Junior Rushing - UCLA
 

Hello all,
I'm new to Greek Chat and am hoping to get some helpful feedback. I'm going to be a junior at UCLA this fall and am considering rushing again. I rushed last year but three days in I had to drop due to a family emergency. I'm worried that it will severely hurt my chances of getting a bid from any chapter and for that reason I'm not sure if I should sign up for rush. What will chapters think about me rushing again as a junior? Will I be penalized for it? Should I bring up that I rushed last year and had to unexpectedly drop?
Thanks in advance for the input!

Note: UCLA's greek life isn't as nearly as competitive as most southern schools

UCLA is less restrictive about upper classmen rushing than many similar type schools. Your status in and of itself shouldn't be a huge problem.

There are GC members who are very very familiar with UCLA's NPC Greek system. Hang on and I'm sure you'll get more specific responses to your questions.

I'm a UCSB alumna (Go Gauchos!).

I'm an Advisor at UCLA.
Here's a couple of threads to read specifically about UCLA.
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...highlight=UCLA
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...highlight=UCLA

Keep an open mind, maximize your options and you should find a sorority home.
Tell the Greek women you already know on campus that you're going through Recruitment and are really excited to be Greek.

Good luck and come back AFTER recruitment with your story.

ChioLu,

I will also be rushing for the second time (as a sophomore) and was wondering if you know whether any of the UCLA sororities have a "cut once, cut always" policy. I just want to know if my options are limited from the start!

One thing I can promise is that if you don't rush you will not be in a sorority. If things don't work out it will hurt something awful but that is the risk you will have to take.

While I can't / won't comment about every chapters' policies, I have seen many upperclassman go through for a second time and get invitations to houses they had previously had not been asked back to the year prior. UCLA is a different animal species among all recruitments across the country. Very laid-back. I used to say, it was so laid-back it was horizontal.

Go through recruitment. Be your best self. Go to YouTube and look up "how to Rush a sorority". You'll find lots of videos to review on pretty much every topic on the board. If you're happy you got an invitation back to a certain chapter -- without gushing -- tell them you're excited / happy to be at that chapter. Especially if you feel like it could be your home. Tell your friends that are current members that you were looking forward to going through recruitment. And one other thing: be open minded. If they see something that you haven't seen in them, then you may have just not met "your people" yet.

From the last several years, upper-class quota has been about one third of the total quota for new members. So, for example if quota is 60, then upper-class quota will be about 20. And there are 12 chapters, so it'll be around 240 upper-class women getting invitations. These are low numbers because UCLA recruitment is drawing more women every year which will increase total. It also does not take into account quota additions.

If you got into UCLA, they have a 90% rejection rate. This stat is from the dean of admissions who I've known for a many years. If you got into UCLA, you are exceptional. While you'll be in recruitment with many other exceptional women, go in with the confidence, but not overconfidence, reminding yourself of that.

While waiting for ChioLu (or other UCLA peeps), I will answer that yes, sophomores are considered upperclassmen. And, to the best of my knowledge, the upperclassmen quota is optional for chapters.

Yes, UCLA enrolls so many transfer students who go through recruitment that there will always be an upper class quota. It's usually been 1/3 (or more) of the new member quota. Upper class is sophomores, juniors & seniors. Nearly all chapters give out invitations for the full UC quota.

Aside: Just reread my post from nearly a year ago and thought "Holy smokes, that sounded wise". When in the heck did that happen???