Sophomore Rushing Question/ House Live-In Requirement Question

[kchaptergphib]

I agree that your friends, although trying to reassure you, are probably not helping by saying you are so likely to get a bid from their group. At the B1G Ten schools to which I am familiar, the chapters are large enough that a handful girls might not sway an entire chapter, especially when they are meeting other qualified women who are freshmen (don't have a history of dropping from recruitment). I'm sorry if that sounded harsh; I'm just trying to be truthful. Sophomores may very well get bids during FR at your school, but I'd be a bit surprised if sophomores who are re-rushing didn't have a more difficult time of it. Especially those who are re-rushing for a particular house. So, I would take the advice and try and get recs (this will also show your good gpa and involvement in the past year, which should certainly help), particularly ones from alumnae who know you well/can write good, personal recs.
As for living in, as people have said, that will vary from chapter to chapter. What I will say is yes, the chapters are large so perhaps some women will never live in the house. Maybe. Each chapter should be able to tell you what their live-in policy is. Many chapters have women who go abroad for a semester. Sometimes one semester will fulfill a live-in requirement, but be prepared you may pay for the full year (or, at least, more than a single semester's cost), as the house still needs to run, even if you are not there. Whether you can live out of the house without paying a premium or not might also depend on house or merit points (standing for class, gpa, involvement in other campus groups, etc.), which other sisters might have more of, as they've been in the chapter longer. Again, these are all things that vary from chapter to chapter, and I would ask this during first rounds, if I were you. You need to keep as open a mind (and options) as possible in order to have a more successful rush this time around, but you'll also want to know the chapters' live-in policies, in case you can narrow it down upon requirements. I hope that all made sense. Good luck to you!