Parents drop thousands on recruitment coaches to ensure daughters’ success in sorority rush

The parents of some college women hoping to join a Greek letter organization put large amounts of money toward services to aid their daughters in doing so.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday on companies around the country that offer various forms of coaching for women going through sorority recruitment, with the costs for parents and their daughters varying based on the type of service.

Some came in at $150, while others reached as high as several thousand dollars, according to the outlet.

One Texas-based sorority consulting firm, Hiking in Heels, has an option that involves being on-call for clients going through the process and costs $4,000, The Journal reported. 

In Georgia, the company It’s All Greek to Me provides intensive, step-by-step guidance to college women rushing for $3,500, according to the outlet.

That service includes “full support through the summer and rush with your mentor-built relationship,” It’s All Greek to Me’s website stated.

Meanwhile, Recruitment Ready in Atlanta affords those who pay nearly $1,000 private counseling on a slew of topics, rush week support and other services. 

Greek Chic, one that’s based out of New York, offers an option for guidance on dressing for the events, navigating conversations, obtaining letters of recommendation and other aspects of sorority recruitment, according to its website.

That service, which also features “on-call availability” during rush week, reportedly comes with a price tag of $2,000.

Other services available to women wanting to join sororities were less expensive, such as a $150 video session from Recruitment Ready or a $600 training from It’s All Greek to Me that offers tips on topics such as timelines, social media and makeup. 

The highly competitive rush process has prompted the appearance of more and more firms offering counsel to women going through it.

The exact format and length of recruitment generally varies by university, with rush lasting a few days on certain campuses and a week at others. It culminates in Bid Day, when many women receive invitations to join a sorority chapter. 

The Wall Street Journal, citing National Panhellenic Conference data, reported sororities saw over 125,000 women rush in 2022. Of those, 20-25% reportedly didn’t receive a bid from a chapter or dropped out during the process. 

Videos of college women documenting the ins-and-outs of going through rush have gained a large amount of attention online in the past couple years, particularly those doing so at the University of Alabama.

At that school, roughly 43% of female students belonged to a sorority chapter, according to US News & World Report.

The share of women on campus participating in sororities tends to vary by college.

US News & World Report found Sterling College in Kansas had the largest proportion, at 87%, while others like University of Richmond and Lehigh University saw 25%.