[BigRedBeta]

Welcome to GC - the #1 lesson I can tell you about Greek life is that it varies from school to school - even schools that are very similar (ie SEC schools, or public schools in the same state - however you want to group them). What's common at one place is unheard of elsewhere.

So that said, my answer is that it's going to depend entirely upon your school and the culture there. Some places, everything is spring semester, other places no one goes during the spring.

If your campus has a very big fall recruitment process, then going in the spring may very well hurt your chances. At my school for instance we actually do summer rush, and >95% of guys will sign before school starts. A formal fall recruitment is non-existant. For the spring, there are a few chapters where spring rush is done, but not all. For instance my chapter has not had any sort of spring recruitment for more than 10 years. If you want to join our chapter you must go through summer rush. We're not the only house like that so if you want the full opportunity at my school it would be unwise to rush during the spring.

Alternatively, there are many campuses where fall and spring rush are pretty comparable and going either way won't impact your chances.

Of course if you are going to be a first time freshman, it's probably hard to tell what the culture of your school's Greek "culture" is. Use some of the resources you have available to find out stuff - look online and call the Office of Greek Affairs and ask them how rush usually works on your campus.