[Xylochick216]

We only have formal recruitment at my school, so we usually wait a year to get our littles. Everyone who joined the year before typically gets one, as well as some of the older members due to increasing class sizes.

We also have a program like KD Buckeye was describing. Each new member has a carnation sister during bid week, then an Alpha, Chi, and Omega sister as well as a junior or senior who acts as her mystagogue. After Omega week, big/little selection is held, and the littles find out who their big is a week later.

ETA: I got one of my littles when I was a junior and one when I was a senior. While my second little and I only had one semester together, we made the most of it and still IM and see each other whenever possible.