Thank you for the link. There are so many things in it that make me happy and make me want to scream.

This one is a screamer: "Also, when determining chapter total on a campus with one chapter that is significantly below total, a Panhellenic may want to choose MCS, or use ACS but remove that chapter’s number from its calculation."

Am I wrong in thinking that removing the weaker chapter from the equation makes total higher, putting them even more behind?

Also, I know that it says that RFM started as a pilot in 2003 but I know that retention figures were used going into Pref to determine number of invites when I was in school. It stands out in my mind because we had an advisor who got the call with our number excitedly tell us that we needed to cut more girls. We freaked because we were not as strong of a recruiting chapter as we had once been. She tried to reassure us but our bid numbers were low that year.

Finally, does RFM have any mechanism in place to override or adjust figures? I'm thinking of the situation where a historically SRC has some drama go down that "poisons the well". They would normally have to cut more women but suddenly they're the WRC and need a bigger pool to try to hit quota.

That's what the flex lists, plus and minus, are for. If a chapter has unexpectedly strong returns then the minus list is used to cut more PNMs. If a chapter has a weaker than expected return number then the plus list is used to add invitations.

But really, I would say that listing C means you don't have to make a decision immediately. If you get C, you can see how you feel once you've gotten some sleep, met your pledge sisters, gotten started with classes, etc. Whereas not listing C, and ending up bidless, can mean never getting to go Greek on a lot of campuses.

Often when I am super-stressed about a decision, the most comforting thing is knowing I can delay the decision. Listing all three on your bid card does that, in a way.

I would never have guessed that.
I wonder when they will come up with a new word for "bid"? ;)

Listing C and pledging to see how you feel about them later also makes her ineligible for any COB possibilities for a year.

Yes, so it's obviously campus dependent, but a lot of us know that formal recruitment in your freshman year is how 99% of women join chapters in the SEC.

It's been called the MRABA forever. That's the technical name for the contract the girls are signing. Most of the girls just don't ever realize what they're signing or why. But I know it was called the MRABA in 1984, so unless you're way older than that, you just didn't know that was what it was called.

If this chapter is that far in the hole, they're going to have bids to give out a while after FR is over.

Like ladybug12 said, better to get 30 with a 60 quota who truly like the sorority, rather than getting 75, half of which you're doing the equivalent of begging a toddler to eat their vegetables everyday. It's really upsetting and debilitating for a chapter to have women drop like flies during pledgeship. It's also not fair to the girls who really do want to be there. They get overlooked when you're trying to talk the on-the-fencers into staying.

Starting with this fall's 2015 formal recruitment, PNMs at Kentucky may attend up to two chapters for preference. This is down from previous years when a PNM could attend up to three preference parties.

What would be the reasoning behind this? I believe that historically, most PNMs get placed in their first choice. A much smaller number are placed with their second choice. And an even smaller number with their third choice. Does moving to two preferences “help” the PNMs and/or the chapters?

FYI: The rounds go from 13 (open house) to 10 to 6 to 2 (preference). Also, there will be a recolonization after formal recruitment.

We only preffed 2 chapters max when I went through recruitment, and there were 17 groups.

There's something about getting a 3rd choice out of 3 that seems much more deflating than getting your 2nd choice out of 2. I think this is a good move for the chapters and the PNMs, especially with a colonization following recruitment.

I don't disagree, but there's a big difference between Suzie Southerner who would be MORTIFIED to return to her hometown wearing the "wrong" letters, and will never stay in chapter C; and Wendy Westcoaster who really *did* like the women she met in chapter C but has heard a ton of negative tent talk.

Good riddance to Suzie. Wendy can probably punt and see how she feels in a week. Women are stressed out and sleep-deprived and isolated when signing bid cards, and things may look different a week later.

Because let's be honest, if chapters A and B are top chapters, they are NOT going to be bidding women through COR any time soon.

It depends on what the COB environment looks like on your campus. If there are groups that may COB, but weren't among your pref parties, then you could be better off not putting down C. If you don't put down C, you are able to attend COB at houses that aren't A, B, or C.

If you put down C and are given a C bid, you are bound to that bid for one year. If you don't put down C and don't get a C bid, and X or Y or Z have COB, then you can attend those COB events and take a COB bid if one is offered.

If you are on a campus where COB is practically unheard of, and you want to try and can be positive while you try, then putting down C is a not a bad idea.

Even if you don't list C, though, if they don't make quota, then they are probably doing COB. You can go back to C during COB and give them a second look, without committing to anything.

except
 

I see your point MP BUT if you have ever had to do a snap bid list it is usually women that the Chapter has already released. In theory it makes sense but in practice it is difficult to find women the Chapter would be willing to extend a bid to.

If it were my daughter I wouldn't have her list C if she absolutely can not see herself there. Her chances on getting C IMO are greater then being a quota addition because C will fill at a slower rate IF it is a WRC.

Interestingly, the number of women who put chapter C down or don't put chapter C down can actually affect quota, which in turn affects their chances of being placed at A or B.

For a GROSSLY simplified example of how this could happen:

Fifteen women go to A, B, and C for pref.

If all fifteen list all three, quota is five and all three chapters make it.

If ten list all three, and the remaining five list only A and B, and those five are the highest on both A and B's list, quota is five and all three chapters make it.

If ten list all three, and the remaining five list only A and B, and those five are the lowest on both A and B's list, a quota of five now only places ten women, with five unmatched. Raising quota to 6 now places twelve women, with three unmatched. Lowering quota to 4 places ten women, with five unmatched, but better balances the chapters. The quota-setters have to make a tough call about whether to place more women at the expense of parity.

Of course, no example is this simple and there are other chapters in the mix, etc., but it is indeed true that, in the aggregate, PNM decisions can affect their chances.