Bid Matching Explained

After pref and everyone signs her card, quota is set and then here's how it goes:

You have ranked your houses 1 & 2, and the sororities have ranked all their pnm's in order on their bid list. The algorithm starts at the top of a sorority's ranked list and tries to match with the pnm's who put them at 1. If necessary, the algorithm makes another pass down the bid list and tries to match with the pnm's who put them at 2. The bid matching process for a house goes until they reach quota. As soon as a house reaches quota they are done. If you are high enough on your 1's bid list to match before they reach quota you will get a bid from them. If not, the algorithm will try to match you with your 2. If you are high enough on their list to match with them before they reach quota you will get that bid. If you aren't high enough to match there, you will be a quota addition to either house. The algorithm will try to place you with your 1, but will also consider your place on both bid lists and the number of quota additions to place. This is how you are guaranteed a bid if you rank both houses. If you SIP and you are not high enough on that house's bid list to match before they reach quota, you are out of the process and will not get a bid at all. No quota additions for SIP.

If you only have one house at pref and put them on your card you will get that bid.

The first thing to remember is that you have a good chance at getting your 1st choice house, but of course could still get your 2nd. The second thing to remember is that the houses do not know how you rank them at any point in the rush process, so that's not any part of their consideration. The third thing to remember is that trying to get yourself ranked low by a pref house you don't want does nothing to get you ranked above the quota cut off at the house you love. Tell the house you love how you feel! Don't tell the other house that they are your 2nd because you may end up there anyway, but it's okay to be a bit ambivalent.