College Panhellenic Association
San Diego State University
OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS
Q: HOW DO I HELP MY STUDENT PREPARE FOR PRIMARY RECRUITMENT?
You are in the perfect spot! Have your student look over the "Recruitment" tab on this website and make sure they fill out their Recruitment Registration form completely and complete all additional modules by the deadline. Remind them not to stress out about outfits or superficial stereotypes, and it's important for them to remember to be their most authentic self. SDSU practices values-based recruitment, meaning we just want to get to know them in order to help them potentially find their perfect home away from home.
Q: WHICH ARE THE "TOP HOUSES" OR BEST CHAPTERS?
Panhellenic strongly discourages any language that suggests some chapters are better or more desirable than others. Each CPA sorority provides a similar membership experience, and all 9 chapters are held to high standards in the Greek Life core values of academics, leadership, changemaking, belonging, and wellbeing.
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"Panhel love" is a common phrase that communicates how members often have friends, roommates, mentors, and rolemodels outside of their own sorority. PNMs are expected to practice positive Panhellenic spirit and refrain from making any disparaging remarks about any chapter or member of the community.
Membership selection is based on how your values and the chapter's values align, and it is a lifelong commitment to an organization much bigger than even SDSU. There is no best chapter for everyone and no one right chapter for a PNM, so all PNMs are encouraged to keep an open mind throughout the process.
Q: IS THERE A MINIMUM GPA OR UNIT REQUIREMENT TO JOIN A PANHELLENIC CHAPTER?
No, there is no minimum GPA or unit requirement to participate in primary recruitment! You just need to be enrolled as an SDSU student. However, students on academic notice may be ineligible to receive a bid (an invitation to membership). Additionally, each chapter might have their own unique GPA and/or unit requirements, both for potential new members and for staying active within the chapter.
If you have questions or concerns about your GPA, Panhellenic encourages you to talk more with your recruitment counselor. They can help prepare you for recruitment and connect you to other SDSU academic resources.
Q: DO SORORITIES HAZE?
No! All of Chapter's Nationals and San Diego State University have firm policies towards hazing. Any and all reports of hazing are taken very seriously!
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Participation in a hazing practice will result in both individual and organizational disciplinary action, including possible expulsion. Commission of hazing is also a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine. Hazing cases that involve serious bodily injury or death may be charged as felonies. Disciplinary action will also be instituted against officers who permit hazing to occur within their own organization and students who allow themselves to be hazed may also be subject to disciplinary action. Any proven hazing incident involving serious bodily injury will result in revocation of University recognition, and where applicable, a recommendation to national organization for revocation of the organization's charter.
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Report Hazing: reporthazing@sdsu.edu
Q: WHEN GOING THROUGH RECRUITMENT, DO I NEED LETTERS OF RECCOMENDATION?
No, letters of recommendation are not required! Panhellenic is very clear that PNMs do not need to seek out letters of recommendation to participate in recruitment, and that requiring letters of recommendation can be a barrier to membership. Panhellenic, the Pierce Greek Life Center, and SDSU do not manage, process, or forward any letters of recommendation. Please do not send them to us.
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If someone offers to write a letter of recommendation, or a PNM wants to submit them, they should follow each inter/national organization's specific process. Each sorority's website has information about their respective processes, which can be located on the "Recruitment" tab of this website.
Q:WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM A LEGACY?
The exact definition of a “legacy” can vary across organizations, but typically refers to a potential new member with a close family member (such as a grandmother, mother, or sister) who is an initiated member in good standing of a Panhellenic sorority. It’s totally up to you if you want to share your legacy status on the registration form, tell the chapter(s) during a recruitment event, or not tell anybody!
In 2020, many sororities began eliminating policies that gave preferential treatment to legacies in the recruitment process. For all of our chapters, being a legacy is not a guarantee that you will receive an invitation to membership.
Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE GET A BID?
There is not a pre-determined number of bids at the beginning of primary recruitment. The goal of primary recruitment is to grow the Panhellenic community through mutual selection, so it changes every year and even fluctuates during recruitment.
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There is no guarantee that a PNM will receive an invitation to membership, but PNMs who participate with an open mind throughout the entire process have a greater likelihood of finding the chapter for them.
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The most common reason on our campus that a PNM doesn’t receive a bid is that they choose to withdraw from the process. For PNMs who choose to stay in the whole process at SDSU, approximately 97-99% receive an invitation to membership each year!
Q: DO I HAVE TO BE A FRESHMAN TO JOIN THE PANHELLENIC COMMUNITY?
No! CPA welcomes freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and transfer students into our community.​ Each year, about 30% of potential new members are not first-year students. While the PNM experience in recruitment is the same, chapters offer invitations to membership through two separate pools: a primary pool for first-year students, and a secondary pool for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This means sophomores, juniors, and seniors are being considered in a different “pool” from first-year students, but they are being given just as much consideration, no less and no more.
If you have questions or concerns about your class standing, talk more with your recruitment counselor! Many students join the Panhellenic community in their later collegiate years and have a full, impactful membership experience.
Q: DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN THE SORORITY HOUSE?
At SDSU, Panhellenic sorority houses are not large enough to accommodate all or even most members. Typically only 10-15% of a chapter's membership lives in the university-recognized chapter facility in a given year. No chapter requires every member to live-in, but they each have their own process for deciding who lives in and when. For example, some chapters might use a points-based reward system, and/or some chapters might reserve certain rooms for chapter leadership.
Ask chapters for more specific information on who must or can live in the chapter facility, and what is included in their live-in costs. For example, some chapters might include meal plans or parking. In 2024, on average, live-in chapter members paid an additional $4,200 per semester, on top of their active member dues.
Q: WHAT IF I WANT TO STUDY ABROAD, TAKE A LEAVE OF ABSENCE, ETC.?
Many Panhellenic members pursue these opportunities and still have a great chapter experience! Some chapters may offer the opportunity to request a change in membership status, which varies by chapter, but can reduce the financial obligations of membership for a limited period of time. Study abroad, student teaching, financial emergency, medical leave of absence, and military service are some examples that might be offered by chapters as a change in membership status.