Parents & Families
Your student has embarked upon a great adventure by choosing to attend the University of West Florida. By joining a fraternity or sorority, your student will be joining many other new members in their search for a sense of community at UWF. Fraternity & Sorority Life is a great community built to help your student through this new and exciting time in their lives.
Encourage your student to attend as many campus events as possible during UWF's Argo Arrival and the beginning of the school year. Being involved is the best way to meet active members and learn about their chapters. Involvement and interest in other student organizations are looked favorably upon during the membership selection process. Students need support throughout recruitment/intake and new member education. Be supportive and learn as much as you can about fraternity/sorority life by asking questions of your student as he or she meets members of fraternities and sororities. Keeping an open mind fraternity and sorority life is different at UWF than at other campuses and has grown and developed in the many years it's been on college campuses.
Fraternities and sororities are different on every campus. Groups that may have been strong on the campus where you attended school may not have the same reputation as the University of West Florida. Let your student choose the group that he or she feels the most comfortable joining.
Talk to your student beforehand about the financial obligation. Determine who will pay for what and where the limits are. Know that the process of fraternity/sorority recruitment at UWF is a mutual selection process. Not everyone who wants to join a fraternity or sorority will receive a bid. Still, Fraternity & Sorority Life will do everything possible to make sure the potential new members understand the process and possible outcomes.
Do not become too involved in the decision your student will make for their fraternity/sorority of choice, this is your student's decision for lifelong membership. Too often, parents or families do not allow their students to "fight their own battles." It helps the student mature and gain some assertiveness when allowed to call various offices if they have questions or concerns about their decision to join a fraternity or sorority.
