Arkansas-bound this fall?
If you’ve already received your acceptance letter, congratulations! If you’re still waiting, our fingers are crossed for you, too.
Allow me to introduce myself…I am the Hiking in Heels sorority recruitment coach, aka “rush coach,” who works with ALL our Arkansas girls, or should I say PNMs (potential new members), to help them get ready each fall. Fayetteville is such a fun place to spend college, and I’m so excited for you to experience four years of Arkansas game days and sorority events that go way beyond bid day. (PS – Shout-out to one of our sweetest clients, Finley, who celebrated her 2025 bid day above with the University of Arkansas Phi Mu chapter!)
I love that Hiking in Heels has been able to help thousands of girls get bids, and I’m excited to give you an overview of everything you need to know for rush.
I’m here to talk all about sorority recruitment, and I’ll be doing a BIG Q&A with some of the top questions we get every year, leading up to sorority recruitment at Arkansas this fall.
If you’re planning to participate in sorority recruitment this upcoming fall, or if your daughter is considering it in the future, be sure to bookmark this post!
Let’s get started with the top question on everyone’s minds…
How do you join a sorority at Arkansas?
The University of Arkansas holds its formal sorority recruitment every year in August. Ark recruitment is a week-long process that takes place right before school starts, and it consists of four rounds: Orientation and Open Round, Philanthropy, Sisterhood, and Preference. These rounds are followed by Bid Day, which is when participating PNMs are able to receive a max of 1 sorority bid, aka, an invitation to join a chapter.
In order to enroll in formal recruitment, a PNM is required to register with the University of Arkansas Panhellenic. Registration typically opens in May. The deadline to register has historically been sometime in June.
How hard is it to get into an Arkansas sorority?
Sorority recruitment at Ark is extremely competitive. Why? Because there are 2200+ potential new members going through rush, and maybe 4-6 officers on each sorority’s recruitment team sorting through all those girls. The sororities make lists of incoming freshmen they’re especially interested in the Spring semester before recruitment (as early as January or February for some chapters), and they call these their “top girls” lists. These potential new members then get added to a slideshow that’s played at recruitment trainings for chapter members and during their work week (the week before recruitment, when the chapters get ready for formal recruitment) to help the members get to know the girls, memorize their names and faces, and remind them to say hi to them during recruitment. If you don’t make it on one of these lists/slideshows (we’ll talk about how to get on them later in the post), it’s very tough to get a bid because no one in the chapter is looking out for you.
Reason #2 why it’s super competitive is that at Arkansas, the sorority members are only allowed to vote on PNMs they’ve personally met. If a sorority girl hasn’t personally met you, she can’t vote on you – yes or no. Meeting you at any time counts: during high school, at camp, or during formal recruitment at Ark. Hear this: No one’s trying to cut cute PNMs with good grades. They’re genuinely interested in getting to know YOU for YOU. But since they can’t vote on a PNM unless they’ve met her, a lot of PNMs slip through the cracks because they just can’t get enough votes to move forward to another round.
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?
Keep in mind, even though you hear about this nice-sounding “mutual selection process” where supposedly PNMs and sororities get a say, sororities are in charge of whether a PNM returns or not, regardless of how high she ranks that chapter in her preferences. Ranking a chapter highly in no way guarantees a PNM will return. In fact, many sororities cut as many as a third of the PNMs from round 1 to round 2.
At the University of Arkansas, the chapters are not obligated to take everyone who’s registered for recruitment, and PNMs are therefore not guaranteed a bid. It’s very common that many girls are released from the process mid-way through. With all that being said, a PNM absolutely CAN still have a successful recruitment if they understand how the process really works.
[ PS – Heading somewhere other than the University of Arkansas? We help prepare PNMs for recruitment at over 100+ schools. Click here for a complete list! ]
When should I start getting ready for recruitment?
On average, most of our girls heading to Arkansas begin getting ready for recruitment in January of their senior year in high school. Some begin earlier, during the fall semester (when they’re narrowing down their final few schools). The majority of girls make their commitment in January-March.
Remember these lists/slideshows referenced above in question #1? The sooner you get on the recruitment team’s radar, the sooner you can get yourself added to them, and the more you can maximize your chances of getting more invites when formal recruitment week rolls around. Earlier is better, so as soon as you know Ark is on the table, it’s important to make a game plan.
What does “getting ready” mean?
Getting ready means…
- Telling any friends in the sorority chapters at Arkansas that you’re coming and plan to participate in sorority recruitment. If you haven’t explicitly told them, assume they don’t know.
- Getting your Instagram ready for the sororities to stalk it.
- Creating a sorority recruitment resume and digital rush packet that will stand out from the crowd.
- Submitting your Letters of Recommendation.
- Registering for recruitment via the University of Arkansas Panhellenic Association by the deadline.
- Submitting your PNM video assignment that’s due with your Panhellenic registration form.
- Submitting your PNM essay that is due with your Panhellenic registration form.
- Planning out your outfits for the formal week of recruitment (notice how outfits are important, but later on the list?)
- Interview Prep for the week of recruitment!
What is a Letter of Recommendation? Are they required?
A Letter of Recommendation / Recruitment Information Forms (RIFs) is a form an alum (or sometimes, a current active member) completes on their national sorority website. Nationals send the form to the local Arkansas chapter, and it helps the recruitment team get to know the PNM ahead of time. 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.
- 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 15, 2025), 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!
Click here to get our Sorority Recruitment Guide with a step-by-step Checklist & Action Plan!
When are Letters of Recommendation due?
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 University of Arkansas 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, 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 national deadlines that the Panhellenic associations are obligated to post that might not even apply to your chapter, 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 is the PNM video assignment and essay?
Since COVID, there’s been a PNM video assignment to help get to know the PNMs during formal recruitment. They’re keeping it for the foreseeable future, and you should expect it as part of the fall 2026 recruitment registration.
PNMs are required to answer specific prompts and record a video of themselves answering these.
- This short 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!
Can my friends in the chapter guarantee me a bid?
While it is great that you know someone in a chapter, as they can vote on you and tell the recruitment team about you, each Arkansas sorority chapter has 300+ members. Many other PNMs will also have friends in that chapter. If every member had just one friend they wanted to join their chapter, that’s 300 girls alone. Having a friend can help, but you need significantly more than one vote to get in.
Also, PNMs do NOT need to know someone in that chapter in order to get a bid. It helps, of course, but it’s NOT mandatory. That’s why Letters of Recommendation and other materials are super helpful.
Are upperclassmen able to receive bids?
Yes!! If you’re considering participating in recruitment at Arkansas as an upperclassman, you should definitely do it!! As a sorority recruitment coach, I work with sophomores as well as freshmen every year, and there’s nothing we love more than seeing all their happy bid day photos!
Where should I live if I plan to participate in sorority recruitment at Arkansas?
The most popular choices for girls in Greek life are hands down Reid (girls only) and Maples (mainly for the quads!). If you want the best possible chance of living alongside your fellow sisters and other Greek freshmen, these are all solid choices.
A tip for all dorms: no one goes potluck anymore. Pick your roommate beforehand for the best match.
How do you stand out during recruitment with over 2200+ girls going through?
- Complete everything, even if it’s listed as “optional,” like Rec Forms.
- Complete every task as early as possible! Rec Forms should be turned in by May 1 (or earlier) in order to be most effective.
- Get a sorority recruitment consultant who can help you get ready and stand apart from the crowd. It’s literally our full-time job to help make you more successful and prepared. We do this every day!
Extra tips for success:
Legacy status
At Arkansas, being a legacy no longer guarantees preferential treatment or a bid to your legacy chapter(s). During 2020 and 2021, most chapters did away with legacy policies nationally. With so many legacies already going through at Ark already (more than each house could admit before the policy change), it was only a matter of time.
So, gone are the days of legacy perks. It used to be that legacies would get:
- A courtesy invite back to Round 2
- A guaranteed bid if she made it to Preference Round (last round)
- Other preferential treatment, depending on the chapter
But on the upside, remember all those spots that would have been courtesy invites to other PNMs? Those are open to you now…and that’s good news for PNMs with and without legacy ties.
But I was promised a bid…
Oops. We’re going to assume she had the best of intentions here, but a member can’t make this promise because no one person (or group of people in the chapter) has the ability to fulfill this promise.
When someone does this, either outright, “Don’t worry, XYZ chapter will definitely give you a bid. You’re on our list.” or implied, “I can’t wait to be your big!” or “You’ll make an amazing XYZ!” this is called bid promising.
It’s not allowed, but it doesn’t stop it from happening. And it happens a lot.
How should you react? Assume your friends have the best of intentions and know it’s not guaranteed. They cannot promise you or guarantee you a bid.
Why a rush coach?
Same reason you’d hire a tutor, use a personal trainer, work with a college admissions counselor, or sign up for an SAT prep course. You could do it on your own, but do you want to?
A sorority recruitment coach helps you move through the process easily and efficiently, and provides private, individualized support and guidance throughout the entire process.
A sorority recruitment coach helps you and your daughter navigate the entire recruitment process from start to finish – from social resumes, cover letters, and rec letters/letters of support, to social media and registration forms, the PNM video, networking tips, what to wear/expect for the week of, an overview of formal recruitment, and interview style prep.
It’s our job to tell you the answers to questions you don’t know to ask.
Let’s work together to make this process easier, more fun, and less stressful!!