Junior Rush at UT Austin
 

Hey everyone!!

I'm a current sophomore at UT Austin (I transferred here after my freshman year) and I'm considering rushing this fall as a junior. I know that in the past rushing as a sophomore or junior has been very difficult, but I'm pretty sure the regulations have changed some. Anyways, I have stellar grades (3.96 GPA), have great recs lined up, I'm involved in three groups on campus, I went to the most prestigious high school in Dallas, and am friends with a ton of girls in Pi Phi, Zeta, DG, and Chi O. What does everyone think about my chances? Thanks!!

Why don't you ask your tons of friends in Pi Phi, Zeta, DG, Chi-O or the others from your uber prestigious high school?

I don't go to your school so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Things you have working for you: Good grades, involvement, friends in the chapters, connections with your high school, recs for ALL (every single one) chapters

Things working against you: Your junior status and that you didn't rush as a sophomore.

You can't change that so I wouldn't worry about it. Just put your best foot forward and have a good time with and see how it goes.

We are not in the habit of telling girls "their chances." I'm astounded that a can of whoop ass hasn't been opened yet. NOBODY can tell you your chances, but here's my interpretation of your post. You are highly qualified and also highly full of yourself. If this is the case, sorority women will see right through you. For all the stories about sororities at UT Austin, even the girls in the "Big 5" only want nice girls to be their sisters, and they are PROS at reading through the BS.

Although your credentials seem very good, I would still keep your options wide open. There are 14 NPC chapters at UT. I would be prepared to like every last one of those 14. And that 14th chapter is still going to require recs.

It's the "Big 6". I took her post as very enthusiastic, not so much full of herself. There have been posts from UT-Austin alums. as well as alums. living in Texas who are very familiar with UT-Austin recruitment, who have indicated that "certain" high schools seem to be feeders into several of the UT-Austin chapters. Maybe that is why she mentioned it in the way she did.

OP, no one can tell you the odds for a successful recruitment for you. Get recs. for every chapter at Texas, present yourself the best you can, and be open to each sorority. Good luck.

Lady Longhorn will probably be able to answer this, but it is my understanding that Juniors don't count in the quota at UT unless you need them to. At least it use to be that way. " 2 free juniors" is what I always heard. In other words if quota was 50 you could take 50 +2free juniors.
Somebody in the know will be able to explain it or maybe it went by-by with upper class recruitment being separate.
Or maybe it's an urban myth. Who knows?

If you transferred after your Freshman year, why did you not rush your sophomore year? Yes, there is an upperclassman quota at UT, but many houses do not use it. It is house choice and just because they used it last year, does not mean they will use it this year. The new member period takes tremendous effort on the part of the training sisters and some simply don't feel that a three quarter active is worth the effort.

Also, you really should be more careful about what you post. Anyone who knows anything about Dallas knows you are talking about Highland Park High School so now you have come here, told the world that you will be going through rush as a Junior, you went to Highland Park and your GPA is a 3.96. You have told everyone who matters exactly who you are. (and in case you need that spelled out I am talking about the girls in the houses who read the resumes and the transcripts)

You go on to mention four houses, Pi Phi, Zeta, DG and Chi O. All great houses, but what you have to understand is just because you "know people" in these houses, the question is how many do you know, and do they want you as part of their group and how much say do they have. What it so interesting to me about your 4 targeted houses is that they are all very different, outstanding, but different. You also need to open your mind to the 10 other houses that are on campus because you will be a Junior and you need to open your mind. There are so many other outstanding houses at UT, narrowing your mind to four, is a recipe for failure.

You can have success as a Junior but don't think for a minute that the process will be any less brutal just because you know people in the chapters. You need to put a thick skin on and strap in for a bumpy ride.

They don't HAVE to take juniors if they don't want to, even if they're free. Also...14 x 2 is 28. That's not a lot of people.

longhorn427: Talk to your friends that are in chapters and tell them you're interested in rushing. If they get truly excited, that's good. If they get fake excited (i.e. the smile doesn't reach the eyes, the expression is more like oh holy crap my blind date just walked through the door and he looks like a mole) or say "it's really tough for juniors" you might want to reconsider, or at least realize you are going to have a very tough go of it.

Hahaha! Omigosh.

Okay I just have to defend this girl for a minute. If she has read through threads on this site, she knows that gpa is very important, connections within the chapters are very important, and at some schools your high school is very important. She was just stating her information to get feedback. I really didn't think she came across as full of herself, she was just putting forth the information which probably would have been asked of her anyway had she not.

I agree, but most of the responses are just telling her that, in spite of everything she may have working in her favor, the fact that she is a junior means she has a lot to overcome.

Also, we typically don't look favorably on people naming names. She could have just said that she has friends in four different sororities.

The main problem is that she named the chapters that she has friends in. This makes her appear to be targeting those chapters. Pineapple is correct..she has basically "outed" herself by stating her high school (because we all know that Highland Park is the premier high school in Dallas;)). The problem with this is that she will now come across as only being interested in those 4 chapters and the other 10 will dismiss her in a hurry. All 14 chapters at UT have representation from HPHS, so most likely there is someone in every chapter that will know the OP or know of her. If they see this thread, it could be bad news for her.

i just meant to they people who were saying she seemed full of herself, not the rest lol.