cob vs snap bid

Snap bids you still get before bid day. COBs happen afterwards

Snap bids aren’t even something that should be on your radar. Should a house fail to meet quota during bid matching, they can “snap” new members up between bid match and bid day. So to be eligible for a snap bid, you would have to drop out before Pref AND have a chapter that didn’t cut you want to bid you. They rarely happen and are kind of the “unicorn” bid. If Big 6 cut you, you literally have ZERO chance of getting a Big 6 snap bid so your options you still have during rush are better than dropping out and praying your top choice doesn’t make quota and decides to reconsider you.

COB happens later in the fall semester or spring. If chapters are below total (kind of like an average number) then they have the option to have informal rush events to get up to total. OR if they’re just 1-2 members under, they might directly offer bids to friends of current members who are known and loved.