Sorority Recruitment Information for Parents

Earlier in the semester, parents of women who planned to participate in sorority recruitment were mailed the letter below.  Because the recruitment process will begin in just a few weeks, we wanted to reprint the letter.

There is a minimum GPA requirement to participate in sorority recruitment.  Students will be able to check their final grades and GPA in WIN, where they will be posted.  Grades are expected to be available on Friday, December 23rd (in addition, students who have signed a FERPA form will have their final grades mailed to their home address.)

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Dear Wake Forest University Parent/Guardian,

Although we are in the middle of the fall semester, spring semester 2012 is just around the corner. We would like to share information with you about the sorority recruitment process and answer some frequently asked questions.

The residence halls will open on Tuesday, January 10^th, 2012 at 9am for women to move in early for the recruitment process. Sorority recruitment begins at 5pm that same day with an assembly and dinner. The four days of events will run Wednesday through Saturday with membership selection on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Traveling significant distances may require some women to arrive in Winston Salem on January 9^th, 2012. If this applies to your daughter, please note that she will need to secure her own housing for the night of January 9^th, 2012.

In order to participate in recruitment, a woman must have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average and must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours at Wake Forest University or her transferring institution. In an effort to be supportive of every student’s academic career and the academic mission of the institution, we will not consider exceptions to the GPA requirement. While recommendations are not required at Wake Forest, some women choose to send them to one or more chapters. If you are interested in sending in a recommendation, please visit the recruitment page on the Greek life website.

While the recruitment process is successful for the majority of women who participate, there are a percentage of women who are not successfully matched with a sorority through this process. During the spring 2011 recruitment process, of the 386 women who started the week, roughly 73 percent were successfully placed. Another 24 percent withdrew from the process, while they were still receiving invitations from one or more sororities. At the end of the week, approximately 3 percent of the women were not successfully matched. The recruitment process can be an exciting, yet emotional time for many women. We encourage each of the participants to keep an open mind if the process does not have her anticipated outcome.

One important resource for your daughter during the sorority recruitment process is her Greek Recruitment Counselor (GRC). These undergraduate women have elected to temporarily disassociate from their organizations to serve as advisors to potential new members. These women are selected through an application process and receive extensive training in order to serve as advisors to potential new members. Training begins the semester before recruitment and includes education about recruitment processes and policies, as well information from the University Counseling Center. If a woman is upset or disappointed after recruitment, we encourage her to consult with her GRC who has been trained to help students manage a range of reactions they may have to this process. GRCs are knowledgeable about campus resources that may be helpful to your student.

Many women find an outlet through residence hall friends, student organizations, or by giving fall informal recruitment during their sophomore year a try. Throughout the process, we encourage each participating woman to get to know as many members from as many chapters as possible before making a decision. The University provides programs and events during the week of recruitment for women who withdraw from the process.

We encourage you to review the resources on the Wake Forest University Greek life website, particularly the parent and recruitment pages. Please feel free to contact me or Steve Hirst with any questions about the recruitment process, the sorority community, or student organizations in general.

Best,

Peyton E. Risley
Associate Director, Campus Life and Leadership
(336) 758-4070
risleype@wfu.edu
www.wfu.edu/campuslife

Steve Hirst
Director, Student Leadership and Organizations
(336) 758-4070
hirstsr@wfu.edu
www.wfu.edu/campuslife