University of Illinois - Rushing as a Junior?
 

Ok, so I was just officially accepted to the University of Illinois (champaign) and I will be transferring there in the fall. I have been planning to go through recruitment, but I was wondering what my chances of getting into a house as a junior would be. I will be at U of I for 3 years. Are there many sororities on campus that take juniors? Any information you could give me would be great. Thanks!!

Paging DeltaBetaBaby :)

A friend of mine just recolonized a pi sigma sigma chapter there. I know that they are looking for older women who can bring something unique to this new chapter.

Congrats on your acceptance and good luck with the transfer. Call the office of Greek Life and ask them to send you the statistics for last fall's recruitment-- how many freshman placed out of freshman rushing, sophomores placed, juniors, seniors, etc.

On taking upperclassmen... It really just depends on each sorority and their needs for that fall's recruitment. For example... A chapter that has just graduated a lot of seniors may be looking for more freshmen (to provide another 4 years of continuity and leadership) and less upperclassman, whereas a newer chapter on campus may be looking for more upperclassmen to set the tone for leadership and experience, or a chapter with a good mix of classes may not be concerned with what year in school you are. It's pretty subjective from where you are standing.

Take this summer to practice your interviewing skills and do some community service, pump up your grades, get recs, etc. Have a contingency plan to get involved on campus in some student activity regardless of whether you pledge. Sororities are looking for well-rounded women who are pleasant to be around and can look their personal best at recruitment interviews. Consider all fo the sororities as places where you might become a member, be yourself and go into the experience to find ladies you'd enjoy being friends with, rather than the group with the most popular letters. If you like a chapter, tell the girl rushing you that you'd love to be invited back.

Also keep in mind that if being a social Greek doesn't work out in formal recruitment, give informal recruitment events a try, and/or look into joining a Greek lettered service or pre-professional organization. You'll enjoy the same level of socialization, committment to service and academics, and pre-professional networking in these organizations.

Didn't we do this in another thread?

Every chapter has sisterhood, and U of I is a GREAT campus on which to be Greek. I highly encourage rushing with an open mind.

Ask yourself what you are looking for in a chapter. First round is 19 chapters, second round is 10. As a junior, you would most likely be invited back to about 5 or 6, and most of them would be the smaller chapters. The ones you mentioned in your PM, though, are some of the most desireable groups on campus, and even knowing girls in those chapters is unlikely to help you.Are you okay with that?

Also, when I say 'smaller chapters' I am talking about the ones that have 100 instead of 150...even the small chapters at U of I are very strong in a lot of ways.

Finally, I would not wait for spring rush. The chapters recruiting in the spring are the same ones who would be interested in you in the fall.

I went to school with a girl who transferred from NIU to UIUC during her junior year, and she was able to join a sorority there. I don't know how difficult it would be, though. I thought that a lot of people transferred to UIUC their junior year, so you might run into a few people who are in the same situation as you. However, that doesn't make it any easier for you.

It might be possible. I think DeltaBetaBaby has given you some great advice, because she knows the campus best out of all of us. I would encourage you to go through Recruitment as soon as possible to maximize your options and emphasize that you will be there for 3 years. That should help you at least a little bit.

Usually there are 20 rush groups, and one group is all juniors.

Thanks for all of the replies! Deltababy - are you saying that there is really no chance for me to get into those sororities? Do they just not accept juniors or are chances just very slim? I really don't have any strong preferences, and I'll be happy with any bids...but I guess I would just like to think that I'm not already counted out before I even start.

I am not in any position to comment on the membership selection policies of individual chapters.

While DeltaBetaBaby and every other member on greek chat can't tell you for sure, I think what she's trying to prepare you for what to expect. While it may not be "fair" or whatnot, in some cases (i.e. some houses), yes, you will be pretty much counted out before you even start. It's the reality of the situation. NOTE: this is NOT in every case, and it's not saying that it couldn't ever be different, but it's better to know the reality and know your chances before you go into it.
It's better to find out the reality now and prepare for it then have it hit you in the face later on.

If I am going to be on campus for 3 years, would they still look at me as a Junior? or would I be considered a Sophomore?

Again, like some people have already said, it depends on the sorority. At some schools, it gets progressively harder to join as you get older. At some (like mine) most groups will take maybe 1-2 sophomores because they count in regular quota, but they will take 5-6 juniors because that is a different quota. Those sophomores were usually ones who for some reason didn't end up in XYZ sorority (the one they wanted and ended up in as a sophomore...maybe got cross cut) so the next year XYZ made sure to pick them up. That happened a lot where I went. The suggestion was made to ask for last year's rush statistics, and I think that is a good idea. Maybe you could see on average what level (freshmen, soph, jun, etc) pledges were and their grades and all of that. That will probably give you a better idea than we can. GOOD LUCK!! I hope it goes awesome for you.

You'll never know until you try. We bidded women who were seniors, not a common practice but things happen.

You've gotten great advice, the best thing you can do now is just go into recruitment in the fall and see how it all pans out. Just because you have your best friend in xyz, it does not mean she can just 'get' you a bid. Try out all the houses and see how they feel. If you don't try and keep an open mind, you'll always regret what coulda been.

I really do appreciate all the advice. I honestly don't have a favorite house or anything like that...I'm looking forward to going through the rush process and meeting all the girls. I'm just hoping that all goes well - this is something I've wanted to do ever since I was little and I put it off because I really wanted to go through rush at U of I...I'm just hoping that wasn't a mistake.

You would still be considered a junior (most colleges have the school status based on how many credit hours you have earned and not how much longer it will take you to graduate). So *technically* you would still be considered a junior and would fall in the "upperclassmen" quota (if your school has one) instead of "regular" quota.

I would make sure to mention to the sororities during rush that you are a junior, but you will also be on campus for another 3 years to complete your degree program. I think it would definitely be helpful to somehow work in that tidbit of information.

Good luck to you :)