Information for Parents
As your student starts to settle in to the University of North Georgia and develop interests, they will have many opportunities to choose from. One option they may find interesting is joining a fraternity or sorority. As a parent, this decision deserves your input and careful consideration.
Engage your child's decision by learning more about the fraternity and sorority community at the University of North Georgia. Ask questions about what each organization can offer your student and allow them to make the best decisions for themselves.
Once your student has made the decision to join a fraternity or sorority, be supportive and ask questions about their fraternal experience. Chapters host events that invite parents and families to offer the opportunity for you to experience the fraternity and sorority community firsthand.
Benefits of Joining a Fraternity or Sorority
Leadership
Getting involved in a fraternity or sorority can lead to a variety of leadership positions, such as serving on the executive board of the chapter, holding chair positions within their chapter, serving on governing councils, and joining community committees.
Academics
An essential component of the fraternity or sorority experience is academics. Members of fraternities and sororities typically have higher GPAs than non-members.
Service
Our chapters are all committed to service and philanthropy, teaching members the value of contributing to the community on a local and international level.
Recruitment
The University of North Georgia participates in fall primary recruitment, meaning that our students are eligible to join a chapter in their first semester of enrollment at UNG. We believe that students should have the opportunity to join these organizations as soon as possible because our data shows that students who are involved in Fraternity and Sorority Life are retained to graduation at higher rates than students who are not in these organizations.
The sorority formal recruitment process occurs over several days. Students attend formal recruitment events on campus and are guided by our Recruitment Counselors. Fraternity recruitment enables students to attend a Round Robin where they have the chance to meet with all seven of the fraternities at UNG, and then they have the opportunity to attend each of the chapters' smoker events. Smokers are an open house that each fraternity chapter hosts in a location on or near campus. During this event, students are able to interact with fraternity members.
Each chapter has the right to choose their membership based on their national organization qualifications and membership is based on a mutual selection process.
Please know that not everyone that participates in recruitment will join a chapter. This can be a difficult experience for our students, especially in the first few days following formal recruitment. Fraternity and Sorority Life staff and student leaders work to help students learn from this experience and UNG offers a variety of different clubs and organizations for students to become involved in.
Many answers to additional questions may be found on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. However, please contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at 706-867-2750 at any time with any questions or concerns.
Chapter and Community Support
Chapters at the University of North Georgia utilize many different entities to support their mission and purpose. Since many of our chapters are a part of a national organization, they have staff members that help with membership and organization development as well as a national office. Every chapter benefits from the assistance and involvement of its alumni, who help with daily operations and chapter direction.
Every chapter is accountable to the university's policies as well as the policies and procedures of their national organization or local policies. The staff of Fraternity and Sorority Life collaborates with advisers, alumni, and national organizations to make sure the organizations are performing at the best possible level.
