quota and total/ spring rush

Doesn't always mean they will spring rush, my suggestion is go through in the fall and find your fit, even if it isn't a "top" house.

Quota: The number of potential new members to which each chapter can offer bids during formal recruitment. This is determined with a formula involving the number of chapters and the number of women participating in bid matching.

Snap bidding: An option available to chapters that did not fill quota. Chapters may offer bids to potential new members whose preferences were not matched, meaning they would not be extended a bid by chapters they listed on their preference rankings after preference round. This process takes place before bids are distributed, and a potential new member would receive a phone call or other contact by a sorority offering her a snap bid. If she chooses to accept, the new member would participate in normal Bid Day activities.

Total: The allowable chapter size on a campus, as determined by the College Panhellenic, including new and active members. Chapters that fall under total may be allowed to participate in continuous open bidding until they reach total.

Continuous Open Bidding (COB): An opportunity for chapters that do not reach quota during primary recruitment to bid to total and/or quota. The continuous open bidding process is less formal, and not all chapters will participate in continuous open bidding.

SO, in a nutshell, quota only matters during formal recruitment; anytime a chapter goes below total they can recruit up to total - that can happen anytime via COB. Formal recruitment is the only time a chapter can go over total.