True. But the part I was contesting was the WATCHING part, which would be nothing like those days I promised not to mention where a room full of old broads stood in a circle with a pile of index cards with rushee names on them.

MATH leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller! :cool:

No, we sat in a trapezoid and we were all under 35!

Had to point that out.

A video of how hand bid matching works would serve to show people how the computer does it these days. It's the same principle.

I would have LOVED to see it in action. Now it's got to be pretty boring (the chapters send their lists electronically as I understand it so no interaction whatsoever) but sitting in the crowded trapezoidal room full of old broads (in their 30's LOL) pulling shenanigans (as I'm told there were plenty of) would have been fascinating. And SLOW. It took HOURS to run through that list over and over and over again. Can you imagine going through Bama's list, Aardvark, Amy. No match. Anderson, Betty. No match. Appleton, Carrie. Match Alpha Phi. (one name moves up on Alpha Phi's list). Arenson, Debbie. No match. Times 1500 names, and going through the list maybe 30 times? Zulu, Rebecca. No match. Aardvark, Amy. Match Kappa Alpha Theta. (one name moves on on Theta's list. Anderson, Betty. No match. Areson, Debbie. No match. Atchinson, Suzie. No match. Ayers, Mary. Match Zeta Tau Alpha. (one name moves up on ZTA's list).

The coding for the computer program must be complicated. Scares me to think about it haha.

I guess I always imagined it "Aardvark, Amy ranks AAA #1, AAA do you have her on your first list?" AAA - No match; "Anderson, Betty ranks DF #1, DF?" DF - Match!, etc.

I am purt'darn sure there was wine and whining involved. ;)

Lovin' this!

Bah! I love this idea! Ok, so I got so into it that I wound up making a gif using AZ-AlphaXi's awesome box explanation:

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psc3nlkp47.gif

^^^ that is awesome!!

That example is awesome!

I sort of feel sorry for Diana, though, for being the only PNM not to get her first choice. :p

That is the best explanation I've seen. I just wish it was a longer list so that you could see 2nd choices and QA's. But when we say "a simplified explanation" this is exactly what we're saying, but with animation! Thanks LABlondeGPhi

Sharing this with my friends in Panhellenic because I like it so much! Thanks LABlondeGPhi!!

Also, I think I know the answer to this question but this would be the place to confirm my suspicions: if a girl maximizes her options and lists EVERY preference party she attends in some order, she is guaranteed a bid to one of those chapters, right? I've heard two girls now saying that they did this and did not receive a bid, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they're lying to save face as this seems impossible to me.

^^^ Yes. They would be quota additions (QAs) to a chapter IF THEY MAXIMIZED by listing every chapter they attended at Preference.

Waiting for someone to explain otherwise. "Guaranteed" comes with a qualifier - if something happens (that would make her an undesirable candidate for membership) between the time she attends Pref & signs her MRABA and when bid matching starts, then she would not get a bid. That sounds obtuse but you can read between the lines.

Being more black and white, the conviction of her of animal abuse comes through after pref parties are announced but before bid lists are constructed would be a reason she would be cut even though she would otherwise be guaranteed a bid. But Clemsongirl, presuming these gals haven't made the papers, they are most likely lying. I think that's when, "well, bless your heart" becomes an appropriate thing to say, with no offers for help with COB or news that a colony may be in the offing.

Wow! LABlonde. That is awesome.

Thanks all! I think this is my best contribution to GC in ever.

I'll leave the full wamma-jamma video to Loyally Kappa or some other professionals ;)

LOVE this!! with animation, no less! Thanks.

And yes, Clemsongirl, someone is fibbing somewhere or else they don't understand the phrase, "maximizing options"--which is entirely possible.

Oh, honey! You did exactly what I had in mind, only I was gonna use 52 PNMs, 4 sororities, 2 pref parties, and a quota of 10. I may have done mine differently, but never better. I salute you for beating me to the punch! (And if I inspired you, I salute me too!!!)

This is excellent. I may have to borrow it too.

Okay, I am old and I have done hand bid matching, so I understand the process and love RFM and computers. But, I seem to remember in my aged brain that there was a time when campus total was the rule rather than quota. Each house had a different quota depending upon campus total and the number of women who returned after summer, removing all the graduates, women who dropped out of college or got married. I am just imagining it???

It certainly sounds plausible.

OK, I rushed in 1963 and we did not do this. Maybe it was just your school? Indiana still has a bed quota so it varies from house to house. Also, Arkansas has a two tier quota system. So it's not unheard of but it's not been the norm.

I apologize for the dumb question, and I apologize because this probably makes no sense, but let me take a stab at it.

Is it possible for no chapter to make quota in their top bid list? So, for example, sorority #1, #2, and #3 all have a top 87, but none of them make quota in their top 87. So, they are kind of at a standstill because no PNM's in their top 87 are matching elsewhere, making room for PNMs to move up and match with them. Do they keep going down their bid lists to reach those PNMs that weren't in their top 87, but ranked them first, until they reach quota? Or do they meet quota by matching the PNMs that ranked them 2nd or 3rd? Or - does this usually not happen because most chapters make quota from their top bid list?

Its very seldom that chapters make quota within their first bid list. What happens is that as PNMs that are on their first bid list match to their other preference at their first choice selection(ie this chapter is their #2 choice), then that PNM is removed from the chapter's list and the next PNM moves onto the list. Once the chapter has matched quota, then they start looking at the 2nd choice of the remaining PNMs that attended the chapter's preference and are somewhere on their bid list.

Yes! It is absolutely possible to reach a standstill. In fact, the basic programming of the program is easy, it's the error handling that gets complicated. I don't know exactly how it works, but I know I've heard of this happening in the hand-matching days and the advisors would do some horse trading to get it worked out.

Or "house" trading!

You WERE the inspiration for this! Thank you! But I still think there needs to be a proper video done with more PNMs, quota additions, and more explanation (voice over) of what's going on.


When I was setting up the example for the GIF, I actually came to a standstill a couple of times. I would have girls "stuck" taking a place on one chapter's first bid list, but she was just out of the money (not quite to the first bid list) of her #1 chapter. With my very small example of 12 PNMs and 3 chapters, I easily got all three chapters stuck. I imagine this is a more common problem in small systems than in larger ones, but that's just a guess.

As to the question of chapters making quota in their first bid list - RFM is designed so that each chapter invites* ONLY the number of women to preference that will allow them to take quota. Now, in practice, there's usually a buffer since the RFM specialist is estimating that number based on the chapter's past performance. So, theoretically, each chapter should close their quota somewhat close to the end of their total list of PNMs who attended preference.

The RFM specialist will look at where each chapter "closes" it's bid list. If Chapter A always has 100% of their pref PNMs rank them first, then they typically close their bid list at 1x quota and only need to invite* about a quota's worth of women to preference.

If Chapter B is weaker, they may close at 2x quota, and will thus need to invite* at least 2x the estimated quota to preference.

*And my "invite", I mean the actual number of women who attend preference for that chapter, not necessarily the number they extend a preference invitation to, which will be larger.

OK - double checking all of this with everyone else. If you see any errors, lemme know.

That's called grid lock and it can happen. And often does. In that case, the PNM causing the grid lock first is pulled and they move to the next one and match her. Then the pulled one is reinserted and things begin anew. It could happen multiple times and that's basically how it is done.

I've read about Strong Recruiting Chapters (SRC) and Weak Recruiting Chapters (WRC). But I don’t believe I’ve read about Middle Recruiting Chapters? Is there such a thing (term)? Or is there more or less a 50/50 breakdown? Simply put, that for every SRC there is a WRC.

No, there are definitely middle recruiting chapters...especially in the South. They'll be a good chapter on campus, but don't have that traditional "southern" name recognition. So PNMs like them but tend not to know much about them before they're in the party during Round 1.

At least in my experience.

Okdin ... I'll work on a video.

I vote for the video! Or a detailed manual. Thank you, LABGPhi. That was a fabulous explanation. I've searched the Internet for information. What's out there is minimal and doesn't explain the process half as well as you did. I'm a numbers/stats person. I need to understand the process. I'd love to see the intricacies explained. Looking forward to your video, Loyally Kappa and thank you.

Would you answer a question for me about quota additions: what role does campus total play in divvying up those that maximized but didn't match initially? For example, PNM has 3 pref parties and lists them all on her bid card. All three groups get to quota before they get to her. Her first choice is over campus total by 10; her second is at total; and her third is under by 10. Who gets her? Second example, same assumptions but her first two choices are at total. Her third choice is under by one. Who gets her? Thank you!

I think it depends on the RFM specialist and the campus. Sometimes she is placed with the smallest group, sometimes she is placed with her first choice. At least as far as I know.

A lot depends on where the other left over women would place. If she's the only one left, I'd say she goes to her first choice. Otherwise, it's how all the rest shake out so it's hard to say.

Thank you for your responses. This helps. So it is not by a rigid formula. I kept testing various variables to see if I could find a mathematical method that consistently worked. Now I know why it doesn't; the process has an arbitrary aspect to it! I love RFM and think it is leaps and bounds better than the old way....but I really do want to read a manual! Thanks, again, ladies.

snap bid?
 

My daughter is going thru recruitment and is seeing her favorites disappear each round and is feeling very disheartened. She still has a full schedule and I am encouraging her to be happy about the really strong chapters she still has on her list. However; there are a few she is really not loving that stay on her list each round. I am of course, anticipating the worst case scenario, so, for example, if she had 2 she really liked at Pref and one she really would not accept a bid from, what is the out come if she lists 2? If she got neither could she be eligible for a quota ad or a snap bid? I have never been clear about the difference. Thank you - I wish it were acceptable to have a glass of wine at work.....