How to Join & Recruitment/Intake FAQ

First-year and transfer students must wait until their second “Syracuse University” semester to join.  Regardless of the time at which a student wishes to join, before a candidate can go through recruitment/intake, they must meet the following requirements:

• Be a regularly enrolled, full-time undergraduate student in good standing with Syracuse University or SUNY ESF.
• Have earned at least 12 credit hours at Syracuse University or SUNY  ESF**
• Have earned a 2.5 or better cumulative GPA.
• Attend a Greek 101 session.
  • Information for Greek 101 will be found on FASA’s website and social media.
• Attend the following workshops offered by the Wellness Leadership Institute (Information can be found in the Barnes Center Wellness Portal.)
  • Alcohol Safety 101
  • Stop Bias
  • Hazing Prevention

**Students who transfer to Syracuse University after having earned 12 transferable credit hours at another college or university are permitted to join a fraternity or sorority in the Professional Fraternity Council (PFC).

In addition to the University's requirements for membership, each council may have its own requirements that affect associated chapters. Some Greek organizations have their own chapter-specific requirements as well.

Recruitment is the mutual selection process by which the prospective member (student) and the fraternities or sororities determine the best fit for membership. It is a mutual process where you have the opportunity to decide which chapter would be a good fit for you and where each chapter determines who they would like to invite to be a member. During this period, interested students have the opportunity to visit organizations and see what each has to offer.  Recruitment is the new member orientation and induction program used by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Council (PHC).

More information on Recruitment can be found on our How to Join Page.

Intake is the process where members are selected to become new members of an organization. This process is organized by each chapter individually, but includes selection of candidates, education about the organization, and ends with initiation and full membership in the organization. Membership intake is the new member orientation and initiation program used by National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) and Professional Fraternity Council (PFC).

More information on Intake Can be found on our How to Join Page.

No. Recruitment and intake processes differ by organization, depending on the council under which the Greek organization falls. Every fraternity and sorority at Syracuse University reports to one of six governing councils: the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Council (PHC) regulate their recruitment; the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and Professional Fraternity Council (PFC) fraternities and sororities have national or regional officers who set the timing and regulations around their recruitment or intake.

Recruitment can be a stressful time for your student. In addition to the support system they will develop in college, they will also need your help on how to cope with the outcome of recruitment.

Since fraternities and sororities are private membership organizations, they are not obligated to explain why a student wasn’t offered an invitation to membership.  Therefore, our office staff will not know the reason why a student wasn’t asked to join.  We suggest that parents and students consider this to be similar to what happens in a job interview.  An applicant might have a great resume, but the interview didn’t turn out as planned.  Or, the candidate could be a great interviewer, but not have the right credentials.

If your student wishes to keep looking for a fraternity/sorority experience they can participate in recruitment during the next semester. If not, but they’d still like to be involved in campus in some way, you might want to encourage them to think about any of the other 300+student organizations and clubs on campus through Cuse Activities.

Know that the system of fraternity/sorority recruitment at Syracuse University is competitive and not everyone who wants to be Greek will receive an invitation to the chapter of their choice or receive an invitation at all. Although it may be difficult to deal with at first, your student will get through it.  It’s normal for your student to feel disappointed and upset, but don’t let their disappointment ruin or define the rest of their semester.  Your student will need to move forward from recruitment with an open mind and consider the following other options:

1) Join other clubs: There are plenty of opportunities for your student to meet friends on campus; Greek life is not the only option for them to consider. To find a club to join, start by looking on Cuse Activities to see which clubs are offered at SU. Co-curricular activities are perfect for making friends and doing something students truly enjoy.

2) Don’t take it personally: It’s easy to take things personally when your student is not chosen or if their friends received invitations and your student didn’t receive one?  For the sake of their well-being and happiness, don’t let it get the best of them.  We recommend the student keep busy, avoid social media, and keep their mind off of recruitment by spending time with roommates, meeting new people in the dorm, focusing on school, and/or joining a club or two.  It takes some time, but in no time they will move away from the recruitment experience.

3) Consider giving recruitment another try: whether your student did not receive an invitation at the end of their first recruitment experience, or if you chose to remove themselves from the process before invitations were extended, they are NOT the only student in this situation. Trying recruitment a second time around can be less stressful because they already know what to expect.

Regardless of intent, some group bonding activities designed to be "all in good fun" still may raise some serious safety concerns."  Many group members may not approve of hazing but go along with the activity because they mistakenly believe everyone else agrees with it. The strongest supporters of hazing are often the most vocal and dominant members. If you believe your student is the victim of hazing, we urge you to report your concerns immediately.  

Online reporting forms can be found: Syracuse University Hazing Reporting Form.  Anonymous reports also can be made to the Department of Public Safety through the EthicsPoint service page.