Registration confirmation:
Formal Membership Recruitment
Parents and family information
Your student is about to begin a week that will be full of activities and important decisions. The advantages of sorority life are numerous—leadership opportunities, scholastic achievement, community involvement, and friendship.
The Recruitment process will begin for your student at 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, August 16. Prior to this time, she will have check-in to her residence hall and enjoyed dinner (with you or her recruitment group). Please say your goodbyes prior to the 7:45 p.m. meeting.
An optional parent and family orientation session is hosted at 3:00 p.m. and again at 5:00 p.m. in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall. These sessions last about one-hour in length and are designed to answer any last minute questions and provide helpful information for supporting your student. We hope you'll join us!
Moving in and Check-In
If your student is living on campus, she will be moving into her actual residence hall room on Sunday, August 16. Both the residence halls and Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment check-in open at 2:00 p.m. Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment check-in will take place on the second floor of the K-State Student Union. (You and your student will receive additional information about Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment check-in about one week prior.)
It does not matter in what order your students accomplish tasks,however all participants must be check-in no later than 6:00 p.m. and moved in to her residence hall and prepared for the first recruitment activity at 7:45 p.m.
During move-in, your student's Recruitment Guide will make it a point to greet her in her residence hall. The Recruitment Guide will invite your student to dinner that evening, however the student should not feel obligated to attend. (The cost of Sunday night's meal is not covered in the participant registration fee.)
The Residence Hall staff will be available to help your student get situated into her room. For more information on moving in to the residence halls, visit the K-State Housing and Dining website.
Some participants will find their roommates will not be taking part in the Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment process and therefore may not be moving into the residence hall quite as early. It is advised all participants make contact with their new roommate prior to moving in to make plans.
All residence hall staff will be prepared for sorority recruitment participants. A resident advisor will be on the floor. No student will be alone on her residence floor during the week of recruitment.
Understand the schedule for Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment will be very busy. Your student will spend very little time in her residence hall.
The residence halls will be locked at 11 p.m. each night - all Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment participants are expected to be in their residence halls no later than 11:00 p.m.
If your student is living off campus, she should plan to visit Sorority Formal Membership Recruitment check-in, on the second floor of the K-State Student Union, no later than 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 16 and be prepared to meet her recruitment group at 7:45 p.m.
Students living off campus should expect a phone call from their Recruitment Guide in the days prior to recruitment to greet her and share with the participant where to meet.
Emergency contact information
Your student will be asked not to carry a cellular phone during recruitment events. In the case of emergency, please call our 24-hour recruitment hotline at 785-532-6022. This number will not be active until recruitment week. (Prior to recruitment week, questions may be directed to the Greek Affairs staff at 785-532-5546.)
Supporting your student during the recruitment process
Please encourage your student to come to recruitment with an open mind. She may have heard stories about each of the chapters, may be a legacy to one or more sororities, or have made the decision with a best friend that they are going to pledge the same sorority no matter what. These situations have the potential for creating disappointment, so please let your student know the importance of making decisions based on facts and on the women she meets in each sorority chapter. She’ll be the one living with the members for the next few years, so she should look for women she likes and a place where she feels comfortable and fits in.
In the event that your student chooses not to pledge or does not receive the optimum number of invitations, please be supportive. Help her to realize that there are many other options for involvement at K-State. No matter what the outcome of recruitment, she will have met many new people.
Recruitment is an emotional time for everyone. For many, it is their first experience away from home. It may be perceived as tense because so many decisions are required. It certainly is hectic, but it really is FUN! Encourage your student to talk with her Recruitment Guide who is trained to help your student process what she is feeling.
Invitations to pledge are distributed on the evening of Friday, August 21. New members will walk directly to the sorority house and spend Friday night there. Your student will return to her residence hall on Saturday afternoon.
Week of Welcome
K-State's new Week of Welcome will kick off on Sunday, August 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This will be an excellent opportunity for your student to reconnect will friends she met during the recruitment process and get to know her sorority sisters better. We hope your student will join us for Week of Welcome events.
Learn more about Week of Welcome
Sending mail, gifts, and flowers
Many parents and family members send flowers and gifts during the week of recruitment. If you choose to do so, please send them directly to the new address of your student, clearly marked with your student's name.
In an effort to help parent and family members wishing to send flowers to their student at the end of the week, Greek Affairs provides a list to area florists of where students were invited to membership. Beginning Saturday morning, all Manhattan area florists will have the complete bid list.
Financial responsibilities
Sororities require a financial commitment. The average cost of living in a sorority house is $5138 per year. This includes room and board, local and national dues, social activities, and chapter operating expenses. When compared to the total residence hall package, sorority costs are quite comparable. Parents, families, and potential members will receive handouts about financial obligations at the August 16 orientation sessions.
If your student is a freshman or an upperclassman who will be living out of the chapter house this year, she will need to budget for a payment to the chapter of $1349 on average. This payment will cover her first year dues, one-time fees and participation in all chapter activities. Usually members can pay these fees in smaller increments through the course of the semester.
Learn more about the financial obligations of membership on the Greek Affairs website