They do, except at Indiana U. I will let someone from a large school explain the living-in semantics.

My cow wanted me to rush.

She was disappointed I didn't go Phi MOO;) lol

/hijack

How did I know that was coming? ;)

I think this is really only a problem with the ladies - I've never known fraternities to be so concerned about age.

On a separate note, last my school's Panhellenic decided to have free upperclassmen (usually sophomores) up to 5% of quota (which worked out to 2 people). It was very evident that every sorority selected 2 people that were sophomores that they wanted. There was also a problem with women leaving recruitment when they didn't get the sorority they wanted and saying--"Oh, it'll be OK, because next year I'll be free and they'll take me!" :eek:

They removed the rule this year due to those factors, but now there are a lot of sophomores who dropped last year going through. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.

Well, it's a problem with total. If a sorority has to watch out for total and they can only take 20 girls, they'd rather take 20 freshmen than 20 juniors. Fraternities, of course, can take all 40 if they want to, so it's not an issue for them.

I understand why sororities who always make total prefer to take freshmen than non-frosh, but I know of plenty of sororities at various schools that are nowhere close to total who automatically cut juniors and above, or sophomores and above. Why? If it comes down to taking a pledge class of ten freshmen when quota is 20, or taking a pledge class of ten freshmen and ten upperclassman, why wouldn't you want to do the latter? Is it just that this happens at schools where nobody takes non-freshmen so it would look desperate to do so? I don't understand why, if they're not making total anyway, they want to cut out the possibility of extra revenue and extra numbers when it's not going to hurt them.

The only reason I can think of is that they are not being properly advised by their alumnae advisors or their National (or...they are choosing not to follow the advice).

Or they think that since that's what the most popular groups do, that's what they should do. (Which is an immensely stupid reason)

FWIW, five of my best sorority friends from college pledged as upperclassmen - and two of them went on to become our Sister of the Year!

Maybe that's why I'm so pro-"free juniors & seniors"!

My pledge class was seven juniors.

Going through rush as an upperclassmen
 

I, myself...rushing at a big SEC School knew it was going to be difficult going through formal rush as an upperclassmen. Even though I was a transfer student and am going to be here another three years, I was cut down to 4 after the first round. I understand wanting freshman for 4 active years, however all I thought in my mind was they wanted quantity over quality, and I felt that I could have brought a lot to the table as far as helping out with a sorority. In terms of rushing in general...I'm glad I did it. I made tons of friends and still talk to just about all of them. We have a connection thats says, "we went through this together." Unfortunately though, I know a lot of girls that I had gone through rush with had told me that they hated the group they were in but just accepted the bid because there was no place else to go and that they wanted to be in a sorority really badly. I also know quite a few girls who dropped out/couldn't get initiated because of grades. I agree with the statements of freshmen transferring or flunking out because rushing the first semester of school is stressful on the work load, especially since it is such a drastic change from high school. But, on the other hand, upperclassmen have already proven themselves without even meeting with sisters of a chapter. They have proven that they can maintain a GPA, stay in school, balance their time and still want to be apart of something not because "the mixers are fun and the boys are cute". After rush was over, I checked out the other organizations on campus and was lucky enough to find a home. I am glad to report I have been involved in working and having a blast with my future sisters this past semester! :) Any insight on this? Good luck to all those rushing this spring!

We pledged 2 amazing juniors this year, so it can happen!

Some universities do not not discriminate so strongly against upper classmen, due to the turnout of women coming to recruitment, etc. For the schools who have a large recruitment, composed primarily of freshmen, those freshmen are going to get "priority" placement because they offer four years of consistent service, leadership potential and dues, helping the chapter stay in the black and learning the ropes to be a leader in the chapter. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT UPPERCLASSMEN ARE NOT QUALITY POTENTIAL MEMBERS. THEY ARE VERY VALUABLE POTENTIAL MEMBERS-- THEY OFFER STRONG MATURITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT, CAN BE A ROLE MODEL TO YOUNGER MEMBERS, ARE MORE APT TO BE AROUND LONGER (AS ALUM), WILL NOT EXPERIENCE BURN-OUT AS QUICKLY, AND ARE JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING THE CHAPTER FINANCIALLY SOUND, ETC. However, I do not see this situation as something changing. Freshmen will continue to receive priority at larger schools. I encourage upperclassmen to continue to persue sorority life, and to have alumnae write them letters of recommendation, and to smile their brightest smiles, brag their accomplishments and genuinely go into the process to make wonderful friends and find a good match. But upperclassmen should also go into the process knowing that they stand the chance of being severely cut, and that this being cut has nothing to do with their measure as a woman or their value to the group. I also think that any PNM who fits the profile of a likely joiner will fit into any chapter-- sororities at these larger schools are great in size and extremely diverse in each chapter-- there is something for everyone.

So while this message may not give any answers, it is just a note to upperclassmen-- DO go through the process. Don't wonder "What if"

adpiucf...that was beautifully written -- ditto, sister.

there were several times when i was going through recruitment that i just wanted to bust out and say - LOOK, don't *bs* me...i KNOW you may be inclined to cut me because i am older, but first let me list all of the reasons why i would make a good addition to this group! yada yada yada...

i know i could have convinced anyone!!! :D

of course, i didn't want to be too forward :)

i got lucky!!!

Where I come from, sophmores count in regular quota. As unfair as it may seem, sororities want girls who will potentially contribute 4 full years to the chapter. Usually only 1 or 2 sophomores get invited to each sorority. Juniors are another quota, counted the same way regular quota is, how many there are divided by the sororities. Quota is set at 50 + 5 or whatever, meaning 5 or however many juniors. I really don't have a huge problem with the system, but I understand why someone might.