I go to a school w/ only 1700 undergrads & just 5 sororities. the vast majority of rushees are freshmen, naturally. some girls who don't get the bid they wanted or who drop out of formal rush choose to try again during winter of their sophomore year. if this is what you choose to do, you have the best chance of making the cut if you have gained friends in the house that you want. are you well-acquainted and friendly with most of the sisters in your class? if they like you, and you often hang out w/ them, then they can pull for you during rush & they can probably see that you get in, depending on that particular sorority's selection proceedures. older girls who rush having connections in the house are very likely to get in, an upperclassman in another house told me, so some sororities do operate like this when choosing whether or not to take older pledges.
if, as a sophomore, you are unfamiliar with the sisters, you probably don't have a very good chance of getting a good bid. as a sophomore rushee, more is expected of you. you ought to be friendly with some of the sisters, since you've had more time on campus than have the freshman girls. if you haven't made friends w/ any of the sisters, then the reason why you didn't get a bid in previous years probably still stands.
you should understand that when a sorority takes on an upperclassman pledge, it is taking on an added financial burden. sorority finances are based on the assumption that each year the house meets rush quota and that each sister pays her dues for 4 full years. quota means that there is a limited number of bids that they can give out. when they extend a bid to an older girl, they forego giving that bid to someone who is a freshman and will pay all 4 years. if they extend a bid to you instead of to a freshman, they are losing at least a couple of years worth of dues.
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