Going Through Rush As A Sophomore? What You Need To Know

Nervous about going through recruitment as a sophomore? Here’s what you need to know.

No matter if you’re going into your freshman or senior year of college, sorority recruitment will always be an emotional, nerve wracking, but rewarding experience.

However, if you’re planning on going through sorority rush your sophomore year (or junior/senior year), you may feel at a disadvantage or even weird about doing it.

But let me tell you–it isn’t weird or bad to go through recruitment as a sophomore.

I, myself, went through recruitment as a sophomore back in 2016 and I ended up finding my dream sorority despite a few setbacks.

In today’s blog post, I’m sharing exactly what you need to know about going through sorority recruitment as a sophomore, so you can be prepared and stand out amongst the other potential new members.

And although we are specifically talking about sophomores, the advice in this blog post can apply to any upperclassman wanting to go through sorority recruitment.

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Can I rush as a sophomore?

Yes, any college woman, regardless of grade level may go through sorority recruitment as long as they:

1. Have met the grade/GPA requirement set by the College Panhellenic Council at their university
2. Have not been initiated into another National Panhellenic Conference sorority/member organization

If you meet those requirements it doesn’t really doesn’t matter what age or what grade level you are.

At the end of the day it just matters who you are and how you connect with the women from each chapter.

What sororities are part of National Panhellenic Conference?

There are 26 sororities part of National Panhellenic Conference (NPC):

1. Αlpha Chi Omega
2. Alpha Delta Pi
3. Alpha Epsilon Phi
4. Alpha Gamma Delta
5. Alpha Omicron Pi
6. Alpha Phi
7. Alpha Sigma Alpha
8. Alpha Sigma Tau
9. Alpha Xi Delta
10. Chi Omega
11. Delta Delta Delta
12. Delta Gamma
13. Delta Phi Epsilon

14. Delta Zeta
15. Gamma Phi Beta
16. Kappa Alpha Theta
17. Kappa Delta
18. Kappa Kappa Gamma
19. Phi Μu
20. Phi Sigma Sigma
21. Pi Beta Phi
22. Sigma Delta Tau
23. Sigma Kappa
24. Sigma Sigma Sigma
25. Theta Phi Αlpha
26. Zeta Tau Alpha

Should I join a sorority as a sophomore?

If you’ve always been curious about sorority life or didn’t have the opportunity to go through recruitment your freshman year of college, then absolutely yes, you should at least attempt to join a sorority as a sophomore/upperclassman.

Why?

• You never know what opportunities a sorority could bring.
• You get to meet and network with women at your university.
• It’s great way to get involved on campus.
• Gain leadership experience.
• Ability to get an on-campus mentor through the sorority big little process.
• Potentially could help you improve your grades.

Is it weird to rush sophomore year?

Absolutely not!

There’s actually a lot of women who go through recruitment as an upperclassmen (sophomore, junior, or senior) and end up receiving a bid.

However, during the recruitment process you may feel out of place especially if everyone in your Pi Chi or Rho Gamma group are freshmen.

But don’t worry, once you get through recruitment and join your new pledge class, you’ll be able to get to know more upperclassmen who went through recruitment.

And you won’t feel so awkward about it anymore because everyone in your pledge class will be more focused on bonding and learning more about their new sisterhood.

In fact, when I was in a sorority, we had 21+ year old women go through recruitment and receive a Bid.

We even had one girl in my sorority, Gamma Phi Beta, go through continuous open bidding as a senior and then she graduated the following semester.

But during her time she was able to find the perfect sorority family for her, get a little of her own, and experience every aspect of sorority life in just a year.

So it isn’t weird at all to rush sophomore year. It’s just a different experience. And that’s ok!

It would be so boring if every woman had the same recruitment and sorority experience.

Is rushing as a sophomore harder?

Unfortunately, recruitment can be more challenging as a sophomore. But it depends…

First of all, some sororities can be picky about which upperclassmen they chose because they really want to ensure the women they give a bid to will stay in the chapter the rest of their college career.

And if you think about it, freshmen (if they stay all 4 years in their respective sorority) are more “monetarily” valuable to the sorority than a sophomore or junior who may only stay for 2-3 years.

However, this may or may not be true depending on the sororities at your university and definitely don’t let this turn you off from rushing as a sophomore, junior, or senior.

It just means you need to work harder to stand out, while still being genuine and authentic at the same time.

But we’ll talk about this later in the last section of this blog post.

Second, prior to recruitment you may have had the opportunity to get to know and even befriend sorority women on campus.

And this could put you at an advantage or disadvantage during Rush depending if those relations are good or bad.

So word to the wise… always be on your best behavior especially at college parties you know sorority women will be at.

It also may be comforting for you to know that some universities, like the University of Alabama and the University of Florida, have a “dual-quota” or “upperclassmen quota.”

This means they have separate quota for freshman and a separate quota for upperclassmen.

So for example, each sorority chapter at a university will take 50 freshmen and 50 upperclassmen into their newest pledge class.

And this is a good thing.

This means you don’t have to worry about “competing” against other freshmen going through recruitment.

Instead, you just need standout amongst the other upperclassmen going through recruitment with you.

Need more insight? Check out this YouTube video from a woman who went through Rush as a sophomore at the University of Arkansas and even became Recruitment Chair for her sorority.

What if I’m re-rushing as a sophomore? How does that work?

If you went through recruitment as a freshman and it didn’t go your way, you will have the opportunity to go through it again as long as you did not drop your sorority after Initiation.

However, it can be a little awkward re-rushing especially when you have to talk to:

• The sorority chapter you dropped from during their new member period
• The sorority you didn’t accept a bid to on Bid Day
• The sororities who rejected you when you were a freshman
• The sorority you dropped from the day before Initiation

And honestly… those women will remember you and will likely cut you after Day 1.

But don’t let this deter you from a second chance to find the right sorority for you!

In fact, use your previous recruitment experience to your advantage.

By re-rushing you can approach recruitment with a better strategy and less impulsivity.

You’ll also be able to think more rationally about your decisions and choose a sorority that aligns with your beliefs and what you want to get out of a sorority.

9 tips for sophomores [or upperclassmen] going through sorority recruitment

Don’t let the fact that you’re a sophomore make you feel any less important or valuable as a potential new member.

However, you need to be prepared to not have the “typical” sorority Rush experience.

So in this section, I’m sharing with you 9 tips to help you thrive and survive sorority rush as a sophomore.

1. Use your college experience as an advantage not a disadvantage

One thing that incoming freshmen don’t have is college experience!

So use this to your advantage.

During your conversations with sorority sisters you can talk to them about:

• College extracurriculars you’re in
• Leadership or volunteer experience you’ve gained in college
• College classes you’ve taken
• What college major or minor you’re pursuing
• How you balance your college schedule
• Etc.

And these conversations can be quite refreshing for sorority women who have been talking about high school all day with incoming freshmen.

You may also like: 50 Questions You Can Ask A Sorority Sister During Rush

2. Come up with a solid reason why you waited to Rush beforehand

Ok, here’s a little secret about recruitment…

The women you talk to during recruitment are not random.

You’re actually matched with them prior to you going through recruitment.

And the women you do talk to…

They actually know some things about you like your major, extracurriculars, and grade level.

So with that being said, you can’t hide the fact that you’re a sophomore.

And they’re likely to ask you, at least once, “why did you decide to go through recruitment as a sophomore?”

So you need to be prepared to answer this question honestly.

And there’s really no right answer, but it obviously can’t be, “I thought sorority life was stupid.”

In my experience, on the other side of sorority recruitment, women would respond to this question along the lines of:

• I wanted to get adjusted to college life before joining a sorority.
• I studied abroad my freshman year.
• I transferred universities and my old college didn’t have sorority life/wanted to make friends as a transfer.
• I needed to improve my grades before joining sorority life.

Again, keep your response honest, but have some depth to it and be willing to elaborate on it if they ask further questions.

3. Expect to be dropped more than freshmen

Although dual-quotas or upperclassmen quotes are a thing, there still aren’t enough invites for every upperclassmen to return to their #1 picks.

It’s just how sorority recruitment works, unfortunately.

And with some sororities being picky about which upperclassmen they choose to invite back, just be mentally and emotionally prepared to be dropped or to have a shorter recruitment schedule than freshmen in your Pi Chi/Rho Gamma group.

In my experience, I was only invited back to one sorority after the first day.

And although I truly don’t know why I was dropped from the other sororities at my university, I have a suspicion it was because of my:

• Grade level (I was a sophomore)
• Me being an introvert
• Being a legacy of the sorority I was invited back to

However, whichever chapters invite you back, whether that is on Day 2 or Day 3, know that it was for a good reason.

Those chapters, saw something in you and genuinely believe you could potentially be a good fit for them.

So make the most of it, even if you are only invited back to one chapter on the 2nd or 3rd day.

4. Set your biases aside

No matter who you are or what grade level you are in, you need to come into recruitment with an open mind.

However, it can be challenging to have an open mind as an upperclassman especially if you’ve been at your university for a semester or two and already know or have heard things about the sorority chapters on campus.

For example, you may learn from someone that Zeta Zeta Zeta is the drinking sorority.

Or that Tau Kappa Zeta is the sorority with the prettiest girls.

And although what people say about sorority life at your university may be true, you really need forget about those things and get to know each sorority for who they truly are.

If you go into Rush with an opinion about every sorority, whether good or bad, it will show when you interact with the women of that chapter, and it could lead you to being dropped even if you end up loving them.

5. Have an idea of what you want to get out of sorority life

When you join a sorority as a sophomore you, by default, have less time to spend and give back to that sisterhood.

And that’s ok, but you need to have an idea of:

• What you want out of sorority life and…
• What you can offer to sorority life

Your reason doesn’t have to be elaborate, but just more than: “I want to make friends.”

Which is actually an ok thing to say, but you would need to elaborate on it more.

For example, you want to join a sorority as a sophomore because you felt so alone your freshman year of college and you would love the opportunity to meet likeminded woman on campus.

But a word of caution!

Don’t mention anything regarding partying, drinking, or wanting to get to know more frat guys.

That’s not a good way to respond to the question, “what do you want to get out of being in a sorority,” because those conversation topics are off-limits. And they can rub sorority sisters the wrong way or get a bad first impression of you.

In regard to what you can offer sorority life…

Be prepared to answer questions around the idea of being part of leadership in the sorority.

And although you may not know a thing about sorority leadership positions, sorority women want to know that you’ll be an active contributor to their sisterhood.

So be sure to ask them questions about leadership opportunities and what leadership positions they have that would fit with your skillset or previous leadership experience.

6. Be very detailed on your sorority recruitment application

When you sign-up for sorority recruitment you will need to fill out an application that asks about your:

• Grade level
• GPA
• Age / birthday
• Hometown
• High school information
• College information
• Hobbies / facts about you
• Leadership experience
• Social media profiles

And it is really important that you are very detailed on this application.

Because this application, whether you know it or not, is not actually for your College Panhellenic Council to get to know you and approve of you. They honestly only care about your GPA and that you pay the recruitment registration fee…

It’s actually for the sorority chapters at your university to get to know you and to match you with women from their chapter to talk to during sorority recruitment.

So if you want to get matched with sorority women who would be a good fit with your personality and interests, then you need to be detailed and spend some quality time filling it out.

Because trust me, being matched with a woman you can’t connect with during recruitment is a nightmare!

So be honest, but detailed, and don’t be afraid to show your personality through your application.

And also, be sure to attach a photo of you that’s a good representation of yourself. So smile!

You may also like: What Do Sororities Look For During Rush? 7 Qualities You Need To Possess

7. Clean up your social media profiles

If you’ve already been in college for at least a year, you may have social media posts that are not appropriate or would reflect poorly of you…

So of you have any photos or posts that pertain to:

• Drinking (especially if you are underaged)
• Doing drugs
• Showing off too much skin/cleavage
• Sexual innuendos
• Partying too much

I’d get rid of them ASAP (meaning BEFORE you sign up for recruitment) because those posts will leave sorority sisters with a bad first impression of you before you even go through recruitment.

And it would really suck to get dropped just because of your social media profiles.

So do a spring cleaning of all your social media profiles by:

• Deleting any inappropriate or suggestive images
• Deactivating or archiving posts on your Finsta
• Hiding your Only Fans page (if you have one)
• Making sure no posts or captions have profanity or cuss/swear words

And after you do your spring cleaning, try posting a few nice photos of yourself throughout the summer before recruitment or even do an Instagram story or two.

You don’t have to look like a model by any means, but it’ll give the sorority sisters who look at your profile a better idea of who you are.

8. Find another upperclassman who is going through recruitment and become support buddies

It can be very lonely going through sorority rush as a sophomore.

Especially when you get the vibe that everyone is a freshman except you or you’re a transfer student from a non-greek life university.

However, if you can, try to find another upperclassman who is also going through recruitment at your school and befriend her.

Now this may be a little tricky, but here are some viable options:

• If your school has a subreddit on Reddit, try making a post on there to or make a post in the sororities subreddit
• Reach out to your recruitment counselor and see if she can connect you with someone
• Stalk some instagram profiles of upperclassmen girls at your university
• If your college has a Facebook group for woman at your university, ask if anyone is going through recruitment in there
• Ask your friends if they know anyone going through recruitment who is older

Also *bonus* if you’re able to find a “recruitment support buddy” and both of you end up in the same sorority, then you automatically have someone to hang out with at bid day, new member meetings, chapter meetings, and sorority events.

9. Come to terms that this may be your last chance of going through Rush

Unfortunately, the older you get, the less opportunities you get to go through sorority recruitment.

And this is especially true if you are a junior or senior going through formal recruitment.

With that being said, you need to realize that if Rush does not go your way or you get released from recruitment early, this may be your last chance to join a sorority.

And it is truly heart breaking, but hopefully you will also come to terms with the fact that you don’t need to be in a sorority to have a fulfilling college experience.

In fact, you can still be friends with sorority women without being in a sorority.

And there may be even better clubs or extracurriculars that fit your personality, lifestyle, and interests better than a sorority.

But don’t let this idea make you feel like going through recruitment as an upperclassman is a waste of time.

Because it really is a great experience and I think any woman who is even a little bit curious about sorority life should go through it.

Concluding thoughts on joining a sorority as a sophomore

Sorority recruitment is definitely an experience you won’t forget especially if you’re an upperclassman.

If you’re nervous or concerned about going through Rush as a sophomore know that it is normal and you will get through it.

At the end of the day, every woman, regardless of grade level, is on their own journey to finding the perfect sisterhood for them. And if a sorority loves you and sees potential in you, you will get a Bid.

You just have to trust the process.

I truly hope this blog post about rushing as a sophomore has given you the insight and the confidence boost you need to thrive during sorority recruitment. Good luck!

Related posts to going through sorority recruitment as an upperclassmen

• The Ultimate Guide To Zoom Sorority Recruitment
• What Is Bid Day? And How Do Bids Work?
• 9 Topics You Should Not Talk About During Rush
• How To Deal With Sorority Rejection During Recruitment

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Thanks for reading about rushing a sorority your sophomore year.