Greek Life

Usually within her first semester of joining, and sometimes as early as four weeks after accepting her bid, a new member participates in an initiation ceremony that teaches her the secrets and rituals of her sorority while awarding her with full membership.  Initiation is an important rite of passage because, once someone has been initiated into her sorority, she can never join another one.  There are many rights and responsibilities that come with sorority membership.

As a sorority member, you can expect:

• To be responsible for paying dues to the sorority.  First year cost average $1,900 and subsequent years average $1,600.  Some people view sorority dues as paying for your friends.  That is simply not the case.  There are costs associated with running any organization, and sororities are no exception.  Membership dues cover chapter facilities, events that the members host and participate in, and help support the national offices that operate the chapter’s umbrella organization.
• That your chapter will have weekly meetings.  These meetings are typically held on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights.
• To be required to meet study hour requirements.  Each sorority has a program to help its members succeed academically.  As soon as someone joins, she becomes responsible for meeting the sorority’s academic requirements.
• To be required to attend those things that other members are required to attend.  There are community service events, philanthropy events, speakers, and other things that your chapter will participate in and you will be asked to do your part.
• To be a big sister to someone when the next new member class arrives.  Each year, when new members are selected, it’s usually the sophomores who serve as big sisters.
• To be expected to live in chapter housing.
• To be held to the standards of membership that your chapter requires.  Every sorority has a set of bylaws and standards.  When a member violates these policies, she can be called to a hearing with chapter leadership.

As a member, you can also expect:

• To be provided with a copy of sorority policies and a calendar of the things you will be asked to attend.
• To attend sorority social events.  All sororities have socials for their members to attend.  Whether it’s with a social with a fraternity, a date party with another sorority, or your own sorority having a formal, each sorority has at least two to three events each semester.  These events are fun but optional.
• The opportunity for leadership development.  All sororities have executive officers that are deeply involved with the day to day operations of the chapter as well as smaller offices that have only one or two tasks to complete.  All are important and all give the members a chance to develop leadership skills.
• Networking opportunities.  Auburn’s sororities expect their members to be involved in activities outside of the sorority and they do a great job helping their members know when tryouts and interviews are coming up as well as how to prepare for them.
• To be assisted in your academic pursuits.  All of our sororities have academic programs and offer help, resources, and scholarships for members.  The average sorority member has a higher GPA than the average undergraduate woman at Auburn.  This has been the case for over 30 years.
• To be provided with extra help and structure as you adjust to college life.  It is a huge transition and some people worry that joining a sorority will make things more difficult, but this is not the case.  Sororities are large organizations with chapters on over 670 campuses.  We specialize in the enhancement of college life and know how to help our members feel right at home.