Has anyone joined a sorority as a junior before? need advice
 

I'm planning on rushing in the fall as a Junior and I was wondering if it would be at all strange since the other girls would mostly be freshman & I'm afraid of feeling left out & old & judged? Has anyone rushed as a junior before & what was your experience rushing & just bonding with ur pledge sisters? Also wondering how the big/ little things work. Would everyone older already have a lil already by the time i rush? So then I would not be able to get a big? Do u only get into a sorority if somebody can be your big?

Now, that one I've never heard before and I thought I'd heard it all....everyone gets a big. Period. End of story.

Not knowing your school, your GPA, etc it's hard to say. One thing is for certain though. You won't get a bid if you don't try. Upperclassmen do have problems sometimes at some places. Some do.

I rushed as a junior. I was the age of the freshmen but had 2 years of college done. Most of the time, I felt accepted by my pledge class (there was another junior too, not sure how she felt).

Sometimes it was odd; I had a lot of school spirit but felt "been there, done that" when it came time, say, for pomping a float yet again. My big sister was a sophomore so that felt weird. Then my pledge class stayed at Auburn for 2 years past me and bonded much further so they share memories and experiences that I'll never know.

Don't let your status stop you from rushing! You can still build lifelong bonds and lots of women do it!

And to be more specific - your big sister doesn't have to be someone older in age or class standing than you.

I joined as a junior and my big was a couple of months younger than I. Everyone gets a big sister. I wound up with three littles (got two at one time--we called them twins--one semester) by the time I'd graduated. lol

My little and 2little were both the same class standing as me. We had junior pledges with sophomore bigs. Big/little has nothing to do with age or class standing.

At some places, unfortunately, there is a preference for freshmen. But often the women who join as juniors and have had time to think about what they really want make better and more committed members than those who joined as a freshman just because everyone else was.

You're still under 21, so the gap really isn't as huge as you'd might think it is.

I rushed as a junior and got a bid. It was definitely a difficult time. As an upperclassman rushing you get cut from a lot of houses based soley on your age. Don't take it personally, because the houses that do invite you back are interested in you for the right reasons.

Everyone gets a Big. She may be older, your age, or younger, but everyone gets a big. My Big was also a junior but was older than me by a few months. I don't think the age of your big matters so much because her main goal is to welcome you into the sorority and answer questions you have about that. Since she's been there in the sorority for a while, it'll be a good fit.

Make sure you be yourself and have fun. My greek friends described the process as being like the sorting hat in Harry Potter. You'll definitely end up where you belong if you trust it :)

My first little was a year behind me but only a few months younger because I had skipped a grade. Mattered not to us. 50 years later, we're still friends!

My second little is only a year younger but we were even in some of the same classes together. We both rushed as juniors. In terms of fraternities, the guys on our campus didn't really care. My wife rushed as a late sophomore and had a slightly harder time because the sororities wanted more participation from their members. It gave her a bit of grief during rush but only because she got too set on a particular GLO before she had met the others. She still pledged and initiated a sorority and never once looked back. Don't worry about the age difference, as was said above, it's not a problem. I graduated a year ago, have pledge brothers who are still active, and still go to an occasional meeting or pop up randomly at the castle.