A colony is a probationary body of a national fraternity or sorority

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

. A group wishing to become a member of a fraternity or sorority must first petition for status as a colony. If the colony prospers, the colony may later be charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

ed, thereby becoming a full chapter of the fraternity. Not all national fraternities and sororities follow this practice, and some organizations use terms other than colony.