Can any students explain what its like to rush a fraternity as a sophomore transfer? is it during the fall or spring? is it as structured as sorority rush? and is it harder to get into top fraternities as a transfer?
Fraternity is different than sorority. Sorority rush happens over one week period right after the winter break, whereas fraternity recruiting happens over a period of time, like in the fall. Brothers will invite you to visit their house, have dinner, party, etc. After the break, you will get bids from fraternities that want you, and you make a decision. So Fall is the time to check out fraternities. From what I have heard, getting invited to some of those fraternities’ Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal, or get invited for small gatherings. You should go to visit as many fraternities as possible to keep your options open.
There are more fraternities than sororities at Cornell, so most guys can get into a house if they try to keep an open mind. Yes, it would be harder to get into top fraternities as a transfer because they want members who could potentially live at the house longer. One of my nephews made a mistake of only focusing on few top tier fraternities and he didn’t any bid. Whereas another nephew was more open minded and he got into a fraternity that was right for him, not necessary a tippy top fraternity, and he enjoyed it very much.
Greek life isn’t for everyone. You can still have a very full social life without being in a fraternity. Both of kids were in a sorority at Cornell, and some may consider it to be a top tier sorority. They had many friends outside of their sorority (they were in the same sorority, different years), but the Greek life made Cornell smaller for them because they had opportunities to mix with same group of people (they liked). They remain very close to their sorority sisters, and guys they met from fraternities.
@oldfort thank you for all that!! was your nephew a transfer student?
No, my nephews both started there as freshmen. We have a long history at Cornell. 
Many transfers do join Greek life.
re #1, perhaps “most guys”, I don’t have stats, but back in the day I knew plenty of kids who rushed and got no
offers.
If 1/3 are in the system, 2/3 aren’t. I don’t know what proportion of those 2/3 would have partaken if they could have.
Certainly not all of them. Perhaps not most of them. But not none of them, I can assure you of that.
Here’s what happens on a more detailed level:
There are three “rounds.” Each round is invite-only and you’ll need to earn an invite by getting the brothers to like you. These can be anything from casino nights to bar nights. If you’re still in by the time you get a third invite, then it’s very likely you’ll get a bid. You just need to be sociable around as many brothers as possible.
I heard the average frat acceptance rate is around 10%. Rushing as a sophomore puts you at a slight disadvantage since most frats want freshman, but if you connect well with the brothers, it shouldn’t really make a difference. Spring rush also puts you at a disadvantage since a lot of frats scope out potential members in the fall and give them priority during the process.
@jfx246 thank you! but can’t transfer students rush in the fall?
Yes, transfer students can rush fall semester, FYSA students must wait till fall and Freshman can rush spring.
S1 was a transfer and rushed in the fall. It gave him instant community. S3 was FYSA and just rushed last semester (fall).
@3rdsontocollege thank you! would you mind saying which fraternities they joined? do you know if all chapters take new members in the fall or just some of them?