Okay, thanks for the info! I was really just curious

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All the PNMs' pref cards are taped to a cork board. Each chapter advisor is given a number of darts equivalent to quota. The advisors form a queue. Each advisor tosses a dart at the board. If it hits a pref card listing the advisor's chapter, the PNM is matched to that chapter, the dart is removed from the advisor's allotment, and the card is taken down. If the dart hits a pref card that does not list the advisor's chapter, she retrieves the dart and goes to the end of the line. When a chapter meets quota, its advisor steps out of line. Bid matching ends when all the cards left on the cork board list only chapters that have made quota, and, well, those remaining PNMs are SOL unless a chapter that didn't meet quota wants to issue a snap bid.
</snarkmode>

Bahahah, that is a fantastic mental image

And the advent of computer bid matching just took all the fun out of it!

Well it also took out some of the late nights too. With every forward step we leave something behind.

Those of y'all who were involved in Bid Matching by hand know that there is no public satisfaction as wonderful as saying, "Match - and QUOTA!"

The new advisors always stood out because of their poor aim.

^^^
http://i.imgur.com/rN8o2.gif

Ya'll were having WAY too much fun.:p

There really isn't, a computer printout just isn't the same as Hand Matching. Yes, much MUCH faster, efficient and accurate (well, as long as the computers work properly!) but I'll never forget the joys of "Match" and "Quota"!

Not if it was another group that yelled it and we hadn't even gone all the way thru the cards yet.

I really love reading the NPC bid matching scenario threads. I'm not even lane swerving, just standing across the street watching with extreme interest from my front yard.

Question: it was mentioned that when PNMs are invited back to all rounds including Pref, it's an unspoken "we want you, let's convince you to list us as #1 if you aren't already there." I liken this to graduate school preview days, where your acceptance is your bid and the school really wants you to accept their acceptance.

Now, this can go 2 ways. If it's a house that's quite popular, your pref night could be in a cardboard box lit by glowsticks and PNMs are still ranking your house #1 in the finest penmanship. If it's a house that's meh, you really are making a sell to at least half the women attending. To me, it's most likely your chapter "wants" them*. It it's a struggling house your PNMs don't really care for or know about, that Pref is as hard a sell as your first round rush party. Am I right on this?

On to my asterisk: how does NPC define "want"? Is it an intrapersonal "the last few days getting to know you have been amazing, let's go steady" want, or a straightforward "our quota is a number we need to fill and we want you to be a member"? Or is this respective to the scenarios I listed above? In other words, are there chapters that, when bid matching (either by hand or machine) want everyone on their first bid list? Like over the moon, "she NEEDS to be my sister" want.

Also, is the machine matching so automated that you get women on your list that everyone's like "...oh, ok. yay :/"

By the time pref comes around, most groups have sorted to their main competitors. The women at the pref parties for the weak recruiting chapters generally have accepted that they won't be getting a bid to a strong recruiting chapter, and the parties are no more hard sell than your other parties. Maybe your really struggling chapter with a mandate to fill a quota or lose their chapter may come across that way, but for the most part it's about building relationships with people who have something in common with you. A few women will feel out of place at any given place, but most will feel like they are welcome. I haven't seen many collegians that are comfortable with or good at the prolonged or impassioned "hard sell." Most move on to talk about something else after a couple minutes.

Don't forget the Very Satisfied Smug Face!

Which helps the wounds from the poorly aimed dart heal much, much faster!

You've nailed the preference conversation conundrum of the ages. How do you go about closing the sale? You have to customize for each rushee. One, you have to love and you're going to be just the very best of friends for ever and ever. Another will respond to offers of leadership. One will respond to a businesslike approach of responsibilities and benefits. And some you just have to make understand that really, it's going to be ok even though you didn't get invited to pref at your dream chapter. Putting it down to numbers would seem crass, but I was told that because of my chapter's smaller size I would have opportunities for leadership sooner than in a larger chapter. They found what button to push!

Technically with RFM nobody should end up at your preference party that you don't already want, but with 150+ members in a chapter, there will definitely be a variation of opinion about every girl on the pledge list.