Pref, Bid Matching, and Other Facts 1 of 4
by: I know stuff
You have questions about pref and the final stages of how recruitment works, and there are some incorrect assumptions and misinformation out there, so here you go. These are real facts with some sound advice to help if you are feeling in the dark.
PREF:
All pnm's who are invited to a chapter's pref are on their ranked bid lists somewhere. There are no cuts after pref, just ranking and bid matching.
During pref, take a good look around at the other pnm's who are there with you, because these are the girls who would mostly make up your new member class, and your new member class will make or break your entire sorority experience. These are the girls you are going to be closest with in your sorority; you will spend the most time with them, experience sorority life together, go through school as a group until graduation, and find your closest friend group among them that could last the rest of your life. Ask yourself if the majority of the other girls with you at pref are ones you feel some connection with and consider that in your final ranking. (The same thing goes for the guys; look around at the others rushing the same fraternities and accepting bids and make sure these are who you see yourself with before you accept a bid to a frat.)
At pref, if you have a definite favorite chapter then you need to let them know. They can't read your mind and need to know your level of interest before their final ranking of you.
Pref is the time to trust your gut and only your gut. This round is often a deal breaker for pnm's who may be on the fence about certain houses and helps them see something wonderful in a chapter they didn't before. Keep an open mind to finding your home at a house you might have discounted before. Do not decide based on the so-called tiers and rankings or what other people tell you. Pnm's, frat dudes, and especially this site do not know $hit and have their own personal agendas and misconceptions. This is your chance and you aren't getting it again so shut out the noise and do what's best for you when you do your final ranking.
#1by: I know stuff
RANKING AND SIGNING THE CARD:
You will attend up to two houses for pref and then rank them and sign your card. This is the Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement, or MRABA. Signing this means you will accept a bid from any house you list on that card. This agreement is in effect for one calendar year, which means that if you get a bid and turn it down, or take a bid and then drop from that house, you are ineligible for any other bid for the next year, until the next formal recruitment. So make it work.
When you rank both houses you are guaranteed a bid to one of them. The odds favor you getting your first choice but you still might end up with your second. If you end up at your second choice and you are disappointed, put a smile on your face anyway and go to bid day and give that house your best shot. It's your only option at this point and you will be surprised what a difference a few days make and how being welcomed into that sisterhood and meeting your new class will make you feel. Really.
If you end up with only one pref house and attend and put it on your card, you are getting that bid. Guaranteed. You can rest easy, you know where you're going on bid day. Congrats.
You do have a choice to only rank one of your two pref houses. Understand that you run the risk of not getting a bid at all if you don't match with that one house you listed. This is called "suiciding", or in the official terminology, Single Intentional Preference or SIP. More on how this works under Bid Matching. You should only SIP if you fully embrace the repercussions of not getting a bid at all with very little chance of being in a sorority, and would not consider your #2 under any circumstances. Formal recruitment is your best chance to get a sorority bid, so why not list both houses and give your #2 a chance. You can drop before initiation if it's not working out. Whatever you do, do not ditch a house on bid day, that is about the $hittiest thing anyone can do. That sorority wanted you and invested one of their limited bids in you and trusted that you were being honest when you signed your card. You can't get another bid because of the MRABA anyway, so either make up your mind to take the bid from #2 and make an honest effort, or don't list them on your card at all.
Comment#2by: I know stuff
BID MATCHING:
You will rank your two pref houses 1 and 2, or just the one if that's all you have. Quota will then be calculated after all the pnm's cards are in; the number of pnm's ranking houses divided by the number of chapters = Quota.
The chapters will rank all the pnm's attending their prefs and turn in their ranked bid lists.
The bid matching algorithm starts at the top of a sorority's ranked bid list and goes down in order matching with all the pnm's who put that house as their number one, continuing until they hit quota. If you are high enough on your #1's bid list to match with them before they reach quota then you will get a bid from them. If you are not high enough to match with them then the algorithm will continue the process to try to match you with your #2. If you are not high enough on your #2's bid list to match with them before they reach quota, then you will be placed for a bid with either house, even if it puts them over quota. It depends on your ranks of the houses, your place on the chapters' ranked bid lists, and relative chapter sizes. This is how you are guaranteed a bid, Quota Additions. If you only had one house on pref you are getting that bid.
If you decide to only rank one house and do not match with them before they reach quota, you are done and out of the process. You are ineligible to be placed as a quota addition and will go without a bid. If this happens, your Rho Gam will let you know before bid day.
***There is nothing you can do to game the system to get your #1. Being ranked low at your #2 does NOTHING to help you get your #1, it is entirely up to your place on your #1's bid list. This is why you want to be clear to your #1 how you feel. Ranking only your #1 house does NOTHING to put you higher on their bid list; the sororities never see the pnm's ranks of them at any round and the algorithm does not take your SIP into account.***
#3by: I know stuff
SNAP and COB:
Both of these types of bids are rare and nothing for a pnm to count on. They are not a rush strategy for anyone. But here are the facts so you know what's what.
Snap bids are given out before bid day when a sorority does not reach quota in the bid matching process. Pnm's who went through rush and did not sign a card after pref, or who SIP'd and did not get a bid, are eligible for a snap bid, but these are very, very rare and you should never count on one. There are hardly any snap bids given out, if any, from the sororities that are strong recruiters, and if any sorority released you from their recruitment, especially before pref, you aren't getting a snap from them. Don't count on being snapped by a 'better' sorority if you dropped out because you didn't like your remaining choices. Forget it. I only mention snaps because if you are lucky enough to be the rare pnm to be offered one, especially by a sorority you didn't want before, you need to consider it. Please. They want you and this is a great chance for you. Pnm's who get a snap bid go to bid day with everyone else. After bid day there is no more snapping.
COB, or Continuous Open Bidding can be offered by sororities who did not make quota on bid day or who have a few openings in their membership because they are under whatever number panhellenic has set for Chapter Total. Anyone who did not go through rush, or who went through and didn't sign a card, or SIP'd and didn't get a bid is eligible, but eligible is a far cry from actually getting one. COB bids are few and far between and are not really a second shot at getting a bid after formal recruitment. When pnm's drop out of recruitment it brings the new member numbers down and so Chapter Total is set lower for all houses, so dropping out in the hopes of a COB is not a successful strategy. The vast majority of these bids are offered by the smaller chapters. Larger chapters are not open to offering COB to girls they don't know, so you have to have an in with members to be considered, IF they have any openings. If you are out of the process at this point or didn't rush at all, get to know sorority members this semester to maybe have a shot next fall.
Your best chance for sorority membership is during formal recruitment. Good luck to all of you . Remember, your sorority experience is what you make of it no matter the letters, you will get out of it in direct proportion to what you put in.
by: I know stuff
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by: Good stuff
Good explanation. I would just add that snap bids are given out before bid day festivities begin, which is what I am sure you meant to type.
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