It's a ton of work, but so very worth it!
As a colony of a national GLO, you will have lots of support from your national office. They will help you out with things like setting up your executive board and committees, your first rush (*ahem* recruitment
), etc. But you and your co-founders have to do all the actual legwork of getting recognized by the university, setting up your bylaws, choosing who your first officers will be, etc. - all while going through the new member program!
BUT... it is so worth it on that day when you are finally installed as a chapter and you get to sign the charter that will hang on the wall for the next 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 years. My second-happiest AEPhi moment was signing that charter. (The happiest, of course, being initiation
)