Planning to participate in sorority recruitment this fall at the University of Oklahoma? Congratulations!
Now that you’ve committed to OU (or hey, maybe you’ve narrowed it down as a top school to consider) let’s talk about your next steps – getting ready for sorority recruitment!
The University of Oklahoma hosts its formal sorority recruitment in the fall, and it’s a fun, high-energy, week-long rush process that takes place right before school begins. OU does technically have an informal recruitment in the spring, but it’s worth mentioning that most of its sorority chapters choose not to participate in this. If you’re a potential new member wanting the full experience and the most sorority chapters to choose from – fall sorority recruitment is going to be for you.
OU has 11 established Panhellenic sorority chapters on campus that participate in their formal sorority recruitment. Fun fact: over 30% of the undergraduate students are Greek (sorority & fraternity life). If you’re wanting to join a sorority as part of your college experience, OU is the place to do it! You get the full experience of living in a gorgeous chapter house, being surrounded by tons of new sisters, and an all-around emphasis on a classic, well-rounded college sorority experience – from social events to philanthropy. You’re in for a FUN four years.
Also, shout out to OU RushTok / TikTok for shedding more light on the process and getting the word out there that PNMs at need to get ready earlier! Maybe that’s even what brought you here in the first place.
Anyway, let’s get to it!
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Panhellenic Sorority Chapters
- Alpha Chi Omega
- Alpha Gamma Delta
- Alpha Omicron Pi
- Alpha Phi
- Chi Omega
- Delta Delta Delta
- Delta Gamma
- Gamma Phi Beta
- Kappa Alpha Theta
- Kappa Kappa Gamma
- Pi Beta Phi
University of Oklahoma 2023 Formal Sorority Recruitment Schedule & Rush-Related Move-in Info *updated with this fall’s recruitment dates!
August 1st is OU residence hall move-in day. Welcome to Norman!
- Round 1:
- Day 1 (Open House Round) – Tuesday, August 15, 2023
- Day 2 (Open House Round) – Wednesday, August 16, 2023
- What to expect: This past year, PNMs visited with girls from each of the 11 sorority chapters. It’s mandatory for PNMs to visit each chapter and “rush” all the sororities.
- Round 2 (Philanthropy Round) – Thursday, August 17, 2023
- What to expect: PNMs will visit a max of 8 sororities and could receive fewer invites back. *The max is not a guarantee; many PNMs will have less than a full schedule.
- Round 3 (Sisterhood Round) – Friday, August 18, 2023
- What to expect: PNMs will visit a max of 5 sororities this round. Keep in mind this is the max – it’s very common that many PNMs will receive fewer invites.
- Round 4 (Preference Round) – Saturday, August 19, 2023
- What to expect: PNMs will receive invites from a max of 2 sororities but could have 1 invite or none (none, meaning, the PNM would be released from the process.)
- Bid Day – Sunday, August 20, 2023
- PNMs finally receive their bids! In previous years, PNMs would gather as a group and open their bid cards at the same time, but this year OU plans to distribute bid cards in the residence halls. Shortly after, girls will make their way to their chapters for Bid Day celebrations as new members. Each PNM can only receive a max of 1 bid on bid day. *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 arriving
University of Oklahoma 2023 rush – know before you go!
Sorority recruitment does NOT begin in August.
- Even though the University of Oklahoma 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 spring of the girls’ senior year. At OU, 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 OU, 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.
- The University of Oklahoma 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 this year until May 15, 2023 @ 9 am (when the OU registration 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!
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, funniest, most interesting girl in the class, but if you haven’t introduced yourself, a date’s pretty unlikely, right?
Do not ignore the deadlines!
There are 1000+ of you and 4-6 members on each sorority chapter’s recruitment team.
- In order to maximize your chances of receiving more invites back, OU Letters of Recommendation are due on – or even better, before – May 1, regardless of the listed dates on the OU University Panhellenic website & Instagram account, OU 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.
Get your social media in order!
And we don’t mean just make sure it’s *appropriate*.
If someone searches for your name, are you findable? Let’s say the sorority girls DO find their way to your Insta – what will they learn? Are there enough photos to help them get to know you and make the online-stalking sesh worth their time?
Or will they find a private account they can’t access?
Do you have OU class of 2027 in your bio yet? A commitment post showing you’ve made your decision? Have you followed all the sororities, and also subscribed to their posts and stories? Have you submitted your class of 2027 introduction post yet to the various groups? We’ve got ALL the Instagram tips for you, and we can’t wait to help you get noticed!
What does your Instagram say about you?
Plan to participate in sorority recruitment at the University of Oklahoma this fall? Don’t risk slipping through the cracks!
Work with a sorority recruitment coach that specializes in OU recruitment and cheers as tons of our PNMs happily receive their bids every year!! We’ve been nationally recognized in Cosmopolitan Magazine, Fortune, Elite Daily, and NBC.
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.