Clare Foster (left), chapter president of the Alpha Lambda chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta, and Grace Davis (right), Vice President of Recruitment, walk toward the Alpha Gamma Delta house, located at 1832 Indianola Ave., Sept. 7, 2026 (posed). Credit: Hana Alghamdi | Lantern Reporter
For Ohio State students interested in joining a sorority, choosing which semester to participate in recruitment means choosing between two different experiences.?
Fall and spring recruitment vary in time commitment, structure and the number of participating chapters, giving students options that fit their schedules and preferences.?
Gabi Nu?ez, assistant director of council leadership-advisor for Ohio State’s Panhellenic Association, said primary recruitment in the spring follows a formal, structured four-round process that introduces potential new members to Panhellenic chapters. In the fall, recruitment takes place through continuous open bidding, which is an informal process in which only participating chapters recruit. Open bidding can also take place in the spring after primary recruitment.
Clare Foster, president of the Alpha Lambda chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta and a fourth-year health sciences major, said each semester can appeal to students for different reasons.
“If you really wanted to have the opportunity to meet everybody, then I think that the spring semester is a great way to do that,” Foster said. “If you’re a very busy person, I think that fall recruitment or rushing in the fall is a great option as well.”
Olivia Reuscher,? the Panhellenic Association president, also said the fall process can offer students more flexibility and require less time from students than primary recruitment.
“It’s a lot less time consuming… less pressure,” Reuscher said. “You’re only meeting with one or two active members of a chapter rather than being at the house with a bunch of people at once all day long going to multiple houses.”
Nu?ez said primary recruitment begins with meet the chapters, a two-day round in which potential new members meet every Panhellenic chapter. Potential new members have an opportunity to meet with all 17 chapters, according to the Panhellenic website.?
Foster said the round takes place on Zoom.
The process then moves through philanthropy and sisterhood rounds before ending with preference, when the hopeful new members visit no more than two chapters, Nu?ez said.
Foster said primary recruitment requires students to attend scheduled events over two full weekends in January, from Friday through Sunday.?
Potential new members must attend every event on their schedule or risk being dropped from the recruitment process, she said.
Students must have at least 12 college credit hours and a 2.5 GPA to be eligible for Panhellenic recruitment, Nu?ez said.
Nu?ez also said this means incoming first-year students are not eligible to participate in fall continuous open bidding during their first semester.
Spring primary recruitment costs $100 to register, while there is no cost to participate in fall open bidding, Nu?ez said.
Nu?ez said in the fall, participating chapters choose how long they conduct recruitment and the types of events they host.
Nu?ez said all Panhellenic chapters participate in spring Primary Recruitment, whereas this fall, 10 Panhellenic organizations are participating in continuous open bidding.
Reuscher said continuous open bidding can give students more opportunities for one-on-one conversations with chapter members.
“With continuous open bidding, the potential new members can email chapters that they’re interested in and set up little coffee chats or interviews that way,” Reuscher said.“If you’re having a good conversation with somebody, it can go longer. And it’s in a casual setting, [so] you don’t have to wear a dress and heels.”
Nu?ez said students should research their options, ask questions and consider which recruitment experience fits what they are looking for.
“At the end of the day, you are doing this because you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” Nu?ez said. “You just have to find out what makes sense to you.”
