after initiation.

Chapter - an organized group of women representing a national sorority.  Collegiate chapters are found on college campuses.  Alumnae chapters are usually organized by geographic areas to support their collegiate chapters.

Deferred Recruitment (formerly Deferred Rush) - formal recruitment that takes place at the beginning of the spring semester.

Formal Recruitment (formerly Rush) - the process of mutual selection between a prospective member and an active chapter.  Each potential new member is given the opportunity to attend parties hosted by all participating sororities. As recruitment progresses, the sorority members and potential new members go through a mutual selections process until the last day, then participants are offered an invitation (bid) to join a sorority chapter.

Greek - any member of a Greek letter social or community service organization (fraternity or sorority).

Initiation - the formal ceremony that marks the beginning of active membership.  Each chapter has a different set of requirements and timing in order to be initiated.

Legacy - generally defined as a daughter, granddaughter, sister or great-granddaughter of a sorority member. A potential new member could be a legacy to more than one sorority.  Being a legacy does NOT mean an automatic membership into that chapter.  Nonetheless, being a legacy does not hurt your chances at membership in any way.

Letter of Support - a letter written by a sorority alumna to her chapter on a college/university campus that is in addition to and supports the reference/recommendation form. Some colleges/universities DO NOT want letters of support. Check with your reference writer.

New Member (formerly a Pledge) - a member of a sorority who has not been initiated.

Open Recruitment - a period usually following Formal Recruitment where there may be an opportunity to fill a chapter's designated number of members. Open recruitment is limited to those chapters who happen to be below the number of members each campus allows.

Philanthropy - a specific charity that each sorority supports. A sorority will have fundraisers and promote awareness for their specific charity.

Potential New Member (PNM) - a college woman who has chosen to participate in the recruitment process.

Preference (Pref) - during the last part of recruitment, a potential new member determines which sorority she is willing to join by listing final sororities in order of preference.

Quota - the specified number of potential new members to which each sorority may extend a bid. This is based off of how many women are going through recruitment and how many organizations are represented on campus.

Recruitment Counselor - a sorority woman who has disaffiliated herself from her chapter during Formal Recruitment.  She is specially trained to assist Potential New Members throughout the recruitment process and to answer any questions they may have about sorority membership. Lean on your recruitment counselor, they are there to help!

Reference Form (also called a RIF/Rec/Recommendation) - a form completed by a sorority alumna that introduces the PNM to the chapter of her sorority on campus. This does NOT guarantee a bid from any sorority, but is typically required.

Ritual – The private traditions and pratices of a sorority deeply rooted in the shared values and purpose of the members. Ritual serves as a reminder to each member of her responsibilities and inspires her to fulfill them.

Sister - a term used by sorority members to refer to one another. 

Snap Bidding – An option available to chapters that did not match to quota. Chapters may offer bids to potential new members whose preferences were not matched after preference round. Snap bids should be coordinated and extended through the College Panhellenic, prior to the distribution of bids and the start of Bid Day activities.

Sorority/Sisterhood – a collegiate women’s student organization formed chiefly for social and philanthropic purposes

Symbols – Each member organization has different symbols like colors, mascot, and flower that represent their sorority’s values. Many of the reasons why these things are values are learned through ritual services.