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Originally Posted by ealymc
So, I guess my question is - why would someone be at a disadvantage at your campus because they aren't a freshman?
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This is a chapter issue more than a school issue. Further, it is an issue that can evolve and change over time with supply and demand.
Speaking specifically to NIC fraternities, such as your own- Sigma Nu, at any campus you care to name- even the SEC schools with highly competitive rush environments- there are always fraternities where sophomores and juniors will have no trouble rushing and getting a bid assuming they are otherwise deemed suitable candidates.
And at most schools, some more than others, there are fraternities where being beyond your freshman year is a major obstacle.
To use Texas as an example, I can think of 3 fraternities here where that has probably always been the case- all chapters which have at all times been strong in size and the most socially prominent organizations.
And at any given time there might be 5 or 6 where getting a bid as a sophomore or junior will be difficult- usually the 5 or 6 largest and most socially regarded chapters at the time.
It is a simple case of supply and demand. Coming into rush, any top fraternity at any campus will have way more eager rushees than they will have spots in the final pledge class. First priority will naturally go to legacies, guys who were known to the fraternity before they started college and freshman who come into rush who are ideal candidates and who have clearly planned to go Greek well before reaching college.
From that pool of candidates, there will still be many cuts- and so it can really hard for there to be space for someone who waited until sophomore year because they were not ready or not even really aware of Greek Life when they went to college.
It does not mean it is a hopeless cause. If a guy comes to college with no plans to go Greek and meets up with people as a freshman and turns out to be a solid candidate- he will have a fair shot at spring rush or perhaps even fall rush as a sophomore.
But someone coming blindly into rush with no prior connections as a sophomore is going to have a hard time purely because they waited.
This may disregard a particular individual who would make a great candidate, but it is a matter of practical convenience. Chapters have limited pledge class sizes, limited rush budgets and a limited amount of time in which to seek out the best potential candidates for membership.
And so sometimes arbitrary points like this become an issue- points which may not be good for an individual, but which do serve a general and legitimate practical purpose.
It is no different in professional life. In the world of accounting a great many senior staff and middle management accounting jobs are advertised ONLY for candidates with Big 4 Experience (Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.)
Making that arbitrary requirement does not guarantee all the candidates will be better than average, nor does it prevent you from missing a great candidate who did not choose to start their career in public accounting.
But with that arbitrary requirement you do generally get yourself a much more qualified and professional pool of candidates from which to choose. And if the supply is such that an ideal future employee is going to be contained within that pool of candidates- why take the time and expense to look at everyone? There is no benefit in that.
Then again, many companies consider all candidates since for whatever reason going only with Big 4 people is not a good idea. Maybe they do not have the prominent position that would attract such candidates, or maybe they do want to take the time to see everyone. Either way, their call whether to do that or not.
Anyhow, hope that helps.
Most GT students (I think the number is something like 70%) take more than four years to graduate, and their chapter was small at the time. From my experience, though, I've never seen a fraternity put a cap on how many bids to hand out or pledges to take in. Especially if a chapter is struggling with numbers; they can afford to mostly focus on quantity during rush, then determine quality later.
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