How to Join

The process for joining a Greek organization is called "Recruitment" or "Intake," but oftentimes you will hear it referred to as "Rush." The Recruitment/Intake process varies from campus to campus. At Vanderbilt, we have what's called a Deferred Recruitment process. Deferred recruitment delays the joining process for all organizations until January. The delayed joining process allows students to adjust to Vanderbilt during Fall semester while researching involvement opportunities and focusing on academics. Students must earn a 2.3 GPA for men and 2.5 GPA for women, carry 12 university credit hours, and not be on disciplinary probation in order to be eligible to receive a membership invitation from any of our University-recognized fraternities and sororities.

Joining a fraternity or sorority requires making an educated decision about the organization of which you will be a life-long member. As you begin talking with Greek members, it's often useful to be educated on the lingo. Our Greek Glossary will be a helpful tool as you begin the process of recruitment. We also encourage you to utilize local and chapter websites, as well as asking the following questions of organizational leaders and individual members:

• How will membership in this organization benefit me? Academically? Personally?
• What is the organization looking for in an ideal member?
• What leadership opportunities are available for me in this organization?
• Does this organization perform community service regularly? Will I be asked to perform individual community service hours each semester?
• How long is the organization's new member/pre-initiation period?
• What will be expected of me during this time?
• What were the organization's greatest accomplishments of the past semester/year?
• What are the financial obligations of membership?

The registration process for IFC fraternities and Panhellenic sororities begins on September 7, 2008 with a meeting for all students interested in joining. There is a fee of $30 to register for Panhellenic recruitment and a fee of $20 to register for IFC recruitment. There is no fee to participate in the membership selection process for NPHC.