Greek Glossary

Active – an initiated sorority member attending college

Alumna (plural is alumnae) – an initiated sorority member who is no longer an active

Bid – an formal invitation to join a specific sorority

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 and 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 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 selection 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 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 automatic membership into that chapter. Nonetheless, being a legacy does not hurt your chances at membership in any way.

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 new members.  Open recruitment is limited to those chapters who do not fill their allowable quota in Formal Recruitment.

Potential New Member (formerly a Rushee) – a college woman who has chosen to participate in the recruitment process

Preferencing (Pref) – During the last part of recruitment, a potential new member determines which particular sorority she is willing to join by listing three sororities in her order of preference.

Quota – The specified number of recruitment guests to which each sorority may extend a bid.

Recruitment Counselor (or Rho Chi) – 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.

Recommendation (Rec) – A personal letter of reference provided by a sorority alumna to the chapter of her sorority on campus. This does NOT guarantee a bid from any sorority.