Should I try?
 

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Very true!
I'm just wary of being the odd one out because I HAVENT been very social this semester. I'm worried about getting there and the only image someone having is "oh that's the girl in my x class that has never talked to me."

I'm very vocal in class, it's the 1 on 1 conversations that i'm shy about simply because everyone seems to already know each other.
I don't have many friends on campus yet and I feel like it will all count against me.

Hopefully someone will be able to give specific advice for your campus. You can check with your school's Greek Life office to see if Juniors get bids. For some campuses this happens quite often, for others, rarely to never.

Regardless of your chances, you have to draw a bit on your inner strength to go through as a junior, because you will be surrounded by mostly freshman and perhaps some sophomores. You may be the only junior in your recruitment group, so feeling somewhat ridiculous goes with the territory. :) If you can brave this, recruitment can be an enjoyable process, however.

You will spend a lot of time talking with others during recruitment, so start practicing now. Befriend other girls in your classes. Start by smiling and asking a question about an assignment or offering an observation about the class or professor. Get around to asking the girl if she lives on or off campus. If you find that she's a sorority member, ask her a few general questions about sorority life.

Join some campus clubs that interest you. Chapters will be looking to see if you have been involved in campus clubs and acitivities. They will also be looking at your GPA, so try to finish the semester as strongly as possible.

The first thing I did upon transferring was contact greek life and ask them.

I should be finishing this semester with a 3.8 or 3.9, so I think I'll fit well within academic standards.

I've been nice to anyone I've talked to (and I have tried, specifically at the beginnning, but then I got bogged down by work and here we are at the end!).

Thank you all :)

Will your junior year be your second year there?

I would be prepared for answers as to why you didn't rush earlier. There are plenty of shy women who have succeeded in recruitment, but they had to learn something very important. If you think about it, shy people often focus on themselves. They worry are they good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, etc., to compete. It's the worrying about yourself that can be off-putting to others. I am sometimes shy, and people have told me that it looks like I am pissed off sometimes, when in reality, I'm just self-conscious. I would really work on the issues that make you feel self-conscious or shy. You don't have to be Miss Congeniality, but you should be able to have a conversation with strangers. How will anyone get to know you, and vise versa, if you are not approachable?

I personally would never tell them that you didn't socialize because you wanted to spend time your boyfriend. Plenty of girls in sororities have boyfriends. It's not impossible.

I don't know what your workload entails, but there are many women who successfully carry heavy loads (credit wise) with demanding majors. Balance is important whether you are in a sorority or not. Being in a sorority can help you learn to balance a lot of things before you hit the real world after graduation. There are a lot of resources out there - you can take a study skills class to help you make better use of your study time. Many sororities also have study hours, mentoring among people in the same major, etc.

If you get to know the girls now, you'll have the "few times to get comfortable" under your belt. You still have time to get to know girls before the end of the year. I am not sure how you managed to not know anyone; I am sure there are girls in some of your classes. Since you live off campus, find stuff to do on campus so that you can be part of the campus community. You aren't going to meet a lot of people hiding off campus.

I think that outside the intangibles you can't change (the competitiveness, class standing, etc.), a lot of your success in recruitment is based on YOU. Good luck with whatever you do. Whether or not you go Greek, it can't hurt to make new friends and get involved on campus. College will be over before you know it.

This will only be my second semester there. I haven't even been there for 6 months yet :). I transferred in spring term, and rush isn't until fall (from what i understand).

No, I DO know people, in general, lol. Sorry if I made it sound like I know no one at all here. I just haven't had that much contact at out of class events and so on because everyone tends to separate into their established groups (mostly from their dorm levels or sororities) and if you aren't a part of one, your presence isnt acknowledged at all.

I am on-campus a lot going to movies or events that we get extra credit for. I just don't have extended conversations with people or hang out (outside of regular classs). I'd say that M-F i'm on campus from the morning till noon, and then i usually come back 8-10 or something for some event or studying in the library.

I'm joining clubs at the beginning of next semester so that i CAN be more active, greek or not. I love the school, it's a good fit, and I don't want to regret not being active after it's over.

"If you think about it, shy people often focus on themselves. They worry are they good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, etc., to compete. It's the worrying about yourself that can be off-putting to others. I am sometimes shy, and people have told me that it looks like I am pissed off sometimes, when in reality, I'm just self-conscious."

That's exactly my problem. It's not so much that I'm worried about talking to people, it's that i'm overly concerned with what they're thinking about me, I guess?

:) Thanks for responding. You've been really helpful.