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

[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.

[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.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

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

Haha, I know a couple of Kappa Sigs at Arkansas.......definitely shanes.

[33girl]

What Are Shanes, I do not know??

Please Share!!

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by 33girl

What Are Shanes, I do not know??

Please Share!!

It's sort of an inside greek life joke in Arkansas. I had heard of them as shanes way before I went to LSU, in high school. It's a reference to this guy named Shane that was met in Panama City(which is filled of these kind of kids), and he was the typical gel-head and so on.

edit: He was the typical kind of kid the KE's usually take and why they're made fun of generally in Greek Life, even though they're a supposedly good chapter.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

It's sort of an inside greek life joke in Arkansas. I had heard of them as shanes way before I went to LSU, in high school. It's a reference to this guy named Shane that was met in Panama City(which is filled of these kind of kids), and he was the typical gel-head and so on.

edit: He was the typical kind of kid the KE's usually take and why they're made fun of generally in Greek Life, even though they're a supposedly good chapter.

Yeah, i've met so many people that proclaim them the top house at Arkansas. Not sure why, but it seems ridiculous.

[fabulousxi]

I'm a Kappa Sig at Arkansas and know of 2 guys in the whole chapter that gel their hair...We give them shit about it everyday. Typically these few "shanes" are the ones that slip through during rush. I know of a couple "shanes" but i'd say your assumption is completely wrong. On top of that, the only negative thing I have heard about the Xi chapter is that a lot of members are arrogant and cocky...but never gelheads

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by Elephant Walk

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

Okayyyyyy, you say that you refuse to re-affiliate, but you have previously stated:

1- You were at the house on AOPi's bid night. You said the AOPi's came over to your place and partied.

2 - You were with Kappa Sigma on their bid night. You said y'all took them to the lake and hazed the sh** out of them.

3 - You said you lived in the house this past December.


So, you hang out with these "Shanes" but refuse to affiliate with them?

[banditone]

Originally Posted by fabulousxi

I'm a Kappa Sig at Arkansas and know of 2 guys in the whole chapter that gel their hair...We give them shit about it everyday. Typically these few "shanes" are the ones that slip through during rush. I know of a couple "shanes" but i'd say your assumption is completely wrong. On top of that, the only negative thing I have heard about the Xi chapter is that a lot of members are arrogant and cocky...but never gelheads

2....

[fabulousxi]

1)Definately did not go to any lake or get hazed on bid day...
2)I haven't met any transfer student from LSU that lived in the house this past year.
3)A) I know quite of few AOPi's...On this campus, AOPi's are relatively new and do not come over that often.
B) At Arkansas, the sorority bid day is before school starts and (if i remember correctly) happens right around (if not before) the house is even open to move back in.

In other threads, you say at "our" chapter we do this and that referring to Arkansas Xi...and now you are talking shit about "our" chapter? If you seriously think this...then you are not a part of MY chapter

I'm not trying to start anything or call you out, but don't rag on a chapter of YOUR fraternity that is far superior to the one you transferred from.

[BigRedBeta]

For those that asked...

We've never needed to "fill space" in my chapter. Our chapter house is usually full with several juniors actually having to live out because we don't have the space. We do summer rush, so our pledges live in, but we only have spots for 21, and if we want to go bigger we have to find pledges that want to live out. In the time since I was a freshman, till now (6 pledge classes total) we've had only 1 class that started out below 21, which was a year in which the rush chairs' performance was an anomaly, combined with very low numbers of guys going through to begin with.


Are there possible exceptions in the future that we might take a junior? Sure, but it seems unlikely. Not to sound cocky, but given our campus involvement (just greeks in general at my school), if a guy did go through as a junior that on paper appeared to be a good fit for my chapter, we'd probably have someone who already knew him and would likely know the reasons he would or would not be worth a bid. Thinking about it personally, if it was me that knew the kid and found him to be a great fit, I'd still worry about his commitment to the chapter, what he was looking to get out of joining, and also what sort of things were coming up for him in the future...If it's a kid who is pre-med or pre-law, is he going to spend all second semester studying for the MCAT or LSAT? If he's in business is he going to be doing an internship somewhere during the summer, and thus not be around to help during rush? There's just too many questions that I'd need answered to my satisfaction to believe that the chapter and the man in question would both be helped. Even if the kid was a rockstar, there are just so many things that would go against the dynamic of my chapter...like getting him in to leadership roles within the house (b/c if he's that good at that point, shouldn't he be on the list?). Except that we don't elect pledges to executive positions (they initiate in january, elections are in November). And if he gains a cabinet level position - well the important positions at that level are where we place the future leaders of the chapter so they get some experience and grooming for the future, and then this "awesome guy" is left being the historian, sergeant-at-arms, or public relations chair...pretty much BS positions. (I was historian for a term because I pretty much dominated Beta lore but it's nothing I'd ever list as one of my leadership accomplishments.)

All in all the more I think about the more remote a possibility it becomes for my chapter - not that it wouldn't work at another, even on my campus (the guy who did rush as a junior did sign with another house), just not my chapter.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl

We've initiated several as sophomores, but I'm not aware of any that got initiated as juniors. That wouldn't be a death sentence, but it would be taken into consideration, I think. Personally I'd wonder why they are only interested in joining so late in the game, and I'd want them to be the type of person who would really be involved. I think it would make a huge difference as to whether or not they knew a lot of us, too, because then we'd have a better idea of why they wanted to join and what we could do for them and they could do for us.

Key Point!!!

Never leave anyone out, You may never know how strong they can be and what the can do for you.

[g41965]

I can't see why a chapter would vote against a Soph. Fraternities don't have quotas like the NPC's do so if you fit in you should get a bid.