Active/Collegiate Member: Someone who has completed their new member period and has been initiated into the sorority. Many members refer to them as “actives”, but collegiate members are preferable because new members and alumni are also active within the organization.

Advisor: An alumna/alumni member of a sorority that serves as a mentor to a collegiate chapter officer.

Alumna: A female graduate

Alumnae: The plural of alumna

Badge: The pin of an initiated member.

Bid: An official invitation from a chapter to become a new member

Bid Day: The final day of recruitment when bids are given out.

Big: Each new member is given a “big” sister that has been a mentor to her throughout her new member period.  The new member is called a little. This bond remains even after the new member has initiated.

Chapter: Each national sorority has individual chapters of their organization at different colleges and universities. Also, some groups refer to their weekly meeting as “chapter”.

COFS (Circle of Sisterhood): The national philanthropy associated with College Panhellenic Council. 

Dues: Fees paid to the organization you are affiliated with. Dues must be paid to remain in “good standing” with your chapter.

Exec Board: Executive Board, also referred to in some sororities as Executive Council, which includes the elected executive officers of the chapter (i.e. President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, etc).

Good Standing: A sorority or fraternity member who has fulfilled all membership obligations, such as paying their dues, maintaining the required GPA, etc.

Initiation: Formal admittance into the sorority. The new members participate in a ceremony that marks formal admittance into the sorority. The initiation ceremony is secret and rooted in history.

Legacy: A student whose family member (typically sister, mom, grandmother but can also include aunt) is a member of a particular sorority. The student is given special membership consideration but not guaranteed a bid.

Letters: The Greek letters of your sorority or fraternity name.

Little: Each new member is given a “big” sister that has been a mentor to her throughout her new member period.  The new member is called a little.  This bond remains even after the new member has initiated.

National Panhellenic Conference: The NPC website describes themselves as, “The National Panhellenic Conference will be the premier advocacy and support organization for its members, member groups, college and alumnae panhellenic and a proponent of women’s fraternity membership.”  See our NPC Sororities page for more details.

Nationals: Every chapter is a member of a national organization which sets policies for the entire sorority. 

New Member: This term refers to the women that have accepted a bid to a particular sorority chapter but are not yet initiated.

New Member Educator: This is an initiated member of the sorority who will serve as the new member class’ “teacher” of the chapter. She will be their guide throughout their new member period.

OFSL: The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life provides resources, educational programs, and guidance to collegiate chapters, alumni, parents, and international organizations. The OFSL’s mission is to build an inclusive fraternity and sorority community, and to support opportunities for academic success, civic engagement, leadership, and the creation of fraternal bonds.

Philanthropy: Put simply, community service. Typically, each sorority has a nationally and/or locally recognized non-profit agency that they donate time and money to; they refer to this as “their philanthropy”.

PNM: Potential New Member. It refers to all incoming women going through the recruitment process before they accept a sorority bid.

Preference Day (Pref): The last round of formal sorority recruitment.  This is typically more serious than the previous days, and it is a glimpse into the ritual of the sorority.  This is the last party before PNM’s and chapters make their final decisions about membership.

Quota: The maximum number each sorority can pledge during formal recruitment. This number is determined by the Panhellenic council at each school and is based on many different factors.

Recruitment (Formal Recruitment): The official process for new members to join a sorority. It is a mutual selection process where the PNMs and chapter chose based on their perfect fit. Formal recruitment at NC State lasts about a week.

SRC (Sorority Recruitment Counselor/ Sigma Rho Chi): A collegiate sorority member who disaffiliates from their individual chapter to help PNMs with an unbiased perspective through recruitment.

Recruitment Parties: The different rounds of formal recruitment.  Each sorority chapter throws their own “party” for PNM’s to attend.

Ritual: Symbolic gestures or ceremonies, often kept secret, performed by only the members of the given sorority or fraternity.

Sister: Sorority sisters are female members in the same sorority.