Parental Influence on Sorority Participation
About the Project
Watch: Community Presentation
Download: Full Report | Executive Summary
The goal of this research was to deeply understand the hopes, concerns and influence parents have on their daughter’s college journey, including perceptions around sororities, including:
- Key priorities and concerns parents have regarding their daughter’s college experience.
- The influence parents have on college choice and selection, including how affordability factors into their decision-making and perceptions of the collegiate experience.
- How parents’ own collegiate and fraternity/sorority experiences shape their college expectations and sorority perceptions.
- Preferred channels for learning about college and sororities, as well as their experiences around accessing sorority information.
Additional Context: This study was conducted by the same research partner as the Sorority Market & Persona Research on the next generation of sorority women project and builds on its findings.
Insights at a Glance
- Parents seek to apply influence, not pressure.
- Parents/caregivers want to — and do — influence their daughters’ decisions and choices, but they don’t want their influence and parenting to be seen as pressure-full. Boiling it down, nearly all parents/caregivers play a role in influencing college decisions (where she’ll attend, where she’ll live and what activities she’ll participate in). They’re most influential on financial and housing choices and view themselves as less influential when it comes to their daughter’s activities and involvement. However, if the parent/caregiver was a member of a sorority/fraternity, their influence on their daughter’s extracurriculars and social activities is marginally stronger.
- When parents/caregivers think about the collegiate experience, they’re truly seeking for it to be a launchpad for their daughter(s). Their priorities for college align with those of their Gen-Z students — both focused on the same top four: personal growth, learning skills, career prep and good grades — but some students apply more pressure on themselves to get good grades and pursue career prep.
- Ultimately, parents/caregivers strive to balance their approach between a focus on positive well-being and identity exploration.
- When it comes to sororities, parents do see the forest for the trees.
- The vast majority of parents/caregivers support their daughters joining a sorority — 69% of high school parents are extremely or very supportive. High school parents with sorority/fraternity experience are even MUCH more supportive as they view their experience positively and want the same for their daughter. Of the 31% of high school parents who are neutral or unsupportive, most of that is driven by a lack of college or sorority/fraternity experience.
- Most high school parents/caregivers see sorority membership as a possibility for their daughters, with half feeling it’s extremely or very likely that their daughters will join. However, compared with what Gen Z high schoolers said in December 2023, only 1 in 4, or 26% (compared to 48% of parents), thought joining was likely for them.
- Parents/caregivers see the distinct value we can bring to their daughters. While parents/caregivers and their daughters rank “fun social opportunities” and “friendships” as the top two perceptions of sororities, they also fully grasp the deeper, positive benefits of membership. For each of the deeper benefits studied — belonging, post-college networks, a sense of family, mentorship, service opportunities and good housing options — 7 to 8 out of 10 parents/caregivers know that sororities provide this advantage.
- Parents are ready to engage but can’t always find timely, trustworthy information.
- When looking into colleges, they want info straight from the source. They prioritize direct institutional sources first and foremost — like college visits, orientations, websites and counselors. When it comes to looking for information about sororities, the big picture take-away is that sororities are seen as an extension of the college, not separate entities.
- Nearly 50% of high school parents have searched college websites for sorority information. Among those searching, 43% didn’t find what they were looking for; parents/caregivers with college experience were more likely to find information when they searched. Additionally, parents/caregivers of seniors were significantly more likely to have sought information than parents of juniors (51% vs. 39%). And when it comes to hearing first-hand information, parents/caregivers are seeking it from people they know, as well as through social media (think: behind-the-scenes and day-in-the-life posts).
- Parents/caregivers are looking for information earlier than expected, with nearly 6 in 10 wanting it in the admissions process, and only 23% saying they want it during the sorority recruitment period.
- Transparency builds comfort and confidence in the sorority experience.
- As their daughter approaches college, the biggest concern parents/caregivers have is her well-being. In the transition to college, physical safety, mental health and risky behaviors are the top three concerns. For high school parents with college sorority/fraternity experience, the fear of risky behaviors is even more pronounced, while that of cost is lower. Regarding what concerns parents/caregivers about their daughters joining sororities, you see similar themes, including risky behavior followed by too much drama.
- Support for their daughter joining a sorority can be elevated further when parents/caregivers understand the measures sororities take to keep her safe, including supporting her well-being. Transparency and clear communication around costs, scholarship, or financial aid opportunities are vital, and transparency about our recruitment process could turn them into advocates and dispel concerns.
- High school parents who are unsupportive/neutral about their daughter joining a sorority are significantly more likely to say that a trial period would make them more comfortable about their daughter joining (49% for not supportive/neutral and 31% for supportive).
- High school parents with no college experience are significantly less likely to feel reassured about their daughter joining when presented with anti-hazing information (39%), compared to high school parents with college experience (52%) and those with sorority/fraternity experience (56%).
- High school parents with no college experience are significantly less likely to feel reassured about their daughter joining knowing they would have a mentor/big sister (23%), compared to high school parents with college experience (40%) and those with sorority/fraternity experience (41%).
- Parents aren’t resisting the cost, they’re resisting the unknown.
- Parents/caregivers are not resistant to the costs and want to support their daughter’s endeavors; the more up front we are with them, the more comfortable they’ll become. Despite perceptions around sororities being expensive, most are open to covering or sharing sorority costs if their daughter decides to join. This data closely aligns with what’s in practice based on other industry research.
- 70% of high school parents say they’ll pay all or some of dues and housing
- 85% of sorority parents say they’ll pay all or some of dues and housing
- High school parents with sorority/fraternity experience are significantly more likely to say they would pay the full cost of both housing (56%) and membership dues (58%).
- Supportive high school parents are also more likely to cover both fees entirely vs not supportive parents (51% for both vs 23%/21%)
- Parents/caregivers are not resistant to the costs and want to support their daughter’s endeavors; the more up front we are with them, the more comfortable they’ll become. Despite perceptions around sororities being expensive, most are open to covering or sharing sorority costs if their daughter decides to join. This data closely aligns with what’s in practice based on other industry research.
Our Research Partner: Culturati Research & Consulting
Culturati offers expertise in category-related and Gen Z research and delivers actionable results.
They have conducted numerous studies among parents of kids and teens, including but not limited to exploratory qualitative insights for snacking, empathy journeys for back-to-school shopping, and quantitative surveys among parents of young athletes for sports beverages. Additional relevant experience includes quantitative studies in the education category and research for other non-profit organizations
Their team boasts 95+ years of combined experience in design and execution of well-integrated total market research. Culturati is a thought leader in understanding the “New Mainstream” as well as multicultural populations.
Methodology
Qualitative (Sept. 2025): Three 90-minute focus groups (4-5 per group) of parents/caregivers of high school girls (ages 17–18), comprised of those who joined a sorority/fraternity, did not join a sorority/fraternity and parents/caregivers who did not attend college.
Quantitative (Sept.–Oct. 2025): A survey with 700 respondents, including female and male parents/caregivers ages 35 or older who have at least some influence on the college decision and college activities for their daughter. A sample of parents/caregivers with a daughter in college who is a sorority member was included. The sample was representative of U.S. Census data.
- High School Parents (600): Have a daughter who is a junior or senior in high school, aged 16–18 years old, who plans to attend a 4-year university upon graduating from high school
- Sorority Parents (100): Have a daughter in a 4-year university who is in a sorority
Resources
If you reference any data from this project, please use the following citation:
2026 Parental Influence on Sorority Participation by Culturati Research & Consulting, funded through the Amplifying Sorority Campaign.
