be honest

So my best bet are lower tier houses, you would say? And are middle tier houses just as picky as top? I don’t care about tiers so much but just want to know what I’m getting myself into

You might not even end up wanting a bid from a "top" house. However, those houses are heavily populated with the top girls from Mobile, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Atlanta, etc. And the girls in those chapters are going to be ride-or-die for their friends from back home. It's really not that they might not love you. They probably will. You sound like you have it all and they might carry you a long way. And you might get a bid. It does happen. Everyone talks about that one unicorn girl that came from some place random and had zero connection to Auburn and got a bid to a top house and I hope that happens for you. IMHO the lack of connections are what hurt girls the most, no necessarily being OOS. Because there are OOS girls in every single chapter. It's a misconception that they only take Mtn Brook girls. But the girls that are OOS probably came from a school that sends girls to Auburn regularly and also has girls in the chapter. I think it's only being fair to you to say that. Now, the "lower" down the list you go (I cringe saying it bc I hate that there are tiers but there are tiers), like to mid and lower tiers, the more open they are, to the point that whatever is considered the "lowest" tier is a much safer bet. You can get in mid also for sure. If you put your best foot forward and are funny and have a good resume and don't offend the girls by acting like you are too good for it, you should be guaranteed a bid from those "lowest" houses. There's no reason to not end up in a sisterhood of awesome girls and there are super awesome girls everywhere but the reality is there and it's that it's not likely that you will END UP at a top house. You might go very far with them. I hate that it's this way but there's no need pretending that "anything's possible." I mean, it is possible, but not likely. And remember that whatever sorority might be "lower" here right now might be good someplace else that your daughter or granddaughter goes to one day and then they will be a legacy there! Good luck!

I can only speak for myself and my chapter but it would really depend on the other things she can bring to the table. If she already has a great personality and we can see her fitting in, yes it would make her stand out against all the other girls with a great personality who we can see fitting in and maybe score higher in leadership/academics/involvement areas.