Actually an ISP who does not match is eligible for a snap bid. Just not quota addition.

ISP
 

When my oldest daughter was going through recruitment she called before she signed her card. She asked if she should go "suicide". I responded with the question "Do you want to be Greek, or do you only want Alpha Gam? She was at a relatively non-competitive school and knew that she would get a bid to Alpha Gam. I don't know until this day (she was a PNM in 1997) what she decided, but I do know I explained to her that being Greek was more important than the GLO. I won't tell you that I didn't want her to be an Alpha Gam...
When my 2nd daughter (same school) wanted to put another GLO as her first choice in 1999, it hurt. I gave the phone to her dad, who knew what they system was like as I was a member of the VST. I don't know what he said, but she also pledged AGD.
The next year, my 3rd daughter was cut by the other 2 chapters on campus before pref... she really didn't have a choice. In 2003, I was truly surprised that the other 2 chapters carried my 4th daughter to pref along with Alpha Gam. To make the story short, as my 4th daughter put on her AGD letters, her comment was, it's about damn time.
ISP would have probably been a viable choice for my daughters, but I could never recommend it.

I think the policy is pretty widespread (if not true of all NPC sororities) that if you invite a legacy to preference they have to be on your first bid list so in your daughters' cases, they were pretty safe. But even so, it sounds like you gave them sound advice. I guess you'll never know if daughter #2 got her first or back up choice, but it sounds like it all worked out in the end.

Exactly. I'll never know. But she was part of the "Fab Four" in her New Member Class and even going through a divorce this summer they were there for her. Not saying that the other group would have done differently, but, yes, it worked. I gave all daughters the "panhellenic" answer and would do the same today. But I have to admit that it is sweet that all 5 of us are Alpha Gams. I personally think that is more important to be "greek", than to be a member of a specific GLO, but that is probably because I came from California to Texas in 1973 and only realized that GLO's existed after I had been at TCU for a semester.

I think this is not guaranteed in any group, because there is always the possibility of having more legacies at pref than quota. Do they get put at the top of the bid list? Probably, for most groups, but if it comes down to deciding among legacies, some may not make the first list.

But just to be clear, a chapter that's already doing QAs is over Quota and cannot issue snap bids, because you can only snap to Quota, right?

Yes, but it is possible she could be snap bid by another chapter, even one at which she did not attend pref.

yes and yes .. a chapter that's doing QAs won't be snap bidding as snap bids are only to get a chapter up to quota. But an ISP is not barred from receiving a snap bid from any chapter that's not at quota that wishes to extend a bid to her, even a chapter that had previously cut her or a chapter that she had previously dropped.

I've also thought at times it would be a good idea to make a rule that a PNM can not join a chapter she ISP'ed for one year.

When we were in the room before signing our pref cards, our Greek life director explicitly stated that if we ISP'd we would NOT be able to receive a snap bid... I don't know if that varies from school to school?

True, but it doesn't stop a chapter from saying that. I'm suggesting a formal rule to keep the chapters in line, not the PNM's.

No. It's an NPC rule. Your GL director was just wrong or you're remembering it wrong.

If a chapter matches quota, but there's a no show or two at bid day/early on in the NM process, the chapter is going to look at their snap list first, which may very well contain someone who ISPed their chapter. That seems like an unneccessarily harsh penalty for both the PNM and chapter. It's a good idea to emphasize that hoping for a snap bid is a bad idea, but I don't think that not allowing PNMs to join a chapter that she ISPed if the opportunity presents itself is fair.

They may still be under total and looking to COB. Of course, this will be the exception, rather than the rule.