University of Illinois - Rushing as a Junior?

[kddani]

Originally posted by OohTeenyWahine
A lot of GCers like to do that.

think we can sell a sunshine butt pump on ebay?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
I'm not suggesting that we sugar coat everthing and tell her that she'll find a place. She may not. We all know that. But don't discourage her from even trying. She may or may not find a place, but she definitly WILL NOT find one if she doesn't even give it a try. What's the worst that can happen? They say no, and she moves on.

Nobody ever told her not to try. However, anyone who has been on GC for any amount of time knows that it is not so simple as 'move on'.

U of I has a very high match % for women who maximize their options. Most of the women who do not recieve bids drop out halfway through because they did not get invited back to the houses they wanted.

[IvySpice]

I completely disagree with this. I pledged when I was 21. I bonded with my pledge class and my other sisters.

I had a similar experience -- I transferred as a 22-year-old junior, older even than the seniors. But I had been waiting for the real college experience for so long, and valued it so deeply, that I became the most loyal & involved member of every group I joined, outlasting some who joined with me as freshmen.

I was involved with a number of highly social undergrad groups later on as a grad student at the same school, and I was surprised to find how easily and comfortably I meshed with many of the undergrad members, including in some cases freshmen seven or eight years younger than I was. Yes, there was a big-sister element to the relationship, but that didn't keep us from getting along very well and having lots to talk about/bond over.

A good argument could be made that most of the 18-year-olds at my college are atypical 18-year-olds, but still...age just isn't always a good predictor of who will get along with whom. Sometimes if you share priorities and values, it doesn't matter. If sucker4ya finds the right group, she might well have the kind of experience I did.

[irishpipes]

I realize this is an old thread, but I think you still have a few months before rush...

I pledged my GLO at U of I. I don't know all of the behind-the-scenes info because I was never a rho chi or anything, and I pledged several years ago, but I will say that my house took 2 juniors in my pledge class. The next year we took 2 more juniors because they were really great girls.

While U of I's recruitment was competitive, I think it isn't cut throat. (Or maybe it is and I was too naive to realize it

While many houses have good reputations, I think at U of I it was more important to be Greek than to be in a certain house.

Good luck!!

[Zillini]

Thanks for bumping this Irishpipes, now I can share my experience.

I'm an ADPi from the UofI. My pledge class was somewhere around 40-45 members. This was in '85, sorry I can't remember specifically. As I recall 3 of those were Juniors.

But in all fairness I should point out that those 3 were fabulous women. Top notch grades, super active in various clubs, honoraries and other campus organizations. These women proved to be outstanding members and we were lucky to have them. So at least back then it was possible and nobody thought it was any big deal.

From what DeltaBetaBaby says, it sounds like UofI is still fairly open to older PNMs. I think that is great! Just keep in mind though that each house will expect more from you than a freshman because you're older, more mature and should have already proven yourself (even if it was on another campus). Your grades, activities and such should show what kind of a member you will be.

Best of luck!

[Drunkie679]

I rushed my fraternity at 21 and was a transfer student. I think guys it is different, but a lot of girls at long beach rush their second or even third year. My friend rush Tri Delta as a 21 year old and got a long with all her sister that were 17 or 18, they looked up to her

[broomstick]

I pledged when I was a Junior.

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Wow, you make 22 sound over the hill.

Yeah. I was active until I graduated at 22, but to be honest, I didn't feel ready to be alum! If I could have stayed active for a couple more years I definitely would have. Sure, a lot of the other members were younger than me at that point, but that's just what happens...and you deal with it, because even though it's different, it's not a bad thing.

[UofIJenny]

I'm new to greekchat but i saw this thread and i had to reply! I rushed as a sophomore at U of I so when i went through rush there were sophomores, juniors, and seniors in my rush group. One girl that i ended up becoming friends with was ajunior transfer that still had 3 years left of school so when she went through, she made sure they knew that she was a transfer and that still had 3 years left so it was kind of like she was a sophomore and she got her first choice which was a very good house. There were other juniors in my rush group also that recieved bids from "top" houses so i think it's all in how you present yourself whether or not you get asked back. Obviously not everyone is gonna get the house they want but there's no harm in going through and trying it out. Plus this is probably the only chance you'll get to see the inside of all the houses. That's one of the reasons i rushed, haha .

[dxp_tiktok]

IF you find that the recruitment this fall doesn't work out for you, Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. welcomes women of all backgrounds, ages, creeds. Our Alpha chapter is at UIUC. More info can be found at http://www.deltaxiphi.com

Best of luck with everything!

[doves95]

A friend of mine pledged at U of I as a sophomore and her roommate as a junior. It is competitve but as someone earlier said its more important to be greek than which greek you are since the campus has like 30K students.

I have worked with our chapter at Illinois and honestly dont worry about the "top" house... they change so often go where you like it and try it out, if nothing else you will find some friends and if you got cut ( maybe for numbers reasons) you can COB, many many of the chapters do have COB. Try it, Illinois is agreat place and you can find many many things to do!

[irishpipes]

I know I have already posted here, but I feel I have to again. A lot of advice is good on here, but with all due respect, the greek scene at U of I is a bit different than at any other school I have been associated with. Now, I was there a while back, so a lot may have changed too. When I was there, there was no "top house." There were really good houses and then there were good houses. The system as a whole was very, very strong. Even chapters that may not have been considered over-the-top desirable at U of I are probably considered one of that GLO's top national chapters. Most sororities have been on that campus for close to a hundred years and have had lots of time to build up great alumnae bases, reputations, and legacies. I honestly did not feel the pressure to pledge a certain GLO for its reputation. That is NOT the case at any of the schools here in Oklahoma where a select few GLOs dominate the greek scene. At U of I, the emphasis was more on the system than on the particular house. I felt like every house had a fair share of brainy girls, musical girls, hefty girls, skinny girls, beautiful girls. It just is not a cookie cutter system where if you don't have a particular resume you have no chance at certain houses. This is not to say that some rushees don't drop out when they are cut by houses THEY wanted, just that every rushee is not after the same few houses.

Also, unlike some campuses, it is EXTREMELY common for sophomores to rush. Many, many houses on campus routinely bid sophomores - lots of sophomores. So, being a junior isn't as far off target as in some places where even being a sophomore makes rush difficult.

Also keep in mind that if being a social Greek doesn't work out in formal recruitment, give informal recruitment events a try, and/or look into joining a Greek lettered service or pre-professional organization.

I would throw out a word of caution here. When I was at U of I, I had never even heard of informal rush. I had no idea what it was or that any chapters participated in it. I realize now that some do, but as an earlier post mentioned, it would be very risky to hold out for this as your chances for getting a bid would be greatly diminished because very few houses would be participating, and they would be the same ones who would have no problem extending a bid to you in formal. To say that the emphasis at U of I is on formal rush would be a HUGE understatement.

Also, even the professional fraternities (in the school of business anyway) at U of I are EXTREMELY competitive and nearly impossible to get into. (Unless things have changed recently.) So, it isn't as easy as saying if you don't get into a social sorority just join a professional one.

Just to add again that like ZILLINI I was there in the late 80s so lots may have changed, but those are my impressions from my time there.

ILL!
INI!

[doves95]

Originally posted by irishpipes
When I was there, there was no "top house." There were really good houses and then there were good houses. The system as a whole was very very strong. Even chapters that may not have been considered over-the-top desirable at U of I are probably considered one of that GLO's top national chapters. Most sororities have been on that campus for close to a hundred years and have had lots of time to build up great alumnae bases, reputations, and legacies. I honestly did not feel the pressure to pledge a certain GLO for its reputation. At U of I, the emphasis was more on the system than on the particular house. I felt like every house had a fair share of brainy girls, musical girls, hefty girls, skinny girls, beautiful girls. It just is not a cookie cutter system where if you don't have a particular resume you have no chance at certain houses. This is not to say that some rushees don't drop out when they are cut by houses THEY wanted, just that every rushee is not after the same few houses.

Also, unlike some campuses, it is EXTREMELY common for sophomores to rush. Many, many houses on campus routinely bid sophomores - lots of sophomores. So, being a junior isn't as far off target as in some places where even being a sophomore makes rush difficult.



I would throw out a word of caution here. When I was at U of I, I had never even heard of informal rush. I had no idea what it was or that any chapters participated in it. I realize now that some do, but as an earlier post mentioned, it would be very risky to hold out for this as your chances for getting a bid would be greatly diminished because very few houses would be participating, and they would be the same ones who would have no problem extending a bid to you in formal. To say that the emphasis at U of I is on formal rush would be a HUGE understatement.

Also, even the professional fraternities (in the school of business anyway) at U of I are EXTREMELEY competitive and nearly impossible to get into. (Unless things have changed recently.) So, it isn't as easy as saying if you don't get into a social sorority just join a professional one.

Just to add again that like ZILLINI I was there in the late 80s so lots may have changed, but those are my impressions from my time there.

ILL!
INI!

I have worked with our chapter at Illinois since the mid-90's and have friends who advise oher GLO's at Illinois. You are totally right about the assessment of greek life with 2 exceptions:
1) COB: in the past 6-8 years about half of the chapters particiapted in some spring recruitment (mind you there are like 22 national chapters their) but most only took about 5-8 girls not alot compared to a fall class of 52 (fall 2004 quota). Many GLO's there had not made quota in 3-4 years and so some, albit small, COB. its not like some schools that COB for a few weeks, you may only have 1-2 COB events to attend and then the chapter is done.

Professional: they are competitive but not as cut throat as they were. Many have "rush" like activities but they are not too difficult (not easy either)

[PKTKKG]

Originally posted by Sucker4ya
I'm not saying that I won't change my mind in a couple of years...but I know myself and I don't think that is going to happen. I understand that membership is for a lifetime...but that's exactly why I want to get involved. Who knows, maybe that will change with time, but I really want this now, and I want to give it my all. Thank you to those of you who have wished me luck.

Let me add my good wishes! I pledged as a junior well before my campus began excluding juniors and seniors from quota and it was hard. However, I got my first choice and was very involved for the two years I was there and became very involved as an alum.

I think it will all depend on your outlook. If I had it to do all over again, I would have made sure on that first day to emphasize my interest in getting involved and being a very active member. There were girls in my pledge class who were freshman who dropped out or went MIA after the first year. So who was the member that contributed the most - me or that freshman who never really did anything.

Most sororities are looking for women who will make positive contributions to their chapter no matter the year. If all they are looking for is x amount of freshman (and there were groups on my campus who might pledge 3 or 4 sophmores forget juniors) then that is probably not the group for you. But, if you make sure to emphasize the amount of time you will be on that campus and the involvement you want to have in the organization, I think you will end up with the right group for you.

Best Wishes!!

[Sucker4ya]

Thank you to everyone who's wished me luck! I can't wait til recruitment starts!! I am officially registered and now I'm just counting the days :-) Whatever happens, I'm going to have a great time going through the process and I can't wait to share it with everyone. I will be starting a rush thread in another month or so when school starts - Rush doesn't begin until the first or second week of September, so I still have a while. Now...what to wear?