Prospective fraternity and sorority members are not limited to starry-eyed freshman — many older students increasingly are participating in recruitment.

Communication sophomore Janelle Kwan is one sophomore who opted to participate in recruitment this year. After skipping recruitment last year, Kwan said she’s rushing after seeing many of her friends happy as members of their sororities.

Like many others who rush as sophomores, Kwan said she was still adjusting to college her freshman year and did not know if she was ready to join a sorority.

“Rushing was just something I wasn’t very certain I wanted to do last year,” said Kwan. “I didn’t know enough about (sororities) last year and now that I know more, it’s something I am more interested in doing.”

Although Kwan said she is not sure which sorority she would like to join, another trend among sophomores who rush is knowing which house will be their first choice before the start of recruitment.

“Odds are, sophomores will probably be brought into houses by their friends,” said Art Wong, a Weinberg sophomore who joined Delta Chi this quarter.

Wong did not rush last year because he thought it was a “burdensome process.”

“It seems like it takes up way to much time going from fraternity to fraternity to see which one’s right for you,” he said.

But he started attending Sunday dinners at Delta Chi after a friend of his, who was in the fraternity, suggested he might enjoy it.

“I don’t think I would have gone to any other fraternities,” Wong said.

Interfraternity Council spokesman Phil Stuart said Wong’s story is not uncommon.

“Sometimes (sophomore rushees) had a lot of friends who joined a fraternity when they were freshmen, and this person has now been able to see all the benefits and exciting parts of being in a fraternity,” said Stuart, a Medill senior.

“As a freshman, you may not feel ready to make such a big decision and take on such a big time commitment,” he added. “But by sophomore year you’re settled into the NU scene and you’d like to try something new.”

Information on the class breakdown of this year’s new pledges was not available.

Sophomore women had an extra opportunity to join sororities this year because of informal fall recruitment. Earlier this fall Panhel gave sororities with fewer than 100 members the option of recruiting upperclassman with open bidding.

Weinberg sophomore Brynna Gauer missed formal recruitment last year because one of the rush sets conflicted with a concert she attended.

“I was nervous about the rush process last year because I had heard really bad things, and I was worried about the time commitment,” Gauer said. “Once all of my friends started rushing, I instantly regretted my decision not to rush. So, I knew from last year I was going to rush this year.”

Gauer participated in informal fall recruitment and was initiated into Kappa Delta sorority last week.

IFC’s Stuart said students who feel more educated about the recruitment process often have an easier time.

“If you’re going to rush, and you’re interested in joining a certain house, and you’ve gone up there and you know you have options and you’re comfortable with the option you decide on, it’s going be a positive experience,” Stuart said.

Reach Julia Neyman at [email protected].