<p>I am a current freshman at USC, and I was wondering about the potential drawbacks, if any, of rushing/pledging a fraternity in the fall of sophomore year. I didn’t rush fall semester of this year and I only rushed 1 house in the Spring (didn’t get a bid). Will that be held against me next year? Will I be less likely to get a bid because I would be a sophomore? And would it be awkward to pledge as a sophomore while most other pledges will be freshmen?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I would say that it would not be awkward. I am pledging as a sophomore next year as well</p>
<p>Won’t be awkward, there’s generally quite a few sophomore’s (and even a few juniors for non-top houses) pledging due to various reasons (e.g. transfer students) so it’s really not a big deal. In other words, being a sophomore is unlikely to count against you in a meaningful way during the rush process. One disadvantage of pledging sophomore year is that you will potentially be taking slightly harder classes than your freshmen PB’s, and you will have to have solid time management skills to deal with this. Otherwise, don’t stress.</p>
<p>My son transferred this year as a sophomore. He rushed one house first semester and did not get a bid and was very disappointed. He then got a bid through the post rush process from another house; however, after a few weeks he found it wasn’t a good fit and depledged. In January, he rushed another house and did get a bid and is really happy. In the end, he said it was worth it and he is now in a house with guys he really likes. So, to answer your question, I don’t think being a sophomore will hurt you. He did say being a pledge takes at a minimum, 20 hrs a week, so be ready. BTW, his Spring pledge class is mostly sophomores and the Fall pledge class is mostly freshman. Don’t know if that is a fluke or not.</p>