Rushing as a Sophomore?
 

Hi,

I'm considering going through the sorority recruitment process at my college this fall as a sophomore. I've heard that you can be at a disadvantage when doing this as a sophomore, and I was wondering what some of the main reasons for this are. Also, I'm an education major, which is a five year program at my school, so I still have four years of college left. Will this make a difference at all? Also, I go to UW-Madison if that helps anyone answer my question.

Thanks OTW! I'm not in a NPC sorority, but I am in a sorority that is a member of the Panhellenic Association, was a Panhellenic delegate, went through NPC recruitment my freshman year, and have worked really closely with the recruitment chairs and Rho Gammas, so I have a pretty good idea of what is going on.

As said in that thread that OTW listed, you will not be at too great of a disadvantage as a sophomore. Everything in that thread should apply to you.

I don't believe that the 5-year education program matters because I believe most sororities on campus (I think its a uniform rule among most NPCs- and please correct me on this!) have a rule where you transition to alumna status after graduation or after your eighth semester of college.

I'll give you the same advice I'm giving my little sister (she'll be a freshman this fall): go through recruitment even if you aren't sure because (a) it's the best way to learn if you want to be in a sorority and (b) you meet a ton of people. (I still have friends from my Rho Gamma group and meeting people as an incoming student helps a lot.)

Make sure to register ahead of time (http://www.uwgreek.com/recruit/sor_r..._register.html) and try because they are increasingly popular here.

Are you a transfer student or have you been here a year? If you're transfering, there should be additional information at SOAR as well as people you can talk to in person.

Some NPCs do have that rule, some don't at all, some have it as your 8th semester in the sorority, and some say you can go alumna if you want to but you don't have to.

I'm guessing that in your 5th year you'll be student teaching away from campus for at least a semester anyway so unless there's some kind of special or professional status offered thru your sorority, you might have to go alumna.

Thanks so much for your input! It really helps. No, I'm not a transfer student, I've been here a year but I didn't do recruitment last year.

It shouldn't hurt you too much. A lot of the girls in my Rho Gamma group were in the same boat as you and 95% of them got bids.

They were also exceedingly careful to be open to all houses. The 5% who didn't dropped really early and that's because they got cut by their top choices.

Recruitment as a junior here is difficult, so just keep that in mind when going through recruitment.

Good luck!

I like that you said the women who received an invitation to join did so as a result of being open to all chapter, but not really the mention of top tier as that is subjective and not always the case year to year. Perhaps these women were cut by their top choices, as not everyone thinks XYZ is the be all end all.

(I realize you go to the school, so you're in the position to know how chapters shake out, but

Good point. The chapters that are considered the "best" and "worst" have been decently consistent since I got to school here, but there is some fluctuation.

I fixed my post to reflect that!