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I am very familiar with A&M's recruitment. These are my thoughts on rushing as a junior:
1. Upperclassmen quota. TAMU's upperclassmen quota encourages chapters to take women who are not freshman; however the vast majority of these spots go to sophomores each year. The most successful juniors tend to have a ton of in-house friends (who are typically chapter leaders by their junior year, therefore having more influence in membership selection) and juniors who are incredibly involved on campus but never rushed before (ie, what chapter wouldn't want to bid a Fish Camp Counselor/ Co-Chair or SGA committee leader?)
2. Grades. If your TAMU GPA is below the all-sorority GPA (just under 3.3), you are going to have a tough time as a junior, especially if there is a larger variance between your TAMU GPA and your other college. Sororities are going to need to be confident you can handle your sorority commitment while maintaining good grades at TAMU.
3. Recs. Recs are a necessity for ALL chapters, including AOPi which will colonize in the fall. With over 1000 PNMs going through recruitment, no recs and grade risks are the top two critera for which PNMs are released from chapters. You are REALLY late to be getting recs. The August 1 due date on the Panhellenic website is really the "drop dead" date. Ideally, your recs would all be in by July 1 or earlier. Start hunting them down today and be super polite when requesting as the alumnae will have less time than if you has asked back in the spring when most PNM's did.
4. Legacy. Be sure you actually are one. I believe TAMU has a list of legacy relationships for each chapter on the Panhellenic website. Aunts and cousins never count, and some sororities don't consider grandmas or step-moms/grandmas to be legacy relationships. Find out from your legacy what the benefits are for that house. For some, it just means a guaranteed invitation to Round 2. For others, it means going on to the 1st bid list if you make it to Pref.
5. Open Mind. If going through recruitment is something you'll always regret not trying, then do it. All PNM's should approach recruitment with an open mind, but upperclassmen have no choice but to have an open mind. Expect big cuts, and every day treat the house who invited you back as if they are the only ones on campus.
If formal recruitment doesn't work out, consider going through the colonization process for AOPi in the fall. Colonies have very high standards - they will be looking for upperclassmen who are leaders on campus, upperclassmen who want to dedicate the time & commitment to being the chapter's first set of officers and directors, who have high grades, and who can help make inroads establishing a positive image of the the chapter on campus.
Good luck! Come back and let us know how it goes.
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