rushing as a sophomore

Lots of sophomores rush, that's not a huge deal.

Why those specific houses?

Those houses are all very different.
SDT has a rep for only taking freshmen. There could be an occasional exception.

Every house has a specific idea of what "type" of girl they are looking for. Personality types, looks, grades, interests, involvement in campus, etc all have different levels of importance to different houses. The honest truth is there might be a couple houses that cut upperclassmen across the board. The best advice is to be yourself and be open minded, and you will match with the best house for you. If you go in trying to figure out a "plan" to get into a certain house, or make them like you despite your grade/age/etc., it usually backfires.

Just keep an open mind and do not get your heart set on any particular houses....be nice to every girl you meet that rushes you and stay positive. Recruitment can break a lot of hearts, and many girls tend to drop out of the process after not being asked back to the ones they wanted. It happened to me, but I kept on going! And even though I never planned on being in the house I ended up in, it has proven to be the absolute perfect sorority for me. Recruitment is a crazy process that can make you second guess yourself a lot, but please think positive and try to see the good in every house. And if a house cuts you, do not take it personally. Instead move on and find the one that is actually for you!!