pledging as a senior
 

i'm a junior at the college of charleston and haven't really considered joining a fraternity seriously but recently thought i might want to rush next year and give it a shot. not sure which frat but i was wondering if trying to pledge as a senior would be a waste of time because my chances of getting a bid would be slim. any feedback?

There were 4 seniors in my pledge class, althought it was a colonization. The time you may have left as an undergraduate is short, however there is a lifelong aspect to brotherhood that you may look forward to. Go for it!

Pledging as a senior to an established fraternity would probably be quite different from doing so in a colony. I cannot imagine going through pledgeship at 21,22 years old.

Pledging is for your first, or at the very latest, second year of college.

Why not try? Remember you are an alumnus/i a LOT longer than an undergraduate so you reap the benefits the rest of your life if your group has strong graduate assns.

Yup because no one in the freshman or sophmore years is that age. I dont know what college you are going to but here we have people who are 21+ and a freshman and 20 year olds who are in thier senior year.

Anyway... I would only do it if you would be around next year. Its hard to be active when your halfway across the country

I just pledged, and I'm a 20 year old junior. I don't agree with frathole at all...pledging should be done whenever it feels right to YOU! And, don't let fear of not getting a bid stop you...you never know til you try!

You also go to Lyon College...

I don't think it matters.

Talk to some fraternity brothers at your campus and get their opinion. They would be your best source to get advice.

People like to blow sunshine up the butt here on GreekChat. As I say with "non-traditional" (upperclassman, not 18-19 years old)PNMs going through sorority rush, unless you're from that campus (in this case, C of C), then you really don't know how Greek Life is like over there or if upperclassmen successfully join organizations.

What might work on your campus might not necessarily work on his.

Pledging as a Sr.
 

I don't see anything wrong with pledging as a Sr., President Calvin Coolidge pledged Phi Gamma Delta as second semester Sr. at Amherst College and was a very loyal alumnus always going to the Fiji pig dinners etc. I think having an older member in a pledge class is a good thing.
Being greek doesn't end the day you walk across the stage.

Re: pledging as a senior
 

I guess that depends on your campus. At Tech, upperclassmen have a good chance with quite a few of the fraternities (my fiance just pledged as a fourth year), but the NPC sororities will rarely even take sophomores.

Still, even if you didn't get a bid, you'd probably meet lots of new people, which is good.

I agree that it's different on every campus. I'm just saying what happened to me personally. Of course, you should talk to some brothers on your campus. Greek life varies everywhere...

It does and happen. But a lot depends on the Campus and Greek Community.

Is it normal, NO.

Why?

When Accepting a New Assotiate, Greeks want someone who will be there to keep the Machinery working.

But, If You dont try, then, You will never know!:)

Well, at my school, there are older freshmen and sophomores, however, they rarely ever pledge. Keep in mind that pledging means different things at different places. Joining a sorority is completely different obviously. The major role of pledgeship here is to transistion you from high school kid to college man. This means working quite hard, sometimes doing things that are far from pleasant. They all have rationale behind them, but if I was 22, I don't think i'd see the point, as you've probably developed on your own.