Does being a sophomore or above matter when looking to join a fraternity?

[shinerbock]

Being a sophomore is not a deal breaker at AU or UGA, but it does raise eyebrows. Some top tier places may not give you a chance because of it. If you're a junior, its unlikely you'll get in a decent place.

Edit: the best shot for a sophomore is to have a valid reason for not pledging their first reason and be well connected to the previous pledge class. The only non-freshmen we took were a couple of people who had a lot of friends in the pledge class before them, but for some reason couldn't rush their first year. Usually those guys would come to parties and what not, so most of the brothers were already friends with them. Thats the only time you really saw non freshmen come through.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Wow, I am surprised to hear so many negatives. At Illinois, there were a fair number of guys who transferred in from community college and pledged as juniors. I understand some of the concerns brought up by BigRed, but as a general rule, wouldn't you rather have a decent guy than an empty space?

[MaryAmanda]

My boyfriend pledged and was initiated in his 5th year here at Tech. His fraternity has taken in several 4th and 5th years (5+ years is perhaps more common than here than 4...lots of engineers and co-ops and such)...as long as they truly want to make the committment now, that's what matters.

Also, as a 4th year now myself, I'm a new member of the local sorority on campus, but that's a whole different ball game. I think of it this way: I needed the first few years to grow as an individual, to kind of find out who I am and want to be. Then I realized that this sorority fit into that vision.

[shinerbock]

We don't really have empty spaces. We take who we want. We're not trying to fill any void.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Wow, I am surprised to hear so many negatives. At Illinois, there were a fair number of guys who transferred in from community college and pledged as juniors. I understand some of the concerns brought up by BigRed, but as a general rule, wouldn't you rather have a decent guy than an empty space?

Just because we pass on an older guy doesn't mean we have an empty space.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Wouldn't you rather have a decent guy than an empty space?

Regardless of his class rank, if a man is worthy of a bid he will most likely receive a bid. And part of worthy may include having a valid (good) reason as to why he didn't rush (join) as a freshman.

And as others have said, there isn't an empty space to fill. IFC/NIC fraternities do not have quota or total. Frankly, if a chapter *needs* to fill an empty space, it most likely has bigger issues than a man's class status to deal with. Most likely financial issues.

[Tom Earp]

It would be sad to think that an outstanding person because of year of class could not be accepted for that reason only is silly.

It can be the same for an A I (Alum Associate) who later becomes not only a strong member, but very important one for their Organization.

It is ideal to have a new young member that can be trained and spend his time and knowledge over a period of time, but there is always one who can be a spark plug who can help hold a chapter together in times of strife as we all go through.

[Robh88]

Elephant, you were a bit off in your guess about me. I'm not going to embarrass my chapter and say what fraternity I am in because I would normally never post on a message board like this but I happened to see a post about a guy at lsu and wanted to help out. If anyone in my chapter knew I looked at this garbage I would never hear the end of it. I know you kappa sigs love talking about how you are the best fraternity here, and even though you all have gotten better in the past few years I can assure you, we get much more respect.
Back to the topic, goldtiger, there are a lot of fraternities at lsu, you may not end up in a top tier especially as a junior, but that is why they have about 20 different houses here, something for everyone.

[fabulousxi]

Here at Arkansas, fraternities definately care if you are a sophomore or junior. However, that doesn't mean that person will not get into a top fraternity. I pledged as a sophomore and had 2-3 other sophomores in my pledge class. A good example are the people that played sports as a freshman that ended up wanting in greek life rather than athletics. I'm actually glad I pledged as a sophomore because now I know 100% that I am in the right house.

ElephantWalk, what fraternity are you in at UA?

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by fabulousxi

Here at Arkansas, fraternities definately care if you are a sophomore or junior. However, that doesn't mean that person will not get into a top fraternity. I pledged as a sophomore and had 2-3 other sophomores in my pledge class. A good example are the people that played sports as a freshman that ended up wanting in greek life rather than athletics. I'm actually glad I pledged as a sophomore because now I know 100% that I am in the right house.

ElephantWalk, what fraternity are you in at UA?

A Kappa Sig from LSU that refuses to re-affiliate with shanes.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

It would be sad to think that an outstanding person because of year of class could not be accepted for that reason only is silly.

It can be the same for an A I (Alum Associate) who later becomes not only a strong member, but very important one for their Organization.

It is ideal to have a new young member that can be trained and spend his time and knowledge over a period of time, but there is always one who can be a spark plug who can help hold a chapter together in times of strife as we all go through.

That may be true, but the fact is, it does matter some places. There are some groups at some schools that won't take anyone over a sophomore. Fair or not, it's a fact that juniors have to be prepared for if they're thinking of rushing.

[RU OX Alum]

what about U's that have deffered rush?

sophmores in the fall, freshmen in the spring...

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

what about U's that have deffered rush?

sophmores in the fall, freshmen in the spring...

*Generally speaking*, the more time a person waits to rush, the more difficult it may be to receive a bid.

A sophomore rushing in the fall at a campus with differed "freshman" rush is similar to a freshman rushing in the spring at a campus where the main (formal) rush is in the fall. Both are just one semester "removed" from the first possible time to rush/join.

As such, on some campuses it will not matter. While on others, it may. Again, it depends on the campus culture.