ThetaLady is right. I've heard of girls who just had one invitation for Pref parties and did not receive a bid. It does happen; that sorority might rank the PNMs lower on their bid list and the ranks didn't match up.

No that is not the way RFM works. Ole Miss is using a Quota additions method. If a PNM gets invited to prefs then she will get a bid to one if those chapters if she lists all of them on her pref card.

If she only gets invited to one pref - she will get a bid UNLESS there is sonething really really wrong (GPA too low to initiate, going to prison after recruitment?)

If she went to prefs and didnt show up bid day odds are much more likely she turned dien her bid.

PNM advice: Listen to your gamma chi (not to strangers on a message board -- regardless of how seasoned and authoritative they may sound) and enjoy! This is one of the best experiences of your life. Those of us who have gone before remember it well.

All the best.

Nope, this is not the issue anymore.

PNMs only hear the part that says "If you go to Pref Night, you have a bid."

The parts that PNMs fail to pay attention to is that they MUST "MAXIMIZE THEIR OPTIONS".
This means they must go to ALL pref parties they are invited to AND they must rank ALL of those chapters on their card, in order to have the best chance at getting a bid.

If the PNM goes to 3 Prefs, but they decide not to list all 3 groups on their card, they may NOT get a bid. IF they only list 2of the 3, deciding that they would not accept a bid from the third chapter, then they risk receiving no bid at all. IF they SIP, they may not get a bid.

IF chapters find out something really, really bad about a PNM after Pref invites go out, but before Bid lists are done, they may also drop a PNM. It can happen.

Really? I thought that if a PNM came to Pref that they must be on your bid list somewhere. I have never heard of being able to drop a PNM of your bid list.

Perhaps that depends on the organization. We may have different rules.

I assure you that you can leave a pref attendee off your bid list. You most likely will have to explain why to the GA but it can be done...for a valid reason unknown before pref. They cannot make you take someone you do not want - unless you are at Tufts....

So you know differently than EVERYBODY else here? :rolleyes:

I have to respectfully suggest that there are women on this site who are RFM experts. They travel to different schools to help with RFM. Undoubtedly, they are more schooled and knowledgeable than most 20 year old gamma chis. Gamma chis do an excellent job but they OFTEN make mistakes or don't realize that the pnm is only hearing about of half of what they are saying. There are numerous examples on here that support this scenario.

So, a pnm can do far worse than listen and learn here.

To be clear here, the issue is with the black or white sentiment of GUARANTEE. It is highly highly likely that if you attend preference party/ies and list every party to which you were invited you will get a bid. But the way I've read it, if you go to a party and are a snotty pants to one party to ensure that you don't get ranked highly on their list, you can be CUT from them at that point, and that could jack up the whole process for you. It would, however, have to take an extreme measure like fighting back against really bad behavior in order for the rules of RFM to be overridden. Play by the rules, don't be a snotty pants, don't let that felony conviction leak out between getting invited to pref and bid list time, and yes, you should be guaranteed a bid. It's not something to worry about; it's just that we here want to be pristinely clear with the rules which do allow for an out for a chapter who has vehemently changed their mind about you.

Is RFM the standard now? Are there schools that choose not to use it?

An overwhelming majority use it. I believe there are a few who do not. The list of actual schools who do not use it is best left to others more knowledgable than I.

There are schools who choose not to use it or have never been exposed to it to implement it. However, at the same time that RFM came out, three other "options" for recruitment styles were released to allow for differences in campus cultures (Partially structured, minimally structured and COR only).

Most of the big schools with more competitive rushes are using RFM.

Also, the software programs that most schools use, such as ICS, are RFM based.

I noticed that you raised some questions about this in previous posts (different year) -- it might be a good idea to remove identifying details and info from these posts.

Thank you so much for providing a good discussion along with clarification on RFM and getting a bid. Another issue I am curious about is regarding legacies. We've had a lot of discussion in our local (alumnae) Panhellenic and among friends whose daughters have already gone through recruitment this year at other schools. I know policies vary greatly between sororities but when I read my sorority's policy on our national website, it seems to defer to the collegiate member selection process with regards to the placement of legacies on bid lists. Does that mean that a university's Panhellenic overrides what a sorority's policy is? For example, a friend told me her sorority either releases legacies after the 2nd round or then they can not cut them BUT they don't have to put them on the top of their bid list. But then she found out at our large public university, their panhellenic told the sororities if you take a legacy to Pref, you have to extend a bid. It does seem unfair to take a legacy to pref and not extend a bid to her but does that happen? Her daughter wanted something else so she preffed it first knowing she would get her legacy even though she put them 2nd since there was no risk. And she got her legacy.

So tomorrow and Wednesday, the girls will go to how many parties? Are the two days the same, meaning skit days, etc.?

CMDelta, I think that is going to be your sorority's rules. RFM doesn't make you place girls in a certain position on your lists or require you to invite back certain girls. I think most sororities function under the policy that you have to invite a legacy back once and if you invite her to preference she has to be on your first bid list. But that's not an NPC, RFM or campus edict. And as more and more legacies go through rush, the rules of what to do with legacies seems to get more flexible.

And I think these rules are and should be more strictly enforced based on campus culture. At a school where they're begging for members it would be pretty uncool to be too choosy about legacies in lieu of respecting family and heritage. But to expect the Bamas and Arkansass to invite back a substantial number of their legacies is really handcuffing their member selection process.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday is round 1 (Philanthropy). They'll go to 3 houses each afternoon/evening & then rank which 6 they would most like to return to & then rank the other 3. Friday is skit parties where they can attend a maximum of 6. Saturday is pref parties and they can attend up to 3. Bid day is Sunday.

DubaiSis, I realize there are WAY more legacies in most recruitments today than there are even spots in a house. I certainly feel in no way that it gives them an advantage over someone with no Greek affiliations. I think it's a great courtesy to invite them to 2nd round but then you should cut them if you're not going to take them so they can find a home elsewhere. I just don't like the idea of not releasing them but then not offering them a bid either. "Back in my day", we had to get to know our legacies because once you got to skit day you had to put them on the top of your bid list.

I'm not aware of any sororities (based on conversations here) who have the policy you've mentioned. I also think it would be pretty crappy.

As has been previously stated, every sorority has its own policy with regard to legacies. This includes, but is not limited to:

-determining who can be considered as a legacy (e.g. how far out on the family tree the connections can go and the PNM can still claim to be a legacy)
-policy for inviting legacies to recruitment parties beyond the first set/round
-policy for determining placement on the bid list (some chapters may have the ability to choose whether or not they are going to place legacies on the first or second bid list, for example. It isn't cut and dried. There are no universals here.)

Legacy policy has changed considerably as the legacy pool has grown. Again, we are looking at membership selection; it is the responsibility of the actives of a chapter to select their members. We alumnae certainly have our opinions, but at the end of the day, it's the actives who make the selections.

Hope it is going well. Miss hearing from our OleMiss regulars this week...

HQWest -- "going to prison after recruitment"
OMG! That made me laugh to where the laughter ended with "heeee" (because I was out of breath).

Anyone else going thru at Ole Miss? Or daughters, sisters/relatives, friends?

I have not had this come up in regards to sororities or while advising but I have had to sit down and explain to a graduate student I worked with that not showing up to court for her multiple moving violations would get her convicted in absentia and that would be a felony in that state. (It would not have been in her home state.) A felony conviction would mean ineligible for her stipend and to enroll on that campus. She HAD to pay that fine.

I can totally see where something like this might come out as a last minute WTH? during recruitment. (ineligible to enroll = ineligible to initiate.)

I realize that the legacy policy has changed considerably but I know some sororities (and some schools) consider legacies much more seriously than others do. It probably has to do with how competitive the recruitment is at that school and how many legacies are going through for that chapter. So I can only imagine where Ole Miss falls on that scale! What I hate to hear from moms or other alumnae is that a girl gets cut by other sororities because she is a legacy to another. I know that's a HUGE assumption because her legacy may not think she is a fit for them or maybe she prefers another house than her legacy. Plus no one can know really why she was released and they use her being a legacy to another chapter as a reason. I can see where it can work against a PNM. My dd is from OOS going through at Ole Miss this week and apparently BOTH her legacies are heavily desired by in state girls. I just pray that it won't hurt her either way.

Just a visual idea of the numbers of PNMs and sorority members at Ole Miss. This is from this year's C.A.R.E. Walk.

C.A.R.E. Walk is Ole Miss Panhellenic's annual philanthropy benefiting breast cancer research.

http://www.thedmonline.com/blog/phot...2012-care-walk

If the school's Panhellenic really told a chapter that, they need to contact their national headquarters immediately. Panhel (local or national) cannot tell you who to take or not take, invite or not invite.

They could say "it would be nice" but it would never hold up. Being Panhellenic is great but some people think it can override sororities' individual rights/policies and that just isn't the case.

I bet she misunderstood or is misremembering what actually happened. Why would panhellenic care at all about where you place a legacy on your bid list? All they have to care about is the number of girls you put on that list. And if they really did tell a chapter that, I'd be on the horn with your headquarters IMMEDIATELY because there's someone in panhel who has way WAY overstepped her bounds. I mean, for all we know, a sorority may ALWAYS rank blonds over brunettes and legacy status doesn't trump that. Or lefties are always more desired. And it's not our place to tell them that's retarded.

Any news (of the vague-ish variety, anyway) from Ole Miss recruitment? I think today is pref.

I'm sure those involved don't want to post anything too specific, but I was just wondering.

What time do they pick up their pref invites???

Yes, today is Pref. Houses are having 5 parties. I believe that the PNMs can go to a max of 3 chapters. Bid Day is tomorrow.

Pref parties start at 4pm CST, so I would think invitations would be opened between 3 and 3:30. PNMs are usually assembling on the lawn of their first house about half an hour before parties start.

Good luck everyone!

Bid Day at 3pm tomorow.

I know several girls participating in recruitment this week at Ole Miss. I can hardly wait to see where they land! Hope they are enjoying the week. It can be so stressful!

I met some absolutely awesome ADPi national officers, local volunteers, and a senior chapter consultant who were on campus observing recruitment at Ole Miss. They were delightful! They had also visited Miss State for recruitment and are laying the way for 2 colonizations in 2013 in our state...don't think it has ever been done before. I hope that Phi Mu will take the lead in hosting our fellow Magnolia Madams as they establish successful colonies in our state!

Just my opinion;)

Keeping my fingers crossed for my friend's daughter!

Wow! 5 giant rounds of Pref last night! I'm going back to bed so I can be bright shiny for Bid Day!

I believe Bid day has already started. Any news?

List is not out just yet as far as I know, but will be soon unless there is a delay (every other or so I understand.) Headed to the house to prep everything. PNMs get their Bid Envelopes at 3:00!!!!

Ah k. Thanks! The website said that bid day started at 9am.

Good luck and congratulations!

Obviously not as reliable as the first page of this thread . . .:D