How to Join a Panhellenic Sorority

How do I register?

The College Panhellenic Association (CPA) hosts two different joining processes each year. First, decide which joining process you would like to explore:

Fall Primary Recruitment is a large-scale, time-intensive, fully-structured process involving all CPA sororities at the beginning of each Fall semester.

Continuous Open Bidding (COB) is an informal, less structured process involving about 6-7 CPA sororities each semester (Fall and Spring).

When do I register?

For Fall 2025 primary recruitment, registration opens May 1 and closes August 26. No late registration is accepted for any reason, so be sure you complete the full registration process on time.

For Fall 2025 COB, chapters may begin as early as immediately after Panhellenic bid distribution (September 8) and typically conclude by mid-October. Students are not required to register with Panhellenic but can express interest by emailing [email protected].

It's completely normal to have a lot of questions! This process can feel exciting, confusing, overwhelming, or even all those feelings at once. Below are some common questions.

Is there a minimum GPA or unit requirement?

• No, there is no minimum GPA or unit requirement to participate in primary recruitment! You just need to be enrolled as an SDSU student.
• However, students on academic notice may be ineligible to receive a bid (invitation to membership).
• Additionally, each chapter might have their own unique GPA and/or unit requirements, both for potential new members and for staying active in the chapter.
• If you have questions or concerns about your GPA, Panhellenic encourages you to talk more with your recruitment counselor. They can help prepare you for recruitment and connect you to other SDSU academic resources.

Do I need letters of recommendation?

• No, letters of recommendation are not at all required! Panhellenic is very clear that PNMs do not need to seek out letters of recommendation to participate in recruitment, and that requiring letters of recommendation can be a barrier to membership.
• Panhellenic, the Pierce Greek Life Center, and SDSU do not manage, process, or forward any letters of recommendation. Please do not send them to us.
• If someone offers to write a letter of recommendation, or a PNM wants to submit them, they should follow each inter/national organization’s specific process. Each sorority's website has information about their respective process (website links can be found on our Chapter Directory page).

What should I do if I'm a legacy?

• The exact definition of a “legacy” can vary across organizations, but typically refers to a potential new member with a close family member (such as a grandmother, mother, or sister) who is an initiated member in good standing of a Panhellenic sorority.
• It’s totally up to you if you want to share your legacy status on the registration form, tell the chapter(s) during a recruitment event, or not tell anybody!
• In 2020, many sororities began eliminating policies that gave preferential treatment to legacies in the recruitment process. For all of our chapters, being a legacy is not a guarantee that you will receive an invitation to membership.

How many people get a bid?

• There is not a pre-determined number of bids at the beginning of primary recruitment. The goal of primary recruitment is to grow the Panhellenic community through mutual selection, so it changes every year and even fluctuates during recruitment.
• There is no guarantee that a PNM will receive an invitation to membership, but PNMs who participate with an open mind throughout the entire process have a greater likelihood of finding the chapter for them.
• The most common reason on our campus that a PNM doesn’t receive a bid is that they choose to withdraw from the process. For PNMs who choose to stay in the whole process at SDSU, approximately 97-99% receive an invitation to membership each year!

Is it too late if I'm a sophomore/junior/senior/transfer?

• CPA welcomes continuing students and transfer students into the Panhellenic sorority community too! Each year, about 30% of potential new members are not first-year students.
• While the PNM experience in recruitment is the same, chapters offer invitations to membership through two separate pools: a primary pool for first-year students, and a secondary pool for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This means sophomores, juniors, and seniors are being considered in a different “pool” from first-year students, but they are being given just as much consideration, no less and no more.
• If you have questions or concerns about your class standing, talk more with your recruitment counselor! Many students join the Panhellenic community in their later collegiate years and have a full, impactful membership experience.

What should I wear?

• PNMs do not need to purchase any new or specific clothing in order to participate in the primary recruitment process. You are encouraged to show up in the clothes you feel comfortable and confident wearing.
• Panhellenic does recommend comfortable shoes. PNMs may be standing/waiting for long periods of time and are traveling to various locations across campus. The majority of events take place indoors in air conditioning, and San Diego weather is typically great, but sometimes it can get warm or there can be light rain.
• The PNM Guidebook and PNM Orientation will offer more specific guidance for each day, and recruitment counselors will be available as a resource. Some PNMs even text their recruitment counselor with ideas of potential outfits or if they have specific questions.

How much does it cost to join?

• Panhellenic loves this question because financial transparency is an important part of any recruitment process! It is in the PNM's best interest to ask questions directly to the chapter during recruitment events, but updated dues averages will be provided in the PNM Guidebook.
• In 2024, average new member dues were $1,959 for the first semester, and average active member dues were $1,267 per semester.
• During the third round of primary recruitment, known as Sisterhood Round, PNMs will receive a financial transparency sheet for the chapters on their schedule. These sheets contain chapter-specific information about estimated new member dues, active member dues, cost to live in the chapter facility, scholarships/assistance, payment plans and deadlines, and more.

Do I have to live in the sorority house?

• At SDSU, Panhellenic sorority houses are not large enough to accommodate all or even most members. Typically only 10-15% of a chapter's membership lives in the university-recognized chapter facility in a given year. 
• No chapter requires every member to live-in, but they each have their own process for deciding who lives in and when. For example, some chapters might use a points-based reward system, and/or some chapters might reserve certain rooms for chapter leadership.
• Ask chapters for more specific information on who must or can live in the chapter facility, and what is included in their live-in costs. For example, some chapters might include meal plans or parking. In 2024, on average, live-in chapter members paid an additional $4,200 per semester, on top of their active member dues.

What if I want to study abroad, take a leave of absence, etc?

• Many Panhellenic members pursue these opportunities and still have a great chapter experience!
• Some chapters may offer the opportunity to request a change in membership status, which varies by chapter, but can reduce the financial obligations of membership for a limited period of time.
• Study abroad, student teaching, financial emergency, medical leave of absence, and military service are some examples that might be offered by chapters as a change in membership status.

Which are the "top houses" or best chapters?

• Panhellenic strongly discourages any language that suggests some chapters are better or more desirable than others. Each CPA sorority provides a similar membership experience, and all 9 chapters are held to high standards in the Greek Life core values of academics, leadership, changemaking, belonging, and wellbeing.
• "Panhel love" is a common phrase that communicates how members often have friends, roommates, mentors, and rolemodels outside of their own sorority. PNMs are expected to practice positive Panhellenic spirit and refrain from making any disparaging remarks about any chapter or member of the community.
• Membership selection is based on how your values and the chapter's values align, and it is a lifelong commitment to an organization much bigger than even SDSU. There is no best chapter for everyone and no one right chapter for a PNM, so all PNMs are encouraged to keep an open mind throughout the process.