Sorority Recommendation Letter

Who Can Apply for Membership?

There are five most widely spread sorority and fraternity community names in America: Kappa, Delta, AKA, Sigma, and Theta. Usually, only female representatives apply for sorority membership. But nowadays, there are sorority communities that accept LGBTQ+ community representatives, so there is no discrimination allowed. Those are usually marked with a “Phi,” like a Delta Phi or an Alpha Phi, and so on.

Other than that, people entering their freshman year in the fall should apply for a sorority membership in the spring of the current year.

Who Can Write a Sorority Recommendation Letter?

The sorority admissions committee expects an alumna of this particular sorority and chapter to provide the social resume. Of course, it would be perfect if you have a former sorority member (alumna) who is close to you or if you are a legacy. But what happens if you do not have any close relationships of such kind? Several important questions arise in this regard:

1. What do I do if I do not have an alumna to help me compose and sign a recommendation letter?
2. What if the specific alumna and I do not have a relationship strong enough for her to write me a Sorority Recommendation Letter?

First, if you do not have any direct contacts with the particular sorority alumna, you can try to get in touch with them via your friends, family members, colleagues, and other resources. If that does not work, you can contact the National Panhellenic Conference (an advocacy organization for sorority experience advancement) to find an alumna who would be willing to help. The last resort opportunity in this case scenario would be contacting the national offices of local sorority communities to get an alumna to write a letter for you.

Second, suppose you and the subject alumna do not have a strong bond. In that case, you can compile a list of your most outstanding accomplishments, volunteer work, studying awards, scholarships, extracurricular activities, and other relevant personal achievements so that the subject alumna could write you a persuasive recommendation letter.

Compulsory Content to Include

A good Sorority Recommendation Letter consists of four to five paragraphs and includes four constituent parts, as follows:

• Salutation
• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion

But there is particular content that the recommendation letter author should consider including in each of these paragraphs. Thus, a high-quality letter must include:

• Author’s name and qualifications (the higher the level, the better)
• Relation to the subject applicant and personal opinion of them
• Examples of the most outstanding accomplishments in studying, sports, volunteering, and other related activities
• The strongest personality traits and their real-life examples
• Arguments for accepting the candidate into the sorority
• A semi-formal sign-off at the end

Below, you will find particular recommendations on comprising a proper and potentially successful recommendation letter for a sorority.

Writing a Sorority Recommendation Letter

It is worth mentioning that larger sorority communities usually provide recommendation letter samples on their official websites. But there are smaller communities that do not. Therefore, we suggest you use our form-building software to create and customize the template you need. You can also use the structure recommendations and letter samples below to write a sorority recommendation letter of your own.

1. Provide a Proper Salutation

The author might not always know exactly who the letter is addressed to. So, it would be a good practice to follow the rules of business correspondence protocol and begin the letter with “To whom it may concern.”

2. Introduce Yourself and the Applicant

Once you have saluted the addressee, you can proceed to the introduction part. It is a compulsory element of any recommendation letter and should include a detailed description of the author, their name, relation to the applicant, and primary qualifications that make them eligible to write this letter.

3. Compose the Main Body

It is the main part of the letter describing the necessary qualifications the subject sorority candidate has to get in. Ensure you include the applicant’s academic and sports accomplishments, hobbies, social and volunteer work projects, and other awards that help demonstrate their most vital personality traits.

4. Insert Personality Traits and Qualification

This part would be a logical sequel to the previous one. You, as a mentor, should describe the best positive personality traits of the potential sorority member. Personal achievements and accomplishments may not always provide a complete picture of a person’s character, and the admissions committee must know for sure that the newcomer is friendly and well-liked. Support your point of view with examples.

5. Write the Conclusion

This part must not be too long. Typically, it consists of 3-4 sentences that wrap up your argumentation regarding the applicant’s membership in the sorority. Make sure your closing argument emphasizes your personal support of the application.

6. Affix the Signature and Current Date

Double-check your final letter sample and see if all the inserted information is accurate. Then, ensure to affix your signature and current calendar date at the bottom of the document.

Samples of Sorority Recommendation Letter

We have comprised a couple of Sorority Recommendation Letter samples so that you could use them as a starting point. Take a look below and pick out the most suitable piece to work with.

Sorority Letter: Sample 1

To whom it may concern,

I am a proud alumna of __________________. I am aware that only highly intelligent, strong, and independent women (and LGBTQ+ community representatives, if applicable) are accepted into the sorority, and I personally believe that ____________ would be an excellent addition to the sisterhood.

____________ is ______________(insert the relation type) and I have had the pleasure of watching her grow into the wonderful young adult she is now. I can tell that ___________ teachers and mentors have always had solely positive things to say about her (their) character and that I can trace her (their) studying and social accomplishments to as far as I can remember. Moreover, she has been a top student and a crowned homecoming queen for a couple of years in a row.

The teachers, coaches, and mentors have always had only the nicest things to say about _______________ (insert the person’s name). She is an outstanding ____________ (name a sports activity) player and an award-winning champion in ___________ of the year ________. Her major in high school is __________, and she has been equally successful in such disciplines as ___________, ____________, and ____________. However, her true passion has always been art. She made it into a hobby and has developed a decent skill in painting. She knows her strengths and can apply her talents properly. For example, in ___________ (insert the respective month and year), she won a ______ place prize/award in the ___________________ contest/tournament.

I can tell ___________ is a very committed and ambitious person. Ever since she was little, she has known what she wanted and has been taking steps towards her goal relentlessly.  __________ has excellent interpersonal communication and time-management skills that help her through life. She manages to succeed both in her education and outside-school activities due to her excellent sense of time and the ability to prioritize. At the same time, she is a people person and is rather fun to be around. Besides that, _________ is very compassionate and generous, which makes her a great friend. She is trying to do her best for the local communities and works part-time for a local volunteer organization.

Following my personal observations, ___________ is an enthusiastic, creative, and dedicated person who would become a perfect addition to the sisterhood. She is an incredibly intelligent young woman who portrays all the qualities that ___________ (insert the name of the sorority) is looking for in their new sister. And while ___________ could easily fit into practically any sorority, she desires and, by all means, deserves to become a part of the ______________ (name of the sorority) amazing experience.

Sincerely,

_________________

Sorority Letter: Sample 2

To whom it may concern,

My name is _____________ and I was a proud member of the ______________ sorority back in _______. I remember being on cloud nine when I was accepted into the sisterhood. The ________ chapter became my family for years to come and provided the best student experiences a young woman could wish for. I now would like __________ to take on that path because I strongly believe that this community helps to develop leadership and many other strong personal character traits.

____________ (insert the applicant’s name) shows all the essential personality traits of a true ______________ sister, including honesty, leadership, intelligence, and dignity. She is very open-minded and is willing to change people’s lives for the better. That is precisely why I highly recommend admitting her into the sisterhood chapter.

____________ has a lot of hobbies and interests, but sports is her biggest passion. She has been a dedicated athlete for as long as I can remember and quite a successful one, I must say. During her senior year of high school, she received the ______________ award and then got in ___________ University on a sportsmen scholarship. Throughout her school career, she has helped her __________ (name a sports activity) team win in local, regional, federal, and international championships and tournaments. All her coaches admit that she is a true go-getter and admire her “never-give-up” attitude. To me, those are all qualities of a true-born leader.

You would think that with such an active way of life, her social life would take a backseat, but _________ is also volunteering at a local organization that deals with women abuse and provides all kinds of help to domestic violence victims. She is a very devoted person capable of multitasking, which she constantly applies in real life. Despite being very busy for most of her time, __________ still finds the time to spend with friends and family. She spends her weekends helping her grandparents around the house and never forgets to pay some respect on holidays. She is very loyal, unselfish, kind, and generous.

It seems only fair if you consider accepting ________ into the sisterhood of ___________. She is an excellent candidate and a perfect friend, let alone her other achievements and personal traits. Without exaggeration, I am proud to know her as an incredibly intelligent and dedicated individual, and I am looking forward to seeing the positive changes she can bring to the sorority with her presence.

Best regards,

___________________

Sorority Letter: Sample 3

To whom it may concern,

Having worked alongside __________ for two years now, I was very excited to learn that she was willing to apply for a _____________ (name the sorority) membership. I was part of this wonderful community in 2003-2007, back when I was studying at the _____________ University. I have the nicest things to say and remember about that time, and the same applies to __________ (name of the applicant).

Just like myself from a while ago, _________ is a cheerleading captain at ________ High (name of the school). When I learned she was applying, I knew she was perfect for the sisterhood right away. During her senior year, she led her cheerleading squad to win the National Cheerleading Finals. She is very hard-working, but despite her immense dedication to the team, she never lets it get in the way of acquiring excellent marks in all of her classes. Education is just as important to her, and she can draw the line when it comes to her priorities. She has been one of the top students for several years in a row and is tutoring younger students when she has some spare time.

__________ and I have been working together for a volunteering organization that aims at helping the elderly left without close ones or significant others. I can surely tell that _________ can do anything she sets her mind to, as she is always very focused, calm, and hard-working. Despite being competitive, she is very supportive of her friends and other women around her. She never takes too much pride in her achievements and never acts arrogantly towards competitors. She remains very professional, wise, and human when still being charismatic and fun.

I have absolutely no doubt that ________ would make a great addition to the sorority. ___________ has always been famous for its motto, which lies in promoting happiness, joy, and prosperity amongst its members. Personally, I cannot help but admire __________ for the ability to see the good in people, which is very noble. If you finally decide to accept her into the chapter, I am pretty sure she would make a lot of people happy with your help.

Sincerely,

________________

Sorority Letter Dos and Don’ts

Every sorority has a recruitment strategy and a set of rules by which they decide on the candidate’s fate. If you want your recommendation letter to be successful and to make an impact, we strongly advise you to get acquainted with that specific strategy before applying.

Below, we have put together some common dos and don’ts for your reference.

What to do to write a successful Sorority Recommendation Letter:

1. Make a recommendation letter spreadsheet beforehand. Keep in mind that you need to provide the recommendation by mid-June at the latest. Thus, you have to send out your alumnae information by mid-May to be on time.
2. Ensure you provide the letter’s author with comprehensive information on your achievements and characteristics. Otherwise, your recommendation letter may turn out uncompetitive.
3. Try to get as much representation as possible. The more recommendation letters you get, the better. It is not always a good strategy to rely on the personnel’s social value and weight when choosing an author for your letter unless it is a nationally (or even internationally) recognized sorority alumna.

What NOT to do when writing a Sorority Recommendation Letter:

1. Do not rely on one sole recommendation letter performed by the woman everybody supposedly knows in town. There is a good chance the admissions committee would not care and, even more so, view it as an act of arrogance.
2. It is important to show you are fun to be around but do not get carried away. If you state that you want the membership to throw parties (and be invited to ones), that will not describe you positively in the eyes of potential sisters.
3. Do not brag or show evident superiority in your recommendation letters. Take the letter seriously and pay special attention to the style and manner of speech.
4. An absolute “don’t” would be refusing to submit a recommendation letter because you claim to know some girls in the subject sorority that have promised to get you in. That is the biggest mistake of a newcomer as all sororities have strict admission policies, and they care a lot about preserving their reputation.