Joining / Recruitment Process
General Recruitment Information
New Member / Pledge Process
General Recruitment Information
Recruitment for first year students, and the only “formal” recruitment period, occurs at the beginning of the spring semester each year. “Deferring” recruitment to the second semester allows first year students to get settled at Penn, complete their first semester and establish themselves academically. Students interested in fraternity or sorority recruitment must register during the fall semester via an online registration process or at the Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life (OSA/FSL). Registering to go through recruitment does not in any way obligate them to join, but simply lets the fraternity and sorority chapters and the Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life know they are interested in receiving more information and may go through the process to explore the wonderful things that fraternity/sorority life has to offer. Upperclassmen students may join a fraternity or sorority during the “formal” recruitment time or at other points in the academic year when individual chapters may be seeking new members.
For fraternities, the recruitment period brings a number of food and themed events throughout the first two weeks of the spring semester. The Interfraternity Council and the individual chapters will advertise electronically as well as on campus bulletin boards about the recruitment schedule of the chapters. Men are encouraged to visit any/all of the fraternity chapters in which they might be interested during the first seven to ten days. After that, events are typically by invitation only and are a bit more intimate to allow perspective members and chapters to get to know each other better before “bids” or formal invitations are issued. The Interfraternity Council recruitment period officially ends on the Monday of the third week of classes when University “bids” and paperwork are distributed.
For sororities, the recruitment process is much more formalized and regulated. All women going through the process to visit all of Penn’s eight sorority chapters and then narrow down their choices through a mutual selection process. Women involved in the recruitment process are placed into groups and given a “Rho Chi” or Recruitment Counselor, a sorority woman who has temporarily disaffiliated from her chapter, gone through special training, and is there to neutrally counsel and guide, listen and educate the perspective members as they move through the process. The Panhellenic Recruitment period ends on the Thursday of the second week of classes with an exciting Bid Day Ceremony when sororities welcome their new members.
For chapters of the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), those historically Black, Latino/a and Asian Interest fraternities and sororities, the “intake” process is individual by chapter, not regulated at all by the MGC, and is more personalized and low key. Typically, intake is managed closely by the local graduate chapters of the fraternity or sorority. Interested students should contact the Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life and/or the specific chapters in which the individual students are interested.
New Member / Pledging Process
Once a student has accepted a “bid” from a chapter, their “new member education program” begins. Contemporary new member education processes are unlike what most people think of as traditional “pledging” programs. New Member Education programs are designed to educate new members on the history and traditions of the national organization and local chapter, facilitate them getting to know the initiated brothers/sisters, enhance their time management and study skills, learn more about campus resources, and get to know their fellow new members. The sophomoric stunts, personal servitude, and tasks that waste students’ time that were traditionally part of a pledging process are prohibited.
The University of Pennsylvania requires that all new member education programs be completed within six (6) weeks, or as the University begins spring break. Further, University policy prohibits any new member education programs from taking place between 12:00 midnight and 8:00am on school nights (Sunday through Thursday nights), AND other than formalized study hours, new member education programs may not occupy more than 10 hours of any given week.
Chapter officers, particularly New Member Educators, must complete a training process and knowledge test before the chapters are allowed to take new members. This training includes education on the University and Commonwealth regulations on hazing and the negative effects of hazing activities, elements of a positive, strong new member education program, and exploration of resources available to chapters to enhance this process. Chapters are regulated by local alumni/ae advisors, National fraternity and sorority traveling consultants, and the Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life (OSA/FSL).
Should students or parents hear of ANYTHING that even appears to be a violation of these guidelines, you are encouraged to contact Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life immediately (even if it is anonymous) and provide as much information as you can. All tips that provide enough information are investigated fully by the Office of Student Conduct, OSA/FSL (ofsa@pobox.upenn.edu or 215.898.5263), and the national headquarters of the fraternity or sorority in question. Hazing and activities that detract from the well being and successful academic achievement of a student are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated.
