Active - See Collegian.

Advisor - An alumna or alumnus who serves as a resource and educator for the chapter and its members in a specific area. A collegiate chapter may have advisors in many positions (Chapter Advisor, Ritual Advisor, Recruitment Advisor etc).

Alum - A short form of alumna or alumnus.

Alums - A short form of alumnae or alumni.

Alumna - The female singular form of alumnae; a member of a sorority who is no longer a collegiate member.

Alumnae - Plural female form; members of a sorority who are no longer active collegiate members.

Alumni - The male plural form; members of a fraternity who are no longer collegiate members.

Alumnus - The male singular form of alumni; a member of a fraternity who is no longer a collegiate member.

Badge - The pin that is worn by initiated members to chapter meetings and other events. Each organization has their own pin with their own design. Symbols and meaning behind the badge are revealed at initiation. Only an initiated member can wear the badge and upon a members death it is to be returned to the organization. Also see Pin and Pin Attire.

Big Sis/Bro - An active collegiate member that is paired with a new member to help them adjust to Greek life. Different organizations may have different terms such as Alpha Gamma Delta's Sister Mother/Sister Daughter and Alpha Delta Pi's Diamond Sisters. Many sororities, before assigning Big sisters, will assign a temporary person to help out the new member. Each group (and sometimes each chapter) will have a different term for this temporary Big.

Bid Matching - A computerized process where PNMs and sororities are matched with one another after Preference Parties during Formal Recruitment. Bid matching used to be done by hand, and if it were still done that way, the basic process is:

1. After Preference Parties, the PNM fills out a Preference Card. She will rank the sororities whose Pref Parties she attend, her first choice at the top.
2. Meanwhile the sororities compile two lists. Their first list (List 1) has a specific number of PNMs listed in alphabetical order (the number they are allowed to have listed is called quota). The second list (List 2) ranks the rest of the PNMs who attend their pref parties in order of preference.
3. Each PNM has her first choice on her Pref Card read. If she lists ABC first and her name is on ABCs first list, that is a match and she will receive a bid from them. Any other sororities who had her name on the first list will cross her name off and move the top name from List 2 to the bottom of List 1.
4. If her first choice doesn't have her listed, her card is put aside for now.
5. After going through all the cards once, they go through them again, because by now, many names on List 2 will have been moved to List 1, and there is a chance she will now match with her first choice. This is done until no more matches are made with the PNMs first choice.
6. The remaining Pref Cards are read again, this time reading their 2nd choice. The same format follows until all Pref Cards are matched with a sorority.

In rare instances, a PNM may not receive a bid, due to rules about Single Intentional Preferences or because of being Cross Cut.

Bid - A formal invitation to join a sorority. After Preference and Bid Matching, a PNM will receive a Bid to join a sorority. A Bid usually comes in the form of a card with the sororities letters, logo or crest on it and a printed invitation to join the sorority.

Bid Card - See Formal Membership Recruitment Acceptance Form. Yikes lol.

Bid Day - The last day of Recruitment, where Bids are given out to the PNMs. They will meet with their new sorority sisters, and usually have an event so everyone can get to know each other.

Brother - A term that fraternity members use in reference to each other. Members of co-ed fraternities also use this term for all members.

Call - A "yell" (for lack of a better word) used by NPHC organizations (and sometimes other multicultural organizations). It is used to identify members, and only initiated members can use the call. For example, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's call is SKEE-WEE. Some NPC and NIC sororities have calls, but most do not use them.

Candlepass - Also called a Candlelight. A ceremony held by sororities, usually when a member announces her pinning, engagement or other important news.

Ceiling - See Total.

Chapter - A branch of a sorority or a fraternity. Each international organization will have chapters at various schools. A chapter is designated by Greek letters. For instance, Delta Gamma, Beta Chapter. Some are designated with the state and then greek letter, as in Michigan Gamma. Most organizations will have special chapters reserved for deceased members (sometimes Chapter Grand, Omega Chapter or Silent Chapter) and for alumnae initiates (Alpha Phi uses Alpha Lambda chapter for instance).

Charter - Permission from the headquarters to have a chapter. If you don't have a charter, your chapter is not recognised as part of that organization.

Chapter Room - Sororities that do not have a separate house are often given a room on campus. They can decorate it and use it for chapter meetings and events.

City-wide - Seen mostly in NPHC organizations, these chapters may encompass a city or area, and more than one school. Usually found in areas where the population of African American students is too small to support a chapter on one campus. City-wide chapters can be undergraduate or graduate chapters.

Collegian - An initiated member of a fraternity or sorority currently in college. Formerly known as Active, also seen as Collegiate.

Colony - A new chapter of an organization, not yet chartered. It is somewhat similar to being a pledge, the chapter is a new member and has not yet been initiated (chartered).

Colors - The two or three colors that a Greek organization chooses to represent itself. For example, Alpha Phi's colors are silver and bordeaux, while Delta Gamma's are bronze, pink and blue.

Continuous Open Bidding (COB) - This is a process used by chapters at schools with formal recruitment when they have spots they need to fill. COB is an opportunity for those chapters that do not reach Quota during a recruitment to bid to Quota and/or Total. It is usually more relaxed than Recruitment, and only those sororities that have not reached Total can participate. They will usually hold a few open events where interested people can come and meet the members. The members will then decide who they would like to offer bids to. They can offer as many as they want until they hit Total. [This term is used interchangeably with Continuous Open Recruitment, but the NPC Manual of Information still uses COB as the proper term].

Continuous Open Recruitment (COR) - See Continuous Open Bidding. [Formerly it was the same as Continuous Recruitment, see below]

Continuous Recruitment (CR) - A recruitment style where an organization will recruit year round, not using other styles such as Fully Structured Recruitment, Minimally Structured, and Partially Structured. Formerly called Continuous Open Recruitment, that term now refers to COB.

Crest - A coat-of-arms with symbols and colors that are important to the organization. Some GLOs only permit initiated members to sport the crest. There are usually specific items it can appear on. The meaning behind the crest is reserved for initiated members only.

Cross Cut - When a PNM lists ABC first and DEF second on her Pref Card, and both sororities hit quota before her name is called. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, the PNM does not receive a bid, but she is open for Snap Bidding from those groups that did not make quota or hit total.

Crossing - A term used in NPHC organization to denote you were initiated. Short for "Crossing the burning sands". You may hear someone say "When I crossed..." which means when they were initiated.

Cut - To not be invited back to a sorority during Formal Recruitment or to choose not to go back to a chapter you are invited to during recruitment.

Deactivate - To terminate your status in an organization. Once you deactivate you can never go through recruitment with another organization, as once you initiate into one NPC/NIC or NPHC organization, you are bound to it for life, regardless of deactivation. (I have been told that there are circumstances within the NIC where you could join another organization, you'd have to check with each group to find out those circumstances).

Deferred Recruitment - Recruitment held in the Spring term. Also called Spring Recruitment (Rush). The theory behind Deferred Recruitment is that the PNM has had time to settle into school life and adjust and isn't going through the turmoil of beginning college when they go through recruitment. It has its good and bad points - you can see what the sororities are like at your school, but you also may have more preferences going into recruitment because of that. Some schools hold a full Formal Recruitment in the Spring, while others hold Minimally or Partially Structured Recruitments, or Continuous Open Recruitment only.

Depledge - When a new member leaves the sorority or fraternity prior to initiation. Within the NPC sororities, if you depledge, you are ineligible to join another NPC sorority for ONE full year (signing your Bid or Pref card means you are required to wait that one year if you want to join another sorority as well).

Deuteron - Part of the chapter designations for some organizations, indicating the chapter was closed and then re-opened. For example Alpha Phi, Eta Deuteron chapter, tells us that the Eta chapter of Alpha Phi was recolonized.

Dirty Rush - When collegiate members promise a PNM will get to join, or invites them to events before rush. It is against Panhellenic rules to dirty rush someone and doing so can get organizations fined.

Disaffiliate - 1) When a member chooses not to affiliate with their organization any longer (see Deactivate). 2) When a member is required to not show or tell which organization they belong to, for example, with Rho Gamma's during Formal Recruitment. The Rho Gammas are to be impartial, and aren't supposed to reveal their affiliations in order to not bias the PNMs. They can affiliate again after Recruitment is over.

Discretion - Vital in pursuing NPHC organizations (as well as alumnae initiation), which are run much differently from NPC and NIC groups. NPHC groups do not tell the greater school population who is interested or pledging their group, and the interested person or pledge should also refrain from giving any clues. Most groups will have a coming out where the school sees who joined what group.

Divine Nine - Nickname for the 9 traditionally African American sororities and fraternities that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). Previous to Iota Phi Theta joining the Divine Nine they were known as the Great Eight.

Dry - A fraternity that permits no alcohol in their house, and in some cases (depending on the organization) is not allowed to host parties involving alcohol. Many fraternities are dry nationally and all sororities have different levels on being dry - for instance, one sorority may allow members to attend official functions hosted by organizations that are not dry, while others may not.

Dry Rush - A fraternity rush event with no alcohol. (Sororities are never allowed to have alcohol at recruitment events).

Executive - The governing body of the fraternity or sorority. Each group has their own specific positions (President, various Vice Presidents, Chairs etc). They are in charge of running the organization on campus.

Expansion - When a university or college decides to invite a new sorority or fraternity on campus. The interested groups will make presentations and when the final group is chosen, they will get to colonize on that campus. It also refers to a sorority or fraternity that wants to expand and add a chapter somewhere.

Formal - A formal dance or dinner/dance held by the college chapter. Most sororities and fraternities each host one formal in the year. Some are open to alumni/ae to attend, some are not. It is dependant on the organization and the local chapter rules.

Formal Membership Recruitment Acceptance Form - Formerly known as a Bid Card or Preference Card. This overly long and extremely PC term is rarely ever heard, but it is the official term. It is the invitation to join a sorority.

Formal Recruitment or Formal Membership Recruitment - The process where a Potential New Member can visit all the sororities on campus, and through a series of events, narrow the groups down until they potentially receive an invitation to join. It is held in either the Fall or Spring (Deferred). A typical formal recruitment would have the PNM sign up, be placed in a Recruitment Group with other PNMs, tour each group, be invited back and over the course of 2-3 rounds of invites, narrow their choice to 2 or 3 groups for a final event. They then rank the groups and are matched with a sorority and invited to join. Formerly called Rush in NPC sororities. [See also Fully Structured Recruitment and Recruitment Styles.]

A sample of a fully structured recruitment might look like this - I'll use the example of 10 sororities on a campus.

Day 1 - You would tour each house, then the sororities would decide who they'd like to invite back the next day.
Day 2 - You receive your invites and can go back to up to 7 groups. If you get more than 7 invites, you'll have to cut a group or two. If you got less than 7 you have to go to every group. After Day 2, the sororities decide again who to invite back.
Day 3 - You can attend up to 5 events, so again you may have to cut or not. This day may be about philanthropy where you do something for each sororities charity. It may be skit day as well, depending on the campus.
Day 4 - You can only go back to 3 and it is Preference Parties. You'll spend longer times at each sorority, sometimes for a meal. After that you'll fill out your Pref Card, ranking your favourites from 1-3. Meanwhile the sororities are making their A and B lists. Bid matching is done, and you are offered a bid by one of the sororities on your list on Bid Day. You are now a New Member.

The number of houses you can return to all depends on the number of organizations on your campus. Some schools have very competitive, formal recruitments (the Southern US and some big schools for example), while other schools have fairly casual recruitments. There may be 4 days of events, less days or more days. Your local Greek Life or Panhellenic Council can fill you in on the details for your specific campus.

Founders - The people who founded each sorority or fraternity. There may be 1 or a few dozen depending on the organization. Some refer to them as Founding Sisters/Brothers, while some (mostly newer) groups use Found Mother/Father.

Founders Day - The day chosen to officially celebrate the founding of a fraternity or sorority. Organizations will have an official date of founding, but Founders Day may or may not be held on that exact day.

Frat - Short for fraternity, most NIC fraternities see this term as offensive, but it is a respectful term among NPHC fraternities.

Fraternity - A mens (or co-ed) organization where the members share ideals, rituals and a bond of brotherhood. Many sororities are officially called women's fraternities (15/26 NPC, the rest are officially sororities).

Fully Structured Recruitment (FSR) - A form of recruitment that occurs on campuses with 4-26 NPC sororities, where quota is traditionally 20 or more, and the number of PNMs is quite high. Panhellenic handles the logistics for this form of recruitment and the events are formatted in the traditional way of rounds of parties. Release figures must be used and bid matching is used, as well as quota and total. [See Formal Recruitment for an example of how it would run]

GC - Short for GreekChat, a message board where Greeks and those interested in Greek Life gather to chat about sorority and fraternity issues, share rush and recruitment stories, discuss alumnae info and chat about random things. Sometimes very random lol. Non-greeks are welcome.

GDI - Short for Gosh Darn Independent or God Damned Independent. It is a person who is not in a Greek organization. Also seen as Independent.

Graduate Chapter - A chapter of (usually) an NPHC organization that is made up of those who already have a 4 year degree. These chapters usually emcompass a city or county area. In some organizations they are considered the same as alumni/ae chapters.

Greek - A member of a fraternity or sorority, or being in a GLO.

Greek Letter Organization (GLO) - Any sorority or fraternity is a GLO, even those that don't use Greek letters (such as Acacia and Farmhouse).

Greek Week - A week of events and competitions that unite all of the Greek groups on campus.

Green Book - A book detailing the fundamentals of formal recruitment as mandated by the NPC. Basically the big huge rule book of recruitment lol. It is actually called the Manual of Information.

Grip - See Handshake

Handshake - A special (secret) handshake known only by initiated members of a fraternity or sorority. Also called a Grip.

Hazing - Any behaviour that is humiliating, violent, disrespectful or causes a person discomfort. Hazing is against the principles of all sororities and fraternities, and illegal in all states. Some organizations even consider things like scavenger hunts and not allowing new members to wear letters as hazing. It should not be part of any new member period, and anyone experiencing hazing should speak to their campus Panhellenic, IFC etc.

Hold Over - Someone who is a new member who for some reason, can't be initiated with their new member class and is "held over" until the next initiation occurs. Often happens because of finances, personal reasons, grades, etc.

Hotboxing - Where members of an organization will be left alone with a potential new member and pressure them to accept a bid to their organization. This is against rush and recruitment rules.

House - The physical house that a fraternity or sorority is housed in. Also a term synonymous with chapter in some areas where the organizations don't have a house.

House Corporation - A group of alums that oversee business involving the chapter's house or chapter room.

House Director - Also called a House Mother (if it's a woman that is lol) or House Manager. A person who lives in the house and looks after day-to-day operations of the sorority/fraternity. The House Director is an employee of the organization.

Inactive - A member who has elected to become inactive in sorority or fraternity life. They have no say or participation in chapter activities.

Independent - A person who is not a member of a fraternity or sorority. Also seen as GDI - Gosh (or God) Darn (or Damned) Independent.

In House - A collegiate member who lives in the house.

In House Legacy - A legacy who's blood sibling (and in some organizations, step sibling) is currently in that chapter as a collegiate member.

Initiate - A person who is undergoing initiation; a person who is an initiated member of an organization and has learned the ritual.

Initiation - The private ceremony in which a new member becomes a full initiated member. Initiation ceremonies and rituals are private and secret, and may only be attended by initiated members or those to be initiated.

Intake - See Membership Intake Process (MIP).

Intentional Single Preference (ISP)- When a PNM lists only one sorority on their Preference Card and they attended more than one Preference event. This lessens your change of getting a bid, and some campuses will automatically cut people who do this and not bid match them. You are always better off listing more than one group, even if you only attended one Pref. Formerly called Suicide.

Intentional Double Preference (IDP) - When a PNM lists only two sororities on their Preference Card on campuses where you attend three or more Preference events.

Interest Group - A group of individuals on campus in the first stage of forming a chapter of a Greek organization. An interest group will become a Colony.

Interfraternity Council (IFC) - The college council consisting of all the fraternities on campus. It is a self-governing council that sets standards for the member fraternities.

Invite - A recruitment term to denote an invitation extended to attend one of the recruitment events.

Lavaliere - A small drop necklace with Greek letters. Many sorority members will have a lavaliere with their organizations letters. Many fraternity men will give their girlfriend a lavaliere of their letters if the relationship is serious. (See Lavaliering).

Lavaliering - When a fraternity member gives his girlfriend a lavaliere with the fraternity letters. Seen as a step before Pinning.

Legacy - A person who's parent, sibling or grandparent (and in some sororities and fraternities, step and half siblings or aunts/uncles) belonged to that organization. If your mother is an Alpha Chi Omega, you are a legacy to AXO. If your grandma was an Alpha Gamma Delta and your mom an Alpha Phi, you are a legacy to both. Each organization has different rules about which relations count as legacies. Before you go through recruitment, those family members should send in a form (somewhat like a Rec) to the chapter so they will know you are a legacy.

Letters - The Greek letters that represent the names of each sorority and fraternity. A few (FarmHouse, Acacia etc) don't use Greek letters. It is considered extremely bad form to wear the letters of a group you do not belong to (not counting cases of lavaliering etc). Most groups allow new members to wear letters, but some only allow their new members to wear the group name spelled out, saving the letterwearing for after Initiation.

Line - An NPHC term equivilant to a Pledge Class or New Member Class. Many lines will have nicknames.

Little Sis/Bro - A new member that is paired with a collegiate member who will help them adjust to Greek life. Some sororities have specific terms, like Alpha Gamma Delta's Sister-Mother, Sister-Daughters and Alpha Delta Pi's Diamond Sisters.

Live In - A collegian who lives inside the chapter house (if there is one).

Local - A sorority that is not national. They may have just one chapter, or a couple. They aren't governed by the NPC, NIC or NPHC and may or may not be governed by a conference or council on a national level. They may be members of their campus Greek Council, or they may not.

Manual of Information - Official term for the NPC Green Book, which is the book of rules of recruitment.

Mascot - Usually an animal, chosen by the GLO (nationally and sometimes locally) to represent them. For example, Chi Omega's mascot is the owl. The meaning behind it is reserved for initiated members.

Membership Intake Process (MIP) - The process by which NPHC and some multicultural and ethnic Greek groups gain new members. It is very different from NPC recruitment and NIC rush and is usually held separately. The process is very discreet, and the interested person usually knows which group they want to pursue before attending any of their events. There is a great thread on GC about how it works. Also called Intake.

Membership Recruitment Acceptance Agreement (MMRA) - Official term for Bid Card acceptance, it is a one year binding agreement signed by a PNM.

Minimally Structured Recruitment (MSR) - Used on campuses where there are between 2-5 NPC sororities and quota during formal recruitment is between 10-12. It is suited to campuses where the population interested in joining is small. Chapters hold events and PNMs are not required to attend an event at every sorority. There is no bid matching and chapters can pledge to total. (Most resembles NIC rush)

Mismatch - When a potential new member's name fails to match any of her sorority preferences.

Mixer - An event, sometimes with a theme, where a sorority and fraternity will get together for a night of games, fun, music, games or dancing. Also called an Exchange or Social.

Multicultural Greek Letter Organization (MCGLO) - A sorority or fraternity that was founded on the basis of being multicultural.

NALFO - See National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations.

'Nalia - Short for paraphernalia, which are all of the "things" you can get with Greek letters on them, from sweatshirts, hats, keychains and necklaces, to flip flops, wallets, track suits and briefcases. Also seen as "para". These terms seem to be more prevalent among NPHC organizations.

National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) - They are an umbrella council for 24 Latino Greek letter organizations.

National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) - The governing body of all the member fraternities in the USA and Canada.

National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) - The governing board of the member organizations, all of which are multicultural. Has both fraternities and sororities under its governance.

National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) - The governing body of all 26 international sororities in the USA and Canada.

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) - The governing body of all the 9 traditionally African American fraternities and sororities.

Nationals - A slang term for a sorority or fraternity's national headquarters. Somewhat of a misnomer as many organizations are actually international, as they have chapters in other countries. The official term for a fraternity or sorority's headquarters could be anything from Executive Office  (EO) to International Headquarters (IHQ), every group is different.

Neophyte, Neo - An NPHC term for a New Member.

New Member - A member of an NPC sorority who has not yet been initiated. Formerly called a Pledge, the NIC and other organizations still use this term. Also seen as Associate Member.

New Member Class - The other new members that will go through initiation with you. Each new member class may be designated with Greek letters or a nickname, depending on the organization. For example XYZ sorority, Kappa New Member Class.

New Member Ceremony - The ceremony in which the New Member receives their New Member Pin and becomes an official New Member. Sometimes seen (informally) as Pledging In, Pinning Ceremony.

New Member Educator - The liaison between the new members and the chapter, they are responsible for implementing and monitoring the new member program and preparing the new members for initiation. Formerly called a Pledge Mom, Pledge Dad, Pledgemaster etc.

New Member Period - The period of time between Bid acceptance and initiation, where an NPC New Member is learning about their new organization. Most New Member Periods are about 10 weeks long. Formerly called Pledge Period.

New Member Pin - A distinctive pin worn by the new members of a fraternity or sorority, between bid acceptance and initiation. Pictures can be found on the NIC, NPC and NPHC pages.

New Member Program - A sorority/fraternity program that teaches the New Member about the sorority, their ideals, founders etc. No secret information is given until after Initiation. Formerly called Pledge Program

NIC - See National Interfraternity Council.

NMGC - See National Multicultural Greek Council.

No Frills - Recruitment that is conducted on a budget with strict rules. This is done so that sororities with more financial banking can't "outdo" those that are on a smaller budget.

NPC - See National Panhellenic Conference.

Open Motto - A motto used by a GLO that is public. It usually gives you an idea of what their goal or purpose is.

Order of Omega - An honorary organization for Greeks with good academic achievements.

Paddle - An ornamental gift usually give from big to little. It will be decorated and personalized and is hung up in the members room usually.

Panhellenic Council - The governing council of the NPC sororities on each campus. Sometimes shortened to Panhel.

Paper Members – Generally refers to NPHC members who join an organization through intake and are not hazed during pledging. This term seems to be used by members that were hazed as a derogatory term towards those that were not.

Para - Short for paraphernalia, which are all of the "things" you can get with Greek letters on them, from sweatshirts, hats, keychains and necklaces, to flip flops, wallets, track suits and briefcases. Also seen as "nalia". These terms seem to be more prevalent among NPHC organizations.

Partially Structured Recruitment (PSR) - A form of NPC recruitment used on campuses where there are between 3-9 chapters and quota is usually between 15-20 if formal recruitment is done. PNMs are required to attend at least one event at each sorority and several events over all, but they have the choice to not return to an event they are invited to and still be able to continue with recruitment. Bid matching may or may not be done depending on the size of the chapters and the number of PNMs.

Perp - Someone who pretends to be a member of a fraternity or sorority, by wearing the letters, claiming they're a collegian or alumni.

PFA - See Professional Fraternity Association.

Philanthropy - The charity (or charities) that each Greek organization support, either (inter)nationally, locally or both. For instance, Beta Theta Pi's is Children's Burn Awareness, and Kappa Kappa Gamma's is UNICEF. Each chapter will raise money for their philanthropy throughout the year. They also may assist other causes, and join in fundraisers with other Greek organizations.

Pin - See Badge.

Pin Attire - Badges/pins must be worn with nice clothing, much like what you'd wear to a job interview. Most organizations say you should not wear your pin on t-shirts, with ripped clothing, jeans etc. Some organizations don't have specific rules about the wearing of the badge, but members still wear it with pin attire out of respect.

Pinning - 1) When a fraternity member gives a sorority member his pin. Seen as the step before engagement in most areas. Many fraternities have sweetheart badges, which are smaller versions of their badge and can be given to girlfriends/wives. 2) A slang term for a new member ceremony.

Pledge - A fraternity term for a new member who has not yet been initiated.

Pledge Class - The other new members that will go through initiation with you are your pledge class.

Pledge Period - The time between being invited to join and being initiated. In this time you'll learn all about the organization you're joining. Also called Pledgeship.

Pledge Program - The program where you learn all about the fraternity.

Potential New Alumnae Member (PNAM) - A woman who is seeking membership in an NPC sorority via alumnae initiation. This term originated at Greekchat with AZ-AlphaXi and is in common use at the site. It is not an official term among sororities though.

Potential New Member (PNM) - A collegian who is seeking membership in an NPC sorority, either through Formal Recruitment or Continuous Open Recruitment. Formerly called Rushee.

PNAM - See Potential New Alumnae Member.

PNM - See Potential New Member.

Preference - The final big night (or day) of Recruitment, where you attend 2, 3, or sometimes 4 (depending on your school and the size of your Greek system) parties. You'll spend more time at the sororities, usually for dinner and/or dessert, you may participate in an open ritual etc. It is the last chance for each sorority to really sell themselves to you, to let you see what it is they love about being a member and your last opportunity to see where you'd most fit in. Also called Pref, Final Dinners.

Preference Card (Pref Card) - A card signed by Potential New Members after the Preference events indicating, in order or preference, which sororities of the ones whose parties they attended they liked the most. These cards, along with the sororities lists of members they would like, are used in bid matching to match the PNMs and sororities with one another . Some schools allow PNMs to list groups even if they didn't attend their Preference events. If you sign the Pref Card, you are saying you will accept a bid from any sorority you list. If you sign, and decide not to join the organization that offers you a Bid, you cannot attempt to join another sorority for one full year. If you do not sign, that doesn't apply. See also Intentional Single Preference.

Probate - An NPHC term. A show where all the newly initiated members of the organization "come out" to everyone on campus. Not every campus will have one.

Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) - The governing council of the member organizations, all of which have a professional basis.

Prophyte - An initiated member of an NPHC organization.

Quota - The maximum amount of members a sorority can take during Formal Recruitment, determined by the number of women accepting an invite to an invitiational round (which round depends on the school - some use Preference, others an earlier round) and the number of sororities participating in recruitment. For instance, if there 6 sororities on campus and 120 girls attend Preference, then Quota is 20, meaning each sorority may take a maximum of 20 new members. Sororities are allowed to take Quota, even if they will go over Total/Ceiling. If there are 3 or more invite rounds, then Quota is the number of women registering and attending the first membership recruitment function, multiplied by the average percent of women pledged during he last three years divided by the number of chapters. Don't worry, it gets MUCH more confusing that this lol. There is a great post at Greekchat about how quota is set and how release numbers, and other figures during recruitment work.

Quota Additions - Allows chapter at quota to accept 5% more of quota in order to match more women with their preferences. The rules governing Quota Additions are more thoroughly explained at Greekchat. Of course lol. Also seen as Over Quota or Quota Plus.

Quota Range - Only used before and during Bid Matching. Each campus would use the weighted average of signed bid cards over the last three years as their base number. The range is then calculated as +/-8%. For example, if the weighted average is 40 signed bid cards, the range would be 37 to 43. Bid Matching is then done seven times - once with quota as 37, once with it at 38 etc, all the way to 43. Then all seven matches are looked at to see which quota matched the most girls with the most chapters and worked out best for everyone. This then becomes your Quota. This will hopefully eliminate or reduce the need for Quota Additions. [With thanks to CarolinaCutie for the GC explanation]

Rec - See Recommendation.

Recolonize - The process whereby a fraternity or a sorority that was previously on campus, receives another charter for the same campus. Recolonization can happen because a chapter died out due to low numbers, or had their charter revoked and the (international) headquarters agrees or wants to reopen the chapter.

Recommendation - A form or letter written by an alumna in good standing about a potential new member, which serves as a way for the PNM to be introduced to the sorority. Some schools (in the Southern US or with competitive Greek systems) require that each PNM secure recs from an alumna of each sorority before recruitment begins. Some campuses don't rely on recs at all and it doesn't matter if the PNM has one or not. Check with your Greek Life office or Panhellenic Council to find out if Recs are used at your school. Any alum in good standing can offer to write one and local Alumnae Panhellenic Associations will help PNMs secure recs for recruitment. Also seen as Reference.

Recruitment - See Formal Recruitment

Recruitment Counselor (aka Rho Gamma) - A member of an NPC sorority who disaffiliates from her sorority for the duration of Formal Recruitment. She will assist the PNMs during the process of Recruitment, answering questions and running a Recruitment Group. They cannot reveal their sorority, so they remain neutral and don't influence their PNMs. They are revealed on Bid Day. Formerly called rho chi's, the new official term is Rho Gamma (Recruitment Guide). Also called Gamma Chi (Greek Counselor), Pi Gamma (Panhellenic Guide) Pi Chi (Panhellenic Counselor) and other names depending on the campus - but Rho Gamma is the official term.

Recruitment Events - Formerly called Rush Parties. These are the events that a PNM will attend during Formal Recruitment.

Recruitment Styles - Refers to the four different styles of recruitment endorsed by the NPC. They are: Fully Structured Recruitment, Partially Structured Recruitment, Minimally Structured Recruitment and Continuous Recruitment (which is not the same as Continous Open Recruitment (Bidding)). Each style of recruitment is defined here.

Release Figures - Numbers from past years of recruitment events showing how many girls elected to return to a sorority's events and are used to determine how many girls can be invited back to a sorority recruitment event. Each group may invite back Quota times the number of events in each event round, divided by its own average percentage of return for the last three years of formal membershp recruitment.

An example would be:

1st round - 5 events
NPC groups - 7
PNMs - 125
Quota - 18
Average percent returning over 3 years for group ABC - 82%

Quota times events = Y divided by %

18 x 5 = 90 divided by .82 = 110

So group ABC can invite a maximum of 110 girls back.

Release figures are meant to make larger groups cut more girls early on instead of keeping girls until the last minute and cutting hard at the end, while smaller groups can invite back more girls early on and increase their numbers.

Retreat - A short trip (or sleepover at the sorority house) where the sorority members will bond, or in the case of recruitment retreats, practice their recruitment techniques. They are closed events for current members only.

Rho Chi - See Rho Gamma

Rho Gamma - The official term for a Recruitment Counselor. Formerly called Rho Chi's, the name was changed because a Greek organization also had the name Rho Chi. Rho Gamma stands for Recruitment Guide. Some schools use other terms such as Pi Gamma (Panhellenic Guide), Gamma Chi (Greek Counselor), Pi Chi (Panhellenic Counselor) etc, but Rho Gamma is the official term.

Ritual - A ceremony held in secret only for initiated members, which teaches the secret information of the group. Ritual also refers to the document(s) that contains the secret principles and ideals upon which the organization was founded. Only initiated members may be privy to the ritual and all ritualistic information, although some groups have open rituals that can be viewed by the public, such as during Preference.

Rush - An NIC term for the process by which an interested person (rushee) will become a pledge. Fraternities will have an Open House, the person will attend however many they want, then will get invited back to those houses interested in him. It is slowly narrowed down by both the fraternities and rushee until a fraternity will offer a Bid. Sororities used this term previously to 1999 when it was retermed "recruitment".

Rush Crush - An informal NPC term. A collegiate member may find a PNM who she really likes and clicks with and wants to encourage to join, hoping that she decides to accept the invites etc...this is her rush crush. A PNM could have a rush crush among the collegiates in a sorority she likes as well.

Rush Parties - See Recruitment Events.

Rushee - A person interested in joining a fraternity and going through the rush process. No longer used in NPC sororities officially.

Sands - An NPHC term equivilant to a pledge class. Your sands are the people that cross with you. From the term "cross the burning sands".

Silence - A period after Pref and before Bid Day where members are not allowed to talk to PNMs. This is to avoid any dirty rushing or influence of the PNM. There is also silence during the summer, where collegiate members cannot contact PNMs about sorority things, but they can talk if they share classes etc. The onus for maintaining silence is placed on the collegiate member, as a PNM is not expected to know all the rules governing silence.

Sister - Term that sororities members call each other.

Skate - NPHC term for those who "skated" through pledgeship; ie "paper" members.

Snap Bidding - When a group who has not reached Quota offers a bid to a PNM who was on their list (but not on the PNMs list). Depending on the school, snap bids may also be offered to women who dropped out of recruitment, but not to women who elected to Intentional Single Preference. Snap bids may be extended until the group reaches Quota. If they are still not at Total, the group can participate in Continuous Open Bidding.

Soror - Term used in NPHC sororities, they use this instead of Sister. Some Latina sororities and Multicultural sororities will also use the term.

Sorority - A women's Greek letter organization. There are also many women's Greek letter orgs that use the term Fraternity (as in Women's Fraternity) as they were either founded before the word sorority was coined, or prefered to be known as a women's fraternity. 15 of the 26 NPC organizations are known as fraternities, while the remaining 11 are sororities.

Standards - Most sororities and fraternities have a council or board to internally deal with anything, such as a member's bad behaviour, breaking rules etc.

Stepping - A show put on by NPHC organization that involves synchronized percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and drama.

Suicide - See Intentional Single Preference.

Sweetheart - A sorority woman chosen by a fraternity for all the work they have done for them. It's considered an honor to be chosen. Many groups have different names for the position.

Total - The total amount of members a sorority is allowed to have. This number is different on every campus. The only time you can exceed total is during Formal Recruitment. Also called Ceiling.

Undergraduate Chapters - A term usually used in NPHC organizations, meaning an organization that recruits new members that are attending a college or university in the undergrad program. Anyone who has graduate university/college or is in a higher (MA, PhD) program would join a Graduate or Alumni/ae chapter.

Underground - When a group operates on campus without being officially recognized by their headquarters. It isn't supposed to happen, but it does. A group may go underground if their charter is revoked. They may hold underground initiations, but the people being initiated will not be considered members by the international headquarters, as they are not initiated by a chapter in good standing.

Wet Rush - A fraternity rush event where alcohol is served.

Women's Fraternity - An official term used by some NPC groups. Some groups were founded before the word sorority was coined and are officially known as women's fraternities. Fifteen of the 26 NPC organizations are properly called fraternities.

Yard - An NPHC term used to mean all the NPHC organizations that are on the particular campus. If a fraternity is on the campus, they are "on the yard".

Informalion taken from: http://www3.telus.net/greek/  (The Greek Info Pages)