What do you think about COB??
 

So I'm starting a new thread because I hadn't found one pertaining to this... so sorry if this has already been discussed!!

I was just interested in what everyone thinks about COB (Continuous Open Bidding.) Out of the thirteen sororities at my school, only the few who didn't make quota participate... and my sorority has never participated so I'm not very familiar with it.

Right now one of my friends is participating in COB and, after attending just one event at a house where she had only known one girl, she was told she would attend another event and that then she would receive a bid. Maybe I'm just biased because I went through formal recruitment, but I don't know how I feel about that. I know that COB can be positive, but I can't imagine that any house would feel comfortable inviting a girl into their chapter having only met her once. How do you know you have the right girls and not just the ones that wanted to end up in a house?? (I mean, it's hard enough to choose the right girls after four days of socials in formal recruitment!!)

Again, maybe I'm just biased because I went through formal... (days of socials, dresses, running to houses in heels, R.C.'s, hollerin' fraternity men and all!!) :D As stressful as that was, I just can't imagine it any other way. Then again, as I said, I'm not really familiar with COB so maybe it's just my school... how do you all feel about COB?? Would you prefer it to formal recruitment??:D

I would prefer a hybrid between formal and informal. Maybe PHC has an official name for it that i don't know. I like that informal you can have a relaxed, well maybe more relaxed, time and a lot less stressed.

But there is no way that i would accept a bid after just meeting someone one time, nor would i extend a bid to someone after meeting them just once. I really don't think that you can get to know someone that quickly, unless you have seen them outside of rush. if that is the case them maybe i could understand. But that does not sound like your friends situation.

I think there are a lot of wonderful qualities in informal rush, but i would need to meet someone a lot more than once before i extended them a bid.

Hope everything works our for your friend.

COB or COR is different on every campus
 

I see what you are saying, but on the flip side your friend knows someone in the chapter so that counts for a lot in COB at most schools. Also, often a chapter that is COBing actually spends more time getting to know a PNM because there is more chance for one-on-one time, more in depth conversations, going out in "real life" situations --- as a result the time spent with a COB PNM usually adds up to more time spent with the Formal Recruitment PNM before bidding.


Here are a few good discussions on how the process varies from school to school:


http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...s+Open+Bidding

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...s+Open+Bidding

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...s+Open+Bidding

I think that in a lot of cases the girls that we got through COB turned out to be much better sisters and contributed more to the chapter. Perhaps maybe b/c we got to know them much better through COB than through formal rush.

Almost every chapter on my campus COBs.

Don't knock it until you've tried it :) There are a lot of fabulous women out there who never thought about going greek until someone invited them to a COB event. There's also a lot of great women who don't want to deal with the hassle and fakeness of rush. Can't say that I blame them.

I would think that each chapter must set their own parameters as to when giving a bid is an option during COB. I know that at one of the schools that I advise, a PNM must come to at least 2 COB events before being offered a bid; at other places, I've seen girls get bids the same night as when they came to the party...because either they know the person already or whatever.

With COB it is very hard to set steadfast rules. We bidded some women who came to no formal events, they'd hung out with sisters and such, knew a lot of women in the house.Other times we had women who came to 5 events, but you never really were able to get to know them, and perhaps didn't bid them. Iliked that we were flexible and not the superficial formal rush. To be honest I like the idea of formal rush NOW, my frosh year however, it would have terrified me and I would never have had the greek experience I've had.

It depends on the person. I really do like the idea of having both,but without the negative connotation.

as a collegiate
 

i loved formal recruitment, and i still love it now as an advisor. i like the pomp and circumstance, the glitz and the structure. it's not that i don't like cor-i just feel more comfortable in that structured setting.

to address your friends situation, maybe the bid information your friend heard was just general information about how that particular sorority(or chapter) operates. in other words, maybe what was said was something to the effect of"we will be having several cor events the next two weeks. we'll be extending bids throughout the process but only after "you" have attended at least 2 events." and maybe they shared that information with the pnms because several had inquired about the bid process, or just because the sorority wanted the pnms to understand how the process works at their house.

some chapters flourish in the structured recruitment setting while others are great at informal encounters with pnms. it takes all kinds!!lisa

Well, in my opinion, it's good and bad.

Good because:

-Much less structured, so you can take a girl out to dinner or hang out with her and watch TV and get to know her better than over the course of 3 parties where you talked to her for a total of 25 minutes.

-There are girls intimidated by the fall formal recruitment that are more likely to come out, so it's like being able to do recruitment twice and meeting more girls than other groups.

Bad because:
-Unfortunately here, not everyone does COR, so it's kind of looked down on by certain chapters. It's chapters that didn't make quota during fall rush, mostly, and those that graduate a LOT of seniors. (Example- We didn't make quota last fall. DZ graduated like 20something girls last December I think.)

-Sometimes it's hard to meet girls and get them to come to events you hold, especially if you're an upperclassman. Example: I'm a junior, and most girls I meet now are either already in a sorority or don't want to be.


As far as giving bids, we try to have a girl come to at least 3-4 events before extending one. Even though you get to talk to them more casually, you still want to meet them a few times just to make sure they're not cookoo.

Anyway, COR is a lot like formal recruitment: it's got its pros and cons, and they pretty much balance out.

I think it's important to note that often times cob events provide the chapter with more quality time with PNM than formal rush.

Think about it. From my personal experiences, only a few members get to meet a rushee during formal. If everyone gets to meet a PNM, then it is probably a very brief introduction. In COB, more members have longer periods of time to meet with PNMs.

I actually think that in terms of actually getting to know a PNM, COB is more effective. You get them in a real-life situation instead of a sterile, 20 minute conversation on their major and hometown. In COB, you get to see how they interact with members. You get to see how they are in a social setting. I would say you stand a better chance of seeing someone's personality in COB than if you go through all rounds of formal.

Of course, some people like myself, HATE formal. It made me feel SO uncomfortable. COB always gave me the opportunity to get a personal feel for the PNM. It was also how I joined. I did not like the structure of formal. It was extremely intimidating. COB makes a lot of people more comfortable.

I am glad that there are both formal and informal recruitment methods in the NPC.

Our chapter also seems to do better with COB. We're the only chapter currently not at total, so we are the only chapter doing COB. We've gotten some really awesome girls through it. Our chapter policy is that the PNM has to have been over to our house at least 2 times in order to receive a bid. No exceptions. It's very laid-back at my chapter. Last weekend we held 2 COB events. We made root beer floats and watched the Breakfast Club. The next day we all went bowling.

I think COB can definately be a good thing. Not only is it easier for the sisters to meet and watch the PNM in social settings, it's easier for the PNM to meet the sisters, see what they're like, and get a good idea of the sisterhood in the chapter.

yes, it was the same in our chapter. fall and spring were always a little different though.

in fall, all of the chapters participated. the chapters currently at total were only allowed to take 5 (which i ENTIRELY disagreed with), but by the time graduations and summer drop outs happened, most chapters weren't at total anyhow, so they just took enough to fill total. there was a unified bid day set by panhellenic and every house had a certain number of parties that were open and then usually 1 ot 2 invite only parties. they also used a form of release figures as well as informal recruitment is VERY popular on our campus (in fall '01, more women participated in informal recruitment than formal)

in spring after bid day, we would basically COB up until around 2 weeks before intiation. we also had the rule that a woman had to come to at least 2 events before we would bid her. we did this in order to get to know the woman (and from experience, i can tell you that you can get to know more about a pnm in 2 informal events than in an entire formal recruitment), and to make sure we did freak her out by making it seem we were coming on too strong :) and we ALWAY had more success in informal recruitment anyway, but i think that is changing :)

The way COB works here is very very weird. We (the sororities) cannot hold recruitment parties other than those during formal rush. When we COB girls, we are COBing girls who either a) signed independent b) did not bid match or c) are off quota (side note: this usually happens in the even that you forget to include a girl on your off quota list..like we did! woops!). The second night we have our pledges (always a monday), the active chapter sits down and goes over the list of possible COB's. Actives usually champion girls who got cut or overlooked during formal, and they are extended a bid through the Greek Life office.

Several of our girls suicided a sorority that is very different from ours, and weren't offered bids. But Tau Delta offered them one and they accepted. I was cut from every house after novelty round,rejected during bid match, and then extended a bid from Tau Delta even after I was told that I didn't match. I'm so glad I accepted!

It seems like there really are a lot of positive things about COB... especially getting to know girls. I never thought about the fact that, even though you may see the PNMs fewer times, you probably do get a better idea from seeing them interact with the chapter as a whole... not just a few girls talking about "What's your major?? Where are you from?? Where'd you go to high school??" (We go to thirteen parties on our first day of formal recruitment... and let's say on average you talk to three girls... you have that same conversation 39 TIMES!! :eek: )

Still, it seems a little unfair to the girls who go through a week of recruitment for others to only go to a dinner or out a couple times and receive a bid. It just seems so easy. But I guess it doesn't matter as long as your numbers where they need to be!!

It's just weird for me to hear these stories of chapters actually doing better through COB than formal recruitment... that's not the way it is here at all. During recruitment last fall, quota was 62 and only three houses didn't make it. (They're all VERY strong... so I can't imagine they were more than a few girls short.) I guess we're lucky to be so strong here at Mizzou!! (Over 1000 girls went through recruitment last semester!! :D And I was one of them!!)

Well I just thought I would add my two cents into this topic. When I was active, my campus was fairly dependent on COR. There were 6 NPC sororities on campus and the two other sororities that did not participate in formal recruitment. The problem was that the campus was not exactly supportive of greek life. So much of the time the numbers were low in terms of women signing up for fall recruitment. So my chapter would end up with some new members through formal recruitment, but were generally in need of finding more.

COR worked great on my campus cause it gave a chance for us to find those women who might thinking badly of greek life because of what they heard from the university or their roommate or their family or their friends. We were able to show them how wonderful greek life really is. I found much of the time we did get to know the pnm better through COR... Especially cause many of the events on our campus were a handful of sisters (10 or so) hanging out with the 2-3 pnms at a time. These types of events really let you get to know the pnms. Then we also would have larger events where the whole chapter was present. Yet they would last for multiple hours and the pnms were just hanging out with our chapter that night. As a result again you got to know them better then the 15-40 minute parties my campus had for formal recruitment.

The only problem I have ever really found on my campus is with COR, is that sometimes women will only go to one sorority's events and not get along with them then avoid greek life from there on all together. As on many campuses our sororities vary greatly in terms of their sisters, so just because they don't fit into one chapter does not mean they won't fit into greek life.

There's more to formal recruitment than just talking to "5-7 minutes per person about the same things" though. (Although we all know that does happen!) You spend a week going to all the houses, talking to girls from all of them, making cuts and dealing with the rejection of (potentially) not getting asked back. You have to go through some of these things in COB, too... but in formal, you're in a position where you're competing in a huge group of girls for a limited number of spots in the house. In COB, chapters often only invite the girls they know they are interested in.

I think whether you prefer COB or formal recruitment depends on everything from your chapter, your school, and your individual's preference (ex: some girls are more comfortable without all the frills and such of formal)... there's so many factors that determine the best way to recruit...

your individual's preference

I would just like to recognize the fact that I can't type today. "indivdual's"?? That makes no sense!! :D

My chapter got one of the best presidents we ever had through COB--she was incredibly organized and did so much for the chapter when we needed it. So I think COB can be a good thing.

I do understand the argument that it might not seem "fair" to the girls who went through formal rush, but COB might actually be more nerve-wracking because there are fewer PNMs and the sisters' attention is focused on them. I don't know. I never did COB as a PNM because I went through formal, but my chapter depended heavily on it at first right after I joined because we had just recolonized and were trying to get off the ground. The way we did it was we had TV nights, dinners at the house, or outings to Dairy Queen, etc. that PNMs could attend. I usually saw PNMs around the house several times before they received a bid, so it wasn't like they could just show up at the door and be greeted with an invitation to join.

One final note, though--I think COB sort of has a negative connotation, at least on the campus I went to. If a sorority "has" to COB, that means they're either 1) new, or 2) not doing very well. The sororities who make quota don't COB. So...yeah.

I have to agree with JocelynC. While there are only a few meetings with the chapter, they generally last a lot longer than formal recruitment parties. I joined ADPi through COR, and I was there at each event for at least a couple of hours.. not at all like formal where I would have gone to a 30-minute party and talked to 5 people for 6 minutes each.

I have nothing against formal recruitment.. in fact, I LOVED doing formal recruitment. So I'm not saying one is better than the other, just saying that it's not always "easy" to get a bid through COR versus formal recruitment.

In COR, chapters are still looking for a good fit for the chapter and for all the things they look for in members during formal recruitment, so sometimes women do go bidless in COR. And COR isn't only for women who the chapter already likes or know. I knew of one person in the chapter when I joined ("knew of" because I met her the semester before, but we had lost touch)... and none of my Alpha class had any connections to chapter members before we went to COR events.

I will admit that I think I get to know girls better through COB/COR. I am more sure of whether or not I want them to be a sister in an environment. I actually think that with my college chapter, we were harder on the girls who went through COB/COR than we were on the ones who came through Formal Recruitment, so I definitely don't think it's easier to get a COB/COR bid than a Formal Recruitment bid.

Formal Recruitment is a lot of fun in that you meet a lot of people all at once. I get more excited about Formal Recruitment than I do about COB. But my senior year, we got quota and went over total, so we couldn't do COB the entire year. It kinda sucked, because I wanted to meet some new girls!

I'll chime in w/ the group that doesn't think COB is negative. In fact, I never knew there was any negativity associated w/ COB until I found GreekChat.

On my campus, COB was really our campus' informal Spring recruitment. We had formal in the Fall, and then after the December graduation, all the sororities had spots to fill, so everyone picked up a Spring pledge class. No big deal.

I don't think COBs are any less competitive, either. At our COB's, we'd have a limited # of spots to fill, but we'd always have waaaay more ladies show up. For example, when my little sister came through her COB, we had 6 spots to fill, and we had over 50 girls show up. Of course that's hard on the ones that don't/aren't going to get a bid.

That's exactly how it is here. Or in some cases, groups who made quota but were still not at total after formal often COB'd a small # of girls a few weeks afterward to get them to total. Also, we usually don't get a high turnout for formal rush anyway (this fall was a low 140 girls), so you almost have to COR if you want to reach/maintain total.

And to apologize-I never meant to imply that formal rush is easier by any means. I've done it on the sister side and I'm sure it's no easier on the rushee end. Formal is difficult as well because you have so many choices and decisions and you have such a short time to really process alot of the things that happen. You literally have 4-5 parties to make a good impression, and that is hard.

COR is difficult because you spend time with the chapter in a natural setting and there are fewer PNM's and more sisters, and you feel like they're really watching you to see if you fit with their more natural surrounding.

STL Kappa- You're right, it just depends on your greek system. Mizzou gets thousands of PNM's in the fall so there's virtually no real need to COR. It's the opposite of my school where most girls actually PREFER to wait until COR time to check out sororities. All that matters is that we're all getting quality women to strengthen our sisterhood with. :)

BEING GREEK IS JUST AWESOME... WHO CARES HOW WE END UP THAT WAY, RIGHT?!?!

Apparently I felt strongly enough to type that in caps... but it's true!! I think it really just depends on your school. Since COB/COR is not the norm here, I guess it's seen as more of a negative thing. (Which is unfortunate I suppose, considering all of the reasons why people love it!!) If it was a school where the majority of chapters participated, it would undoubtedly be seen in a way different light...

LOL, that's okay! My keyboard's been acting up like that too, lately :)

As for the "formal rush" vs. COB debate, I don't think you'll ever get a proponent of one method to come out and say that the other method is just as good.

Looking back at my personal experience, formal rush worked very well for me because A) I was cute (please keep in mind, this was loooooong ago :D ) B) I was extremely outgoing and C) I knew how to play the rush game.

Once I started pledging, my sisters figured out what a snotty little beotch I was and how uninterested I was in learning sorority history and I can only imagine the Exec Board discussions they must have had about me! Do you remember the quote from Otter in Animal House, "I was so obnoxious the seniors used to beat me up once a week"? That was (figuratively) me! But hey, it was easy to hide my attitude during the superficial chatter that takes place during formal rush parties. At least at the parties I wanted to be at.

We'd usually COB a few girls in January to make up for December graduates and the girls that came in through COB did so after meeting everyone in a much more relaxed, natural atmosphere. Everyone is more interested in getting to know the rushees and less worried about everyone's Polo shirts being the exact same shade of pink or if so-and-so remembered to pick up the helium tank to fill the balloons. Even if there aren't as many parties, I think the ones there are have more "substance" if you will.

At the end of the day, though, it doesn't matter how someone joined the sorority. In National's eyes, everyone is equal. It's like that joke, "What do you call the person who finishes last in their medical school class? The answer being, "Doctor". Same as the person who finished first.

Spring Rush
 

When I was at UK back in the late 1970's, there was always a spring rush. I have good friends that were members of nine of the thirteen chapters and I recall that each chapter rushed in the spring. Similar to what AXiD670 noted.

That's pretty much exactly how it is on our campus--our events are things like PMS (Pizza, Movies and Sisterhood) nights, going out to dinner etc. And the reasons why COB/R is viewed negatively are right on.

I can understand the potential negative connotation for a COB/R after formal, but what about spring rush to fill the chapter?

And does this apply to snap bids? If a chapter doesn't make quota through bid matching and snap bids to quota, is that looked down on as well?

Note: I am not passing any judgment at all. I just find this very fascinating.

Doesn't snap bidding happen at the end of bid matching?

My understanding is that a chapter may snap bid when they do not reach quota during formal rush. And that while in most cases, it isn't necessarily known if a chapter snap bids to get to quota, however, sometimes it is. (I know that when I was an undergrad, I often knew which chapters offered snap bids. Again, maybe because it wasn't looked down on.)

I have read so many times on GC about ABC chapter that made quota and then snap bids or COBs to get to total. And everyone is so happy for the chapter.

So what I don't understand is what difference does it make *how* a chapter gets to quota? Be it right after formal rush or during the year.

Why would a chapter be looked down on for COBing to get to quota/total during the year while snap bidding to do so is not. Especially during the 'off' semester when formal rush does not take place.

My uneducated guess is that it may simply be a natural competitiveness among the sororities. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I don't understand why anyone would "look down" at a way to get great members! And just because it may not be a "cool" thing to do at your school doesn't mean that it hasn't been very successful and "cool" at other schools.

I think that anyone that looks down upon a way to get new sisters, that in most cases lets you get to know them much better than in formal recruitment, has major problems and needs to take a fall off their high horse. Looking down your nose like that only makes you live up to the sorority stereotypes.

And COB certainly isn't easier than formal recruitment. The COB PNMs (for lack of better term) a lot of times spend MORE time with the sorority than they would during recruitment. They don't have the BS things to talk about like how they like rush so far, blah blah blah. They're not going to talk to someone for 5 minutes then have a bump to a new sister. There's less going on and it's more about them and the sister, not the decorations, skits, etc.

Some of you are talking out both sides of your mouth. You're saying oh, any way to get new members is great, then you turn around and trash talk that it's not fair b/c it's easier to COB (which is false, btw) or whatever else you're knocking COB for.

Re: Spring Rush
 

Unfortunately, they quit doing that before my time. Now the only formal rush is in the fall, but groups can COB at any time throughout the school year. My chapter had a Spring Rush the semester after I joined, but it was only us doing it and it was actually a week-long COB event because we were new and had spaces to fill.

Unfortunately, that's the way it is. My chapter's like, "Yay, new members!" for COB. We have fun with COB events, and it's a good time for all. IMO, it's definitely got advantages over formal recruitment because a) it's less stressful on active members and b) even though a PNM has to maybe go to more events where she feels more carefully scrutinized, by the time she is extended a bid, she already knows plenty of people in the chapter. I'm not saying COB doesn't work well for us or other chapters here or elsewhere, or that it's easier than formal recruitment; it's actually working very well for us this semester and it's been a lot of work. Certain situations, like Auburn's uber-competetive PH atmosphere, just make it more difficult because of the conotations other sororities place on it (explained below). And believe me, at least a few girls from other sororities have told PNM's "You're COBing? Let me tell you, you don't want to go to ABC chapter. In fact, why don't you go through formal rush next fall? I can help get you into my chapter," and such.

Some chapters here see it as "Oh, you mean you didn't make quota during fall recruitment?" or "You don't know you're going to be able to replace your graduating seniors and then some during fall recruitment?" These are also the chapters that have been here 75+ years and have oodles of legacies (and double and triple and quadruple legacies whose great-grandma was a founding sister here or something) just dying to get in that they have to turn away (or else they have bid lists full of nothing but legacies and still legacies turned away). They know that they can pick and choose who they want because everyone wants to be an XYZ at Auburn because every woman in her family has been for the last 3 generations. The only time I can even imagine those chapters doing COB is a situation like we had right before DG came back onto campus and AU PH told everyone they could to get up to total.

The situation does suck for us and other chapters here like Gamma Phi and DG. Completely. That's the biggest problem with COB at places like Auburn. There's that, and the fact that it's so hard for people like me to meet new girls to bring to events. Most girls I meet through classes and campus organizations are either a) already in a sorority or b) decided long ago they didn't want to be (said it earlier in the thread, I don't care).

Re: Re: Spring Rush
 

I should have added that UK's 'Spring Rush' was informal. Formal was in the fall before school started. However, at the start of the spring semester, there would usually be an announcement in The Kentucky Kernel and the monthly Greek paper (Greek Columns?) by UK's Panhellenic Council announcing open rush. Frankly, I didn't pay attention as to whom or how it worked for the system as a whole or what kind, if any, structure was in place campus wide. What I do recall is that some chapters would have open houses while others had invite only parties.

And by the way GO CATS!

TSTeven: Girls who get snap bids should never know they were "snap bids." Snap bidding occurs between the end of bid matching and whenever the PNMs meeting their sorority commences. The girls who were snap bidded are with the new pledge class just like everyone else. Although in ubercompetitive rush atmospheres, I'm sure that among the sororities there can be looking down upon those who have to "resort" to it.

COBing happens outside of the formal rush window.

I always thought girls that were snap bidded knew they were snap bids, but the sisters in the sorority never knew who they were. At my school, for example, if a girl doesn't sign her bid card, but a chapter that had her on their bid list didn't make quota, she could get offered a snap bid and choose to accept it. She knows she's a snap bid but no one else in the sorority should except for possibly the recruitment chair.

You're probably right...I think I was just trying to say that by the time public bid matching happens, if there is one, everyone's together.

Quota additions are not known outside of whoever does bid matching. Snap bids are offered to a girl from a chapter that had her on their bid list but she did not have them on her bid card.

I know for a fact this is what happened with a high school friend of mine when I was a sophomore and she was a freshman.

She attended the three preference parties and ended up suiciding ABC. When she didn't receive a bid from ABC, she was offered a snap bid by XYZ.

She called me in tears wanting to get my impression of the XYZ chapter. She reasoned that since XYZ offered her a snap bid, then they must not have made quota. She then 'made the leap' and assumed that something must be wrong with XYZ. The interesting thing is that XYZ was one of the "top" chapters on campus. So I assured her there wasn't anything wrong, etc. and she accepted her bid.

Once she walked in the chapter's door, she never regretted joining and continues to enjoy her sisterhood to this day.

What a great story! I wish more people would be open to the idea of snap bids on my campus. Since the Greek Affairs advisor has been at the school (8 years) she has never had someone accept a snap bid.