Sophomore at big SEC school
 

I will be rushing as a soph at a competitive SEC school. I have a very high gpa from high school and high act/sat scores. It took me doing poorly fall semester of my freshman year to figure out how to succeed in college. My spring semester I finished with above a 4.00 (president's list.) However, my overall gpa for freshman year is only slightly above a 3.00. I am outgoing and involved in ECs. I am concerned about how much that first semester grades will hurt me. Should I bring up the subject during recruitment? Will I already be cut because of it? Thank you.

You may be, depending on the school and the number of upperclassmen going thru. I wouldn't bring it up as they;ll see it on your transcript. But you could ask questions that would lead them to understand you are far more serious about your studies now...such as, what are study hours, how much support do you provide academically, etc.

Once you are a sophomore - above a 3.0 cumulative is a must. Usually a group that will take an upperclassman will allow that college is harder than high school and not expect you to have as high of a GPA as a new freshman. They probably will not ask you about one specific semester - just about your overall GPA.

Be aware some chapters just will not take a sophomore at all, because you will not be around for 4 full years. Be prepared for some heavy cuts. Some chapters will be willing to take a risk - especially if you are involved on campus or if you have friends already in the chapter. That said - do you have friends that are sorority women? Did you tell them you were interested? Those are the groups that would be most likely to take you.

Thank you.

HQWest, Yes, I have several friends in different houses on campus. I have been to quite a few houses with friends. I have recs for all houses except two. I'm told that my school has different numbers for upperclassmen. Not so sure how that works.

UGa had an upperclass quota this year. I don't know if they'll have it again or if every chapter chose to use it.