An initiated collegiate member of a chapter.

A member of an organization who has graduated.

Also referred to as “pin,” an insignia of fraternity or sorority membership worn by initiated members. Each CPC sorority has its
own unique badge.

A formal invitation for membership.

Typically given out at the end of Formal Recruitment week by a chapter to a PNM.

An active member of the chapter who is paired with a new member as a mentor.

The allowable chapter size as determined by Texas A&M Panhellenic.

A branch of a national sorority, established at a campus.

Each will have their own name, usually designated by Greek Letters.

EXAMPLE: Chi Omega Sorority, Xi Kappa chapter.

The Alumnae Association of a city that can provide information and assistance to women going through Recruitment.

CPC = Collegiate Panhellenic Council

The governing body over the 14 NPC sororities at Texas A&M University.

The 14 members of CPC Exec lead Collegiate Panhellenic Council. These women are undergraduate sorority women. One of their roles is to oversee the Formal Recruitment process for which they disassociate from their chapters.

After the process of Formal Recruitment, if a sorority did not meet quota they are eligible to give out a bid at any time during the year to a woman who they would like to become a member.

Any attempt to convince a PNM to join a sorority that conflicts with any Recruitment Rules.

*This includes any contact during the Silence period.

A social date event hosted by a single sorority.

The secret ritual ceremony that a new member undergoes to become an active, official member of her chapter.

Initiation traditionally should not include any form of hazing.

*Any instances of hazing should be immediately reported to CPC and the University.

IFC = Interfraternity Council.

The governing body of the NIC fraternities at Texas A&M.

A PNM whose mother, sister, or grandmother is an alumna or active member of a particular sorority. A sorority is not obligated to extend a bid to its legacies.

Texas A&M Panhellenic has a policy which states that every PNM who goes through Formal Recruitment will receive a bid from a chapter at the end of the process, so long as she "maximizes her options".

This means that at Preference (decision time at night when you rank your remaining houses), after the conclusion of all Recruitment parties, the PNM submits the maximum number of houses she wishes to return to that she is able to submit (a.k.a. she does not Single Intentional Preference) and she attends every event she is invited to throughout the week.

A social event generally hosted by two sororities.

MGC = Multi-Cultural Greek Council.

The governing body of the predominantly asian and latino fraternities and sororities at Texas A&M.

NPC = National Panhellenic Council

Founded in 1902, NPC provides support and guidance for its 26 member inter/national sororities/women’s fraternities and serves as the national voice on contemporary issues of sorority life. NPC serves as the umbrella organization for CPC. Texas A&M  has 14 NPC affiliated sororities.

NPHC = National Pan-Hellenic Council.

The governing body of the predominantly African-American fraternities and sororities at Texas A&M.

When a PNM accepts her bid, she becomes a New Member for that sorority chapter.

A chapter member who has been elected to lead the New Member Education process and prepare new members for initiation.

After each round of the Recruitment process, every PNM will go to decide which sororities she would most like to visit again the next day.

This decision process is called preference and will occur after the Go Greek, Philanthropy, Sisterhood, and Preference Night rounds of Recruitment.

Chapters or members of chapters never see which sororities a PNM prefs.

A charitable organization that every NPC sorority at Texas A&M supports.

Chapters give monetary donations as well as donate their time to their national and local philanthropy.

PNM = Potential New Member

A person who is interested in joining an NPC sorority and will participate in recruitment.

The total number of new members each sorority is allowed to take at the end of Formal Recruitment week.

 A written letter or statement from an alumna on the sorority’s official recommendation form introducing and recommending a Potential New Member for pledging. Also called a “rec” or reference.

A designated membership recruitment period during which a series of organized events are held for the purpose of selecting new members.

A woman who has disaffiliated from her sorority for the process of Formal Recruitment to give unbiased advice to PNMs.

These women serve as resources for PNMS during Recruitment Week.

A secret ceremony of a Greek organization and the secret documents that outline the history and traditions of the sorority.

A particular day of recruitment. There are 4 rounds: Go Greek, Philanthropy, Sisterhood, and Preference. Within each round, the events that make up the rounds are called Parties.

A fellow sorority member.

The period of no contact between PNMs and active members during Formal Recruitment Week and the week before Formal Recruitment starts.

After every sorority has submitted their bid lists (women they would like to extend membership to) and every PNM has submitted her preference card (final choices for which sorority she would like to join), sometimes the two do not match up.

In this case, a PNM can receive a snap bid from a sorority that did not make quota and accept it on Bid Day.

This is the situation in which a PNM only submits one or two houses that she would like to return to. In a situation in which a PNM is invited to more than one party on a given round, but only decides she would like to pref one house, she may not be guaranteed a bid at the end of the week.

There is no benefit to Single Intentional Preference and it is highly discouraged.