Rushing at South Carolina
 

Hi there,
I'm planning on rushing at South Carolina in the fall of 2012. I will be a sophomore, however I have a high GPA and excellent SAT/ACT scores. Do these things tend to offset the fact that I am a sophomore, not a freshman? I know the SEC is very competitive when it comes to rushing, so is there even a chance I could get a bid?

DO A SEARCH.

Oh I have searched around, but I was looking for some answers specific to South Carolina. Such as the whole commuting thing, being a sophomore, and if my GPA and other academic achievements would help me.

I would first edit out all the identifying information in your post. You want to be as anonymous as possible, and you have included way too much info.

What DBD was getting at by suggesting the search is that no one can tell you the answers that you are looking for. Membership selection is private, so even with the specifics that you mention you won't get any answers.

Just go through rush and see what happens. Be prepared that you may experience heavy cuts, but it only takes one house to get a bid.

QFP

swerve/

Does anyone outside of an admissions office or scholarship committee care about SAT/ACT scores? I don't remember them being a big deal in undergrad.

/swerve

Isn't that their only purpose? To apply for colleges? Like the MCATs or GREs are to apply to Grad Schools. I would think HS GPA would matter a lot more for incoming freshman, and college GPA for anything else. Previous semester might even hold a higher weight.

Are requirements different per school? I always heard a 2.5 was what you needed bare minimum college GPA to even be considered, or initiated. As for HS, just have a high one (you got into college, right?)

When I applied to grad school in 2009, some of the schools asked for all standardized test scores, but at the same time, they say they won't take a GRE that is more than a few years old, so I don't really know why they wanted an ACT and SAT score from 1998, and a GMAT score from 2003.

But yes, that is the only time I have every been asked for my ACT score in the last decade. When I see it on a resume, I usually ignore it.

To the OP, you say you have searched and you know the SEC is competitive. You also know that nobody knows your chances of getting a bid. What else would you like us to say?

You have no chance of getting into a sorority and in fact I think I would just drop out of college altogether. You really have no hope whatsoever.

have you gotten involved on campus-joined a club or served on a committee? that will be important. done any volunteer work as a college student? that will also be important.

Requirements are very different from school to school, from organization to organization, and from chapter to chapter.

She will be a college sophomore so her HS GPA and/or standardized test scores are completely irrelevant. College GPA is all that matters as far as grades are concerned.

That very well may be the case, but anything is possible. I have no intentions of adding any information to sorority recruitment, both at SC and in general, but I'll share this:
A friend of mine from near my home town (from the North) pledged a Sorority at Clemson this year, as a Freshman, and didn't really have any REC's, and, to my knowledge, didn't suffer many cuts, yet ended up with her top choice after getting to know the different sororities. She wasn't exactly tied up 24/7 in extracurricular activities-mostly she just played two sports. Sweet, sweet girl, but nothing spectacular community-involvement-wise.

I understand Clemson is not an SEC school, like SC, but sorority recruitment, and Greek Life in general is very competitive. So, anything can happen. Best of luck CarolinaGirl!

My cousin went through recruitment at USC this past fall and ultimately pledged (via COB) the chapter she wanted.

Her biggest regret was deciding to go through at the last minute and not securing recs for all of the chapters. She was cut fairly deeply after first round so it does happen and I can only speculate at the reasons.

Her pledge class included several sophomores and a couple of junior transfers that I'm aware of. I do not know if that is common for other chapters.

Classes are fairly large there - quota this year was 108.

Next fall there will be a colonization of Alpha Gamma Delta. Colonies generally take women from all classes but are also very selective and so as with all recruitment-related things, there are no sure things.

(PS... all of this information is on GreekChat in other forums in much more detail if you have other questions. And there are several USC recruitment stories from past years that are worth reading.)

None of us can guarantee you a successful rush but we can offer advice.

1. secure letters of recommendation for each chapter on campus. Try to get more than one.
2. get involved in other campus clubs/activities
3. do not, I repeat, DO NOT trash talk sororities or their respective members.
4. watch your appearance at parties (i.e. don't get so completely trashed that you pass out at a frat house, because it will make it around).
5. go into recruitment with an OPEN MIND. If you make a decision that you only want to be in ABC or DEF based on your perceptions of them on campus you will be greatly disappointed in your recruitment experience.
6. if you decide to post a recruitment story, I would suggest not posting it live. Keep a small notebook with you during recruitment, make notes after each party, type up your notes and post your story after bid day.
7. make sure to keep your gpa up. For sophomores and higher the gpa requirement might be different for incoming freshman.
8. for more school specific questions you need to speak to the greek life advisor.

CarolinaGirl712, My daughter is a sophomore at USC and is in a sorority. Recs are VERY important @ USC. Make sure you have a least one for each chapter. Be sure to get involved in campus activities if you are not already. Good grades can only take you so far. Try to get to know the girls in your activities/classes that are already greek. They will be able to give you a glimpse inside what it is like to be greek(money,time commitment, maintaining GPA, etc.) I know my daughter's chapter does take sophomores, but I can't speak for the other 9.
Regarding some of the negative comments, remember it is important to treat others the way we want to be treated. Ignore them, there are actually people on this site who are happy to offer appropriate advice and not be mean in doing so.