Planning to participate in sorority recruitment this fall at the University of Arkansas?
Heading to the University of Arkansas this fall? Congratulations on becoming a Razorback!! Now that you’ve committed to your dream school, you might have started thinking about sorority recruitment and if it’s right for you.
If you want to know what really matters when it comes to having a successful Arkansas rush, you’re in the right place.
The University of Arkansas has 11 incredible Panhellenic sorority chapters on campus that participate in their formal sorority recruitment process every fall, which takes place the week before school begins in August. *see last year’s schedule below
Over 31% of their undergraduate students are Greek (even though it feels like way more because every year, over 2200+ girls rush just the Panhellenic chapters alone – aka, the formal sorority rush you see all over TikTok). If you’re wanting to join a sorority as part of your college experience, Arkansas is the place to do it – between the gorgeous chapter houses, the sheer size of the sororities in terms of membership, and the all-around emphasis on a classic, well-rounded college sorority experience – from sisterhood and social events to philanthropy. Greek life here at Arkansas is the real deal.
2022 Arkansas Sorority Recruitment/Rush Schedule
August 12th – Orientation & Open Round
What to expect: PNMs watch 11 videos (one that each sorority’s chapter has made) with their Recruitment Counselor (Gamma Chi) groups. These videos are in lieu of meeting the members in person. The chapters decide who to invite back based on who they know, and on PNM’s pre-recruitment materials turned in earlier such as:
- Letters of Recommendation *These are SUPER IMPORTANT AT ARKANSAS
- PNM Video Assignment (due with registration)
- PNM Social Resume (due with registration)
August 13-15th – Philanthropy Round (over the course of 3 days)
What to expect: PNMs are invited back to a max of 8 chapters but may receive fewer invitations. Important to know: PNMs will be invited back and/or cut by chapters prior to meeting them in person. During round 2, PNMs finally get to meet all the chapters that invited them back in person! Woo-hoo!
August 16-18th – Sisterhood Round (2 days)
What to expect: PNMs are invited back to a max of 5 chapters but may receive fewer invitations. While the majority of PNMs will have somewhere from 1-5 invitations on this round, it is possible for a PNM to receive none (meaning that PNM would be released from the process).
August 19th – Preference Round
What to expect: PNMs are invited back to a max of 2 chapters but could receive 1 invite or none (meaning, a PNM is released from the process.)
August 20th – BID DAY
What to expect: PNMs receive a max of 1 bid and run home to their new chapters!! Woo-hoo!
*Important to know: Not all PNMs will receive bids, depending – if for some reason a PNM does not receive one, they will be notified of their release from the process prior to the Bid Day event.
The University of Arkansas has 11 Panhellenic Sorority Chapters
- Alpha Chi Omega
- Alpha Delta Pi
- Alpha Omicron Pi
- Chi Omega
- Delta Delta Delta
- Delta Gamma
- Kappa Delta
- Kappa Kappa Gamma
- Phi Mu
- Pi Beta Phi
- Zeta Tau Alpha
Arkansas-Specific Pre-Recruitment: What you need to know for 2023
Sorority recruitment does NOT begin in August.
- Even though the University of Arkansas’ Panhellenic website says otherwise, recruitment DOES NOT BEGIN IN AUGUST with formal recruitment. The sororities start making lists of PNMs they’re excited about in JANUARY of the girls’ senior year. At Arkansas, it’s not just important – it’s absolutely essential to get on the recruitment team’s radar as soon as you commit so that the chapter is aware of your existence.
At Arkansas, Letters of Recommendation are a MUST.
- How does a PNM get on a recruitment team’s radar if they don’t know current members at that chapter? One way is with Letters of Recommendation / also called Recruitment Information Forms (RIFs).
- If you do not know anyone in the chapters (and even if you do) you should STILL obtain these.
- Arkansas has an extremely competitive recruitment process, and you absolutely need these if you plan to rush here.
- Why? Aside from the fact that turning these in shows interest, if you don’t personally know anyone and you aren’t able to register for recruitment until end of May (when the Arkansas registration typically goes live – went live on May 23, 2022), turning in Letters of Recommendation helps the sorority chapters:
- 1) know of your existence
- 2) get to know you before recruitment and most importantly – get excited about you!
Think of it this way: if the chapters don’t know about you ahead of time, they can’t get excited about you during recruitment and it’s easier to slip through the cracks. It’s like expecting a cute guy from one of your 100+ person college classes who doesn’t know you yet to ask you out. You could be the cutest, sweetest, most interesting girl in the class, but if you haven’t introduced yourself, a date’s pretty unlikely, right?
Click here to get our Sorority Recruitment Guide with a step-by-step Checklist & Action Plan!
Do not ignore the deadlines!
There are 2200+ of you and 4-6 members on each chapter’s recruitment team.
- In order to maximize your chances of receiving more invites back, Arkansas Letters of Recommendation are due on – or even better, before – May 1, regardless of the listed dates on the Arkansas University Panhellenic website & Instagram account, Arkansas sorority websites, and your city’s local Panhellenic Association’s suggested dates.
- Yes, technically you can turn them in later, but think of this like you would a job application.
- If a company opens a job application for 90 days, sure you absolutely can apply the day before they take it down. But if they’ve already found the right candidates and they’re excited about them, and there are only so many open jobs – what do you think your chance of getting that job is going to be? Less likely than the earlier applicants with similar qualifications – that’s for sure.
- Ignore the misleading deadlines you see that are designed to make everyone feel included and have your Letters of Rec turned in by May 1st if you want to maximize your chances of receiving more invites from more chapters. (If you’re reading this after May 1st – deep breath, don’t panic. You’re behind, BUT it’s still better to turn them in ASAP vs. not at all. Not sure if it’s still worth doing? Depends on how far along in the summer you are.) *If you’re unsure if you’ve missed the window for recommendations, you’re welcome to contact us and we can help you fully understand what to do / when it’s due / and how to expedite this process.
- We can help PNMs navigate this entire process surrounding what these letters are, where to turn them in, and who can/should complete them, but we can’t do anything after the window to turn them in closes. What are Letters of Recommendation (LORs), Recruitment Information Forms (RIFs), and Letters of Support (LOS)? Read our 5-min blog post.
Arkansas has a mandatory PNM Video assignment AND Essay assignment that’s due with sorority registration over the summer.
- PNMs are required to answer specific prompts and record a video of themselves answering these.
- This 60-second video is due along with registration over the summer prior to formal recruitment and will be factored into your PNM score and impact whether or not you return for round 2. Take it seriously and turn it in early!
- There are also multiple short answer questions that PNMs must answer and combine into an essay, also due with registration.
- We help PNMs with ALL the above assignments – crafting your essay, scripting, filming tips, and suggestions on how to be more memorable in their videos with 1×1 coaching sessions, so if you want guidance – that’s what we’re here for!
Plan to participate in sorority recruitment at the University of Arkansas this fall? Don’t risk slipping through the cracks!
Work with a sorority recruitment coach that specializes in Arkansas recruitment and cheers as tons of our PNMs happily receive their bids every year!!
A lot of the big decisions with rushees involve paperwork and are made months before recruitment.
We know exactly what the Director of Recruitment Records is looking for on your resume, how the sororities will rank your rec letters on a scale (and how you can get a higher ranking), how best to prepare your rush packets, how the bid list ordering and cut process works, and what you should actually be discussing during each round. (Hint – it’s not what the Panhellenic guides will tell you!)
Working with a rush coach maximizes a PNM’s odds and gives your daughter an advantage long before she steps foot on campus for recruitment so she can go in more relaxed and confident.
It’s just like the SAT – it’s better to go in prepared. Let’s get you (or your daughter) recruitment ready.
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