Rushing as a junior or senior transfer student

[CSUGreekGoddess]

What are your thoughts of a rushee rushing a sorority as a junior or senior transfer student? How would it effect the sorority itself and what advice would you give to the rushee?

[AlphaFrog]

Depends on the campus. LSU, Bama, etc, you're just throwing your money away. A private, northern lib arts college, you might have a shot. We had a girl join as a Sr, and she was a great sister.

[cuteASAbug]

It depends on the school itself and how competitive it is. It also would depend on which semester the girl planned on rushing, and what her grade standing was. There's a big difference between a first semester junior who will be in the sorority for at least two years and a first semester senior who will probably be working on her senior thesis and won't have a lot of time that year to devote to the sorority.

[susan314]

Exactly - it all depends upon the school. And upon the individual chapter at that school.

In my chapter at my school, we most likely would have been willing to take an upperclassman...if she seemed to be an otherwise good fit for our chapter and if she seemed like she would be able to make a worthwhile contribution to the chapter for the duration of time she was active. However, there were a few chapters at my school where it would have been surprising to see an upperclassman taken.

If the chapter typically has spots available and the junior/senior transfer student wouldn't be "taking a spot" from a freshman or a sophomore, then I don't believe it would affect the sorority. If the chapter had more prospective PNMs than spots available to total, taking an upperclassman could potentially affect the chapter - in that you'd be giving a spot to someone who might only give 1 or 2 years to the chapter, instead of giving the spot to someone who could potentially have 3-4 years to contribute. This is why the answer to your question depends heavily upon the campus Greek culture.

[klplovely]

Originally Posted by cuteASAbug

It depends on the school itself and how competitive it is. It also would depend on which semester the girl planned on rushing, and what her grade standing was. There's a big difference between a first semester junior who will be in the sorority for at least two years and a first semester senior who will probably be working on her senior thesis and won't have a lot of time that year to devote to the sorority.

I absolutely agree! Fall '06 we offered bids to two first semester juniors, and so far they are turning out to be great sisters. An upperclassmen's chance also greatly has to do with whether the sorority is interested in quality or quantity.

[xoheatherxo]

i went through rush as a transfer student and had a blast! youre a member of your org. for life so it doesnt really matter if youre a first semester freshman or a transfer!! i dont know about a senior though...you dont really get the whole experience that you would if you were active longer. but if the org. wants you and you want them then why not? a lot of schools now arent letting first semester freshman go through rush anyways now.

[ta kala]

Originally Posted by xoheatherxo

i went through rush as a transfer student and had a blast! youre a member of your org. for life so it doesnt really matter if youre a first semester freshman or a transfer!! i dont know about a senior though...you dont really get the whole experience that you would if you were active longer. but if the org. wants you and you want them then why not? a lot of schools now arent letting first semester freshman go through rush anyways now.

Again, it really does depend on your campus culture. At my school (where greek life isn't huge), many sororities view juniors separately. Other schools, it doesn't matter, but there are those where it probably won't happen unless you're a freshman. You just have to figure out what works at your school. Ask around current sorority members. If you don't really have a chance, they will probably be honest. But if it doesn't matter, then good luck!

[Sailboat Sis]

You should check with your new school's Greek Affairs office to see if juniors and/or seniors are considered "free" bids. That means they can offer unlimited bids to these grades because they do not factor into quota. Good luck!

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Sailboat Sis

You should check with your new school's Greek Affairs office to see if juniors and/or seniors are considered "free" bids. That means they can offer unlimited bids to these grades because they do not factor into quota. Good luck!

Actually, most of the campuses that do Jr/Sr bid seperate from quota still have a Jr/Sr quota. They aren't unlimited.

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by klplovely

An upperclassmen's chance also greatly has to do with whether the sorority is interested in quality or quantity.

I don't agree with this mostly because it could be argued both ways. A chapter could take an upperclassman because they're desperate for a body to fill the house or they could take an upperclassman because they believe she's just that awesome. Same arguement could be made for an underclassman.

Besides, I don't believe there's too many chapters where they come down to deciding between a fantastic upperclassman and a so so underclassman. The chapters where upperclassman have no real chance tend to cut them early.

I was a junior transfer student that rushed during informal spring recruitment. I knew nothing about rushing but understood very quickly that I had to be clear that I had two years ahead of me at least since it was my first quarter at the school.

I agree with most everyone that it depends on the chapter and the school. The only universal advice I'd give to a junior/senior PNM is the same I'd give to any PNM. Don't fall in love with a chapter too quickly, give chapters a fair chance, and follow your heart.

[cuteASAbug]

Originally Posted by klplovely

An upperclassmen's chance also greatly has to do with whether the sorority is interested in quality or quantity.

Maybe at your school, but not in all. In very competitive systems, a girl who's not a freshman has virtually zero chance of getting a bid. That's just the way the system works. Sororities would much rather bid girls who will put in more time to the sorority, especially when they have the option of doing so.

[KSUViolet06]

This would largely depend on the school.

My school had quite a few junior transfers come through rush, so we were all open to having them. They had no problems getting bids.

As far as senior transfers, there weren't as many of those, but those that went through got bids (because senior transfers are not graduating in May and will be around for at least a couple years).

As far as seniors with one year left, they were always cut halfway through. This was usually because they were graduating in May and no sorority saw the point of taking on someone who was graduating so soon.

[REE1993]

Given that your myspace address is linked to your account here, and that I read your blog, you seriously need to consider your privacy options. I also hope that you find a more eloquent reason to give during rush, other than the one you have on your blog. Membership in a sorority is not going to make you outgoing, friendly, or ambitious. You get out of it only what you put into it, and from what I read, you only list what you want to get out of it:

-----her blog----------
Well, I'm back at (GC poster removed school name) for the Spring Quarter and I'm hoping to achieve my goal to join a sorority...The reason I named my blog the final straw is because this may be my final chance of joining a sorority because I do want and need a social life instead of sitting at home cleaning, studying, watching TV, and on the computer everyday. I have to go out more often and it's the truth.
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Originally Posted by REE1993

Given that your myspace address is linked to your account here, and that I read your blog, you seriously need to consider your privacy options. I also hope that you find a more eloquent reason to give during rush, other than the one you have on your blog. Membership in a sorority is not going to make you outgoing, friendly, or ambitious. You get out of it only what you put into it, and from what I read, you only list what you want to get out of it:

-----her blog----------
Well, I'm back at (GC poster removed school name) for the Spring Quarter and I'm hoping to achieve my goal to join a sorority...The reason I named my blog the final straw is because this may be my final chance of joining a sorority because I do want and need a social life instead of sitting at home cleaning, studying, watching TV, and on the computer everyday. I have to go out more often and it's the truth.
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KSUViolet already took care of it and the OP gave her reason why.

[Tom Earp]

KOOL!

Thanks for your post!