Moving to college is an intimidating process, but joining a fraternity or sorority can be a good way to make friends, get comfortable with Iowa State and start a college career. With more than 40 sororities and fraternities, there are options for everyone at Iowa State.

Greek Recruitment can be a good way to meet people and have fun, whether you decide to join a chapter or not.

Typically, women go through formal recruitment. Erin McHale, the vice president of formal recruitment for the Collegiate Panhellenic Council, said this takes place about a week before fall class starts, and you are open to register to participate over the summer. Women come to Iowa State two Saturdays before the first day of class. During this time, women stay in residence halls and are guided by a Rho Gamma. The cost of recruitment is about $160.

Starting Sunday and going through to Thursday, women tour the houses, speak with recruiters and make a preference list. Women systematically mark down their preferences in certain intervals, while chapter recruiters do the same.

That Wednesday is commonly referred to as preference night. The women get a last chance to have a gathering with the last three chapters on their lists.

The next day is bid day. This is when the women choose which chapter they would like to join, and the chapters announce which women they would like, as part of the mutual selection process. Sometimes women don’t get into their first-choice chapter.

Typically women don’t move into their house until their sophomore year, since they are already locked into their housing contract by the time they have been accepted to a sorority.

McHale said the thing recruiters look for the most are personality matches. The personality of a woman tends to match the “personality” of a house.

Things like grades, high school involvement and common interest are also important to recruiters.

There are also options for informal recruitment later in the year for sororities that still have spots open, or for non-traditional chapters without housing that do not recruit during the formal recruitment week.

The process for men is different. While men can join at any time, there are two large events where men have a chance to get to know the fraternities and their members – Greek Getaway, where high school students stay in the greek community for a weekend, and fall fraternity rush.

The men who participate in Greek Getaway get a chance to check out the houses, and potentially receive a bid that day. In order to make sure men find the house that truly fits them, and to talk it over with family, men are not allowed to accept the bid immediately. If men don’t participate in Greek Getaway, they can then join informally over the summer.

Recruiters from houses may visit the man’s hometown, take him out to dinner or go on trips depending on the chapter.

Josh Monroe, greek affairs vice president of communications, said it “gives [the recruiter] an opportunity to get to know the potential new member, build that personal relationship and see if they will be fit for the fraternity.”

The recruiter can then give the man a bid card at any time. This is where the majority of recruitment takes place.

Then, there is fall rush. Joining in the spring semester is also a possibility if there is room in the chapter.

However, typically men join in time to break their housing contract with the Department of Residence, so they can live in the house right away.

Whether male or female, it is a good idea to go through greek recruitment if you are interested.

“It really was the best decision I made coming into college, you meet so many other people even through recruitment alone. I have a lot of friends from other chapters because of it,” McHale said.

Confidence and an open mind are the keys to a successful recruitment, McHale said.

More information can be found on the ISU Greek Affairs website.