For those who have already decided, congrats on your commitment to TCU!! If you’re still waiting on that acceptance letter, our fingers are crossed for you!

Allow me to introduce myself – I am the Hiking in Heels sorority recruitment coach, aka “rush coach” who works with ALL our TCU girls, or should I say PNMs (potential new members), to help them get ready each fall. Fort Worth is such a fun place to spend college and I’m so excited for you to experience four years of TCU game days and sorority events!

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 TCU 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 TCU?

Texas Christian University holds its formal sorority recruitment every year in August. Its recruitment is a week-long process that takes place right before school starts, and it consists of four rounds: Convocation & Open House/Scholarship, Philanthropy, Leadership & Financial Transparency, and Preference. These rounds are followed by Bid Day, when participating PNMs can receive a max of 1 sorority bid, aka, an invitation to join a chapter.

To enroll in formal recruitment, a PNM is required to register with the Texas Christian University Panhellenic. Registration typically opens in May. The deadline to register has historically been late July. There’s a PNM Personality Slide assignment and a social resume due with the registration form. Since there’s a PNM slide, there is NOT a video assignment like many other schools have.

Texas Christian University does not have a formal spring recruitment process. A few chapters will participate here and there informally, but the majority of chapters don’t participate. If you want to be considered by every chapter on campus, formal (and primary) fall recruitment is your best bet. Don’t hold out for spring if you’re able to participate during the fall.

Here’s a link to the most recent sorority recruitment schedule + each round and what to expect out of each.

How hard is it to get into a TCU sorority?

Sorority recruitment at TCU is extremely competitive. Why? Because there are well over 1200 PNMs through, 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 for some chapters), and they call these their “top girls” lists. These potential new members are added to a slideshow that’s played at recruitment trainings for chapter members. During work week, when the chapters get ready for formal recruitment, they play the slide shows to help current members get to know the girls. It helps them memorize their names and faces, and it flags their “top girls” for recruitment. If you make it on one of these lists/slideshows (we’ll talk about how to get on them later in the post), it makes it easier to get a bid because girls in the chapter are looking out for you!

Reason #2 why it’s super competitive is that at TCU: 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 in August.  Hear this: No one’s trying to cut awesome, fun, PNMs with good grades. But since they can’t vote on a PNM unless they’ve met her, a lot of PNMs slip through the cracks because they aren’t in a position to 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 TCU, the chapters are not obligated to take everyone who’s registered for recruitment, and PNMs are therefore not guaranteed a bid. Hundreds of girls are released from the process or end up dropping 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 – Considering another school in addition to TCU? We help prepare PNMs for recruitment at 100+ schools. Click here for a complete list! ]

When should I start getting ready for recruitment?

On average, most of our girls heading to TCU 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 TCU is on the table, it’s important to make a game plan.

What does “getting ready” mean?

Getting ready means…

  1. Telling any friends in the sorority chapters at TCU you’re coming and plan to participate in sorority recruitment. If you haven’t explicitly told them, assume they don’t know.
  2. Getting your Instagram ready for the sororities to stalk it.
  3. Creating a sorority recruitment resume and digital rush packet that will stand out from the crowd.
  4. Submitting your Letters of Recommendation.
  5. Registering for recruitment via the TCU University Panhellenic Association by the deadline.
  6. Submitting your PNM Personality Slide which is due with your Panhellenic registration form.
  7. Submitting your social resume that’s due with your Panhellenic registration form.
  8. Planning out your outfits for the formal week of recruitment (notice how outfits are literally last on the list?)
  9. Interview Prep for the week of recruitment!

What is a social resume and rush packet?

Your rush resume has TWO audiences:

  1. Your alumnae. They need your resume to help them answer the questions on the Recommendation Forms. Some of your alums might know you well (hopefully); others might not.
  2. The recruitment team. The chapters each receive a copy of your recruitment resume when you register for recruitment in June. They will grade and score this.

DON’T immediately head to Etsy and download the SAME templates everyone else is using, or pay someone to make a boring black/white resume in Word. Don’t pick a design that forces you to trim your impressive achievements down to fit the template.

DO thoughtfully craft your resume with your academic, philanthropic, and social achievements, and choose a template or design that makes you stand out in a “wow, she’s on top of things!” kind of way.

A sorority rush packet consists of:

  1. Social resume
  2. Cute senior photos
  3. Cover letter for your alums explaining what they’re being tasked with (Letter of Rec vs. Letter of Support) + instructions & deadlines

We help all the girls in our rush coaching programs craft a competitive, memorable sorority rush packet – both content and design. We go line by line to make sure everything qualifies for a high score, content-wise, and we offer a HUGE selection of editable, designer templates no one else can get access to. We also put the entire thing together for you so you don’t have to format it!

What’s the difference between Letters of Support and Letters of Recommendation? Are they required?

A Letter of Recommendation / Recruitment Information Form (RIF) is a form an alum completes on their national sorority website. Nationals send the form to the local TCU chapter, and it helps the recruitment team get to know the PNM ahead of time. *For TCU sorority recruitment, these do NOT have to be completed by a TCU alum. Any alum can complete these. 

Some, but not all, sororities at TCU allow for alumnae to submit supplementary (read: supplementary does not mean optional) Letters of Support in addition to the Recommendation Forms. A Letter of Support is just an email from an alum directly to the sorority chapter’s recruitment team, with a nice note about how awesome you are, and your resume and recruitment photos attached.

There’s also something new that a few chapters offer called “self-recommendation” or “self-interest” forms that PNMs can complete on behalf of themselves! We recommend submitting one for every chapter that allows it.

Some important facts:

  • TCU has an extremely competitive recruitment process, and you absolutely need these if you plan to rush here.
  • If you do not know anyone in the chapters (and even if you do), you should STILL obtain these.
  • You are turn these in as early as the end of February or early March for many chapters!
  • You do NOT have to wait to register for recruitment first. This is a totally separate process that can and should be completed months earlier.
  • 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 June 1st (when the TCU registration typically goes live), 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!
    • 3) Get to know you EARLIER than those who think Registration day on June 1st is the beginning of the process

When are Letters of Recommendation and Letters of Support due?

In order to maximize your chances of receiving more invites back, Texas Christian University Letters of Recommendation & Letters of Support are due on – or even better, before – May 1, regardless of the listed dates on the TCU University Panhellenic website & Instagram account, TCU 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 a job application.
  • If a company opens a job application for 90 days, you absolutely can apply the day before it’s taken 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 Panhellenic deadlines the schools are required to post that don’t apply to TCU, 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.

What is the TCU PNM personality slide assignment?

This assignment helps sororities better get to know PNMs before formal recruitment. They’re keeping it for the foreseeable future, and you should expect it as part of the fall 2026 recruitment registration.

For the slide:

  • PNMs are required to answer specific prompts and respond with two short answers.
  • PNMs design the slide and select photos to add.
  • This slide is due with your social resume and transcript during registration over the summer before formal recruitment and will be factored into your PNM score and impact whether or not you return for round 2. Don’t sleep on this. Take it seriously and turn it in early!
  • Your sorority recruitment coach will help PNMs with the above assignments – crafting your responses, helping you achieve the design elements you’re looking for, and suggestions on how to be more memorable in their answers with 1×1 coaching sessions. 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 TCU sorority chapter has 200+ 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 200 girls.

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 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!! There’s an upperclassmen quota, meaning each sorority has to take a minimum amount of sophomores or juniors. If you’re considering participating in recruitment at TCU 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 I love more than seeing all their happy bid day photos!

Where should I live if I plan to participate in sorority recruitment at TCU?

First-year students at Texas Christian University (TCU) are required to live in residence halls on campus. If you plan to participate in sorority recruitment, Colby is by far the most popular due to the fact that it’s girls only and it’s central location.

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 so many girls going through?

  1. Complete everything, even if it’s listed as “optional,” like Rec Forms.
  2. Complete every task as early as possible! Rec Forms should be turned in by May 1 (or earlier) to be most effective.
  3. 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 TCU, 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 TCU 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:

  1. A courtesy invite back to Round 2
  2. A guaranteed bid if she made it to Preference Round (last round)
  3. 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) can fulfill this promise.

When someone does this, either outright, i.e., “Don’t worry, XYZ chapter will definitely give you a bid. You’re on our list.” or implied, i.e. “I can’t wait to be your big! You’ll make an amazing XYZ this fall.” 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, & 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!!

Plan to participate in sorority recruitment at TCU this fall? Don’t risk slipping through the cracks!

Work with a sorority recruitment coach that specializes in TCU recruitment prep and cheers as our girls happily receive their bids every year!! We have worked with over 1000 PNMs to help them get rush-ready, and we want you to have the happiest bid day, too!

A lot of the big decisions 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 (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 more than what the Panhellenic guides will tell you!)

Working with a sorority recruitment 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.

To join the Hiking in Heels program, which has been nationally recognized in WSJ, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Fortune, Elite Daily, and NBC, call us at (512) 827-7586 or complete the form below:

[ PS – Considering other schools as well? We help prepare PNMs for recruitment at over 100+ schools. Click here for a complete list! ]

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