Frequently Asked Questions about Recruitment

Parking During Recruitment Week

You may park in the N5 parking lot at the north entrance of the University Washington on 45th Street and 17th Avenue. Parking passes allow you to park during the day, but not overnight. Parking passes may be purchased at any UW gate houses.

You may look for street parking in the Greek community, but it may be hard to find. If you are staying in the residence hall during recruitment week, you may purchase a parking pass for the lot underneath Haggett Hall. Residence hall parking passes can be purchased during check-in. Your attendance at all recruitment events needs to be on time; please plan accordingly.

Payments

The recruitment registration fee and residence hall fee are payable to the Panhellenic Association. Your registration fee is required at the time of online registration, to be paid with a major credit card. The residence hall fee for housing for the week can be paid with a check or money order, payable to Panhellenic. Please make sure the student’s name is in the memo field.

Absences during Recruitment Week

It is important to attend all of the events during Recruitment Week to which you are invited.

If you miss an event to which you have been invited without notifying the Panhellenic Association in advance and receiving permission from the Panhellenic Advisor, the Panhellenic Association at the University of Washington has the right to and will remove you from the recruitment process. Missing events may hinder your chance of being invited to join a sorority. If you need to request an excused absence because of family emergency, religious holiday, observences, athletics, or illness you must notify Panhellenic as soon as possible.
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Withdrawal From Recruitment

Participating in Formal Recruitment does not obligate you to join a sorority. The recruitment process provides you with an opportunity to learn more about sorority life. You may decide that the sorority lifestyle is not for you. In that case, notify your Recruitment Counselor to talk about your options. You will also need to sign official withdrawal paperwork at the Panhellenic office.
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Special Services

Services Requests for special services or accommodations related to disability during recruitment week can be made by contacting the Panhellenic Association in advance.
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Recruitment Counselors

The Formal Recruitment process can be exciting and overwhelming. However, the Panhellenic Association has chosen some very special sorority women to guide you through the process. Recruitment Counselors, also known as "R.C.s," are active sorority members who have disaffiliated from their chapter during recruitment week so they can maintain an objective non-partisan outlook. Recruitment Counselors undergo extensive training throughout spring and summer before recruitment and are prepared to guide you through this process. Their main objective is to help make your recruitment experience the best is can be!

You will be divided into groups with several other women going through recruitment, and each group will be assigned an RC. Recruitment Counselors live in the residence hall with the potential members during recruitment so they are close at hand to answer your questions, be available to you, and plan entertaining off-hour expeditions and activities for the group. If you are not staying in the residence halls during recruitment we strongly recommend that you reserve some time in the evening to participate in these fun activities so you will get to know other potential members and give yourself a break from recruitment.
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University Housing


The Panhellenic Association and HFS cooperate to identify women who have applied for a residence hall space and have also registered for formal sorority recruitment. HFS guarantees placement in the residence halls to any new freshman or transfer student who goes through recruitment and does not pledge a sorority. In order to qualify for a guaranteed space, you must:

  • Be a new freshman or transfer student
  • Register for recruitment with the Panhellenic Association by September 1, 2010
  • Complete formal sorority recruitment

Request placement in the residence halls by 5 p.m. on September 20, 2010
Your residence hall assignment will be based on your recruitment application date. It is likely that you will be assigned to temporary housing for the beginning of autumn quarter.

Before September 1, 2010

If you plan to register for recruitment, you should NOT submit a residence hall application.

If you do submit a residence hall application and register for recruitment by September 1, your residence hall application will be cancelled, your space will be reassigned to another student, and any payments will be refunded in full.

After September 1, 2010

If your residence hall application or your recruitment registration is received after September 1, your residence hall application will not be cancelled; if you later cancel your residence hall application, cancellation fees will be assessed.

After Formal Sorority Recruitment

If you choose not to pledge a sorority and would like to be assigned to the residence halls, you must complete the online housing application and contact the Student Services Office (206-543-4059) by 5 p.m. on September 20, 2010. You will be assigned to a space in temporary housing.

Please note: this information applies only to autumn quarter formal sorority recruitment.

For information about living in a sorority, please visit the Panhellenic Association webpage.

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Summer Contact

The recruitment process is an opportunity for you to look objectively at all Panhellenic sororities at the University of Washington. We are pleased to have one of the largest Panhellenic Associations on the West Coast, and you have the chance to get to know each one of our great sororities during recruitment week. We ask that sorority members and alumnae not contact you over the summer in order to protect you from outside pressure and so that you may give thoughtful consideration to each group. During Recruitment, Sorority members and alumnae should not contact you with the purpose of discussing recruitment or obtaining information about you throughout the summer.

We realize that you may have friends already in the Greek community, which is wonderful. Be mindful of what you are looking for when you come to campus so that you join the sorority best suited for you. You are an individual and your choice for membership is the most important.

Many sorority women participate in fraternity recruitment events during the summer. Consequently, we highly recommend that you do not attend any fraternity recruitment events. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at the Panhellenic office at (206) 543.1810.

Panhellenic officers will also be available through the summer to answer your questions about sorority life. UW Panhellenic sorority recruitment information sessions will be held throughout the summer during the University of Washington orientations.
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Legacies

A "legacy" is a potential member who has a mother, step-mother, grandmother or sister who is a member of a sorority. Legacies may be given special consideration by the sororities with whom their family members are affiliated, but legacies are never guaranteed membership in that sorority. If you have questions about the legacy policy of a particular sorority you may contact their inter/national headquarters to find detailed information.
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Letters of Recommendation

A "recommendation" is a letter of introduction written about a potential member sent directly to a sorority from a sorority alumna. Potential members are not involved in the recommendation process of contacting sororities. It is also not the responsibility of the potential member to obtain a recommendation letter for a sorority.

An alumna member can download a recomendation/reference form from their inter/national organization website.

If a sorority alumna offers to write you a letter, go ahead and accept it! It is perfectly acceptable for letters to be sent on your behalf; however, recommendation letters are not necessary in order for you to participate in recruitment at the University of Washington and they do not guarantee an invitation from a sorority.
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Will I get into a Sorority?

Recruitment is a mutual selection process. After each round of events, sororities and potential members will issue in writing their preference for the next round. The sororities are given a specific number of invitations they are allowed to give, and they must abide by the number. The potential members' preferences of which sororities they would like to revisit will be matched to those of the sororities. The number of sororities you are able to visit decreases as the week progresses in order for you to narrow down your choices. It is not uncommon to receive fewer than the maximum number of invitations in any given round; do not let that discourage you!

Following the final round of recruitment of events known as Preference, you will prioritize the sororities you attended during that round in order of your preference. You will sign a statement that you are willing to accept an invitation from one of those sororities listed on your preference card. You reserve the right not to join a sorority if you so choose. However, if you receive an invitation to join a sorority that you have listed on your preference card at the end of recruitment and you choose not to accept it, you will not be able to join another residential, University of Washington sorority for one calendar year.

We encourage college sophomores, juniors and seniors to participate in the sorority recruitment process.
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