Quote:
Originally Posted by Giuliana
KappaKitty- I appreciate the marathon analogy, since I'm a runner!  Thanks for your encouraging post- you're right that running is all about competing against myself. I know I'm not guaranteed a bid, especially since I won't know any of the girls there, but since ASU is so huge, I'm not worried about missing out on social events if I don't get a bid. And I can always sneak into the frat parties, right?  --- kidding, of course!
Question- what is RFM?  |
Sounds like you have a great attitude.
Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but I believe that RFM stands for Release Figure Method. Basically it's the use of a complex mathematical formula to determine for each chapter how many women they need to release at the end of each round of recruitment. The numbers are based on the chapter's size and return rates and many other factors over a number of years. The idea is to prevent PNMs from being strung along by the "top" chapters and then suffering massive cuts right before pref.
What RFM means for PNMs is that they're more likely to suffer massive cuts early on but then hold steady-ish for the rest of recruitment. You'll see examples of this in many of the more recent recruitment stories here. At a campus with 9 sororities, for example, a woman might be cut down to 5 houses after the first round (harsh seeming), but then have 4 houses after the second round and a full slate of parties for preference. The benefit for PNMs is that they know early on which chapters are really interested in them. That way they can pay more attention and make a better choice without being distracted by chapters that, for whatever reason, have no intention of bidding them in the first place.
Hope this helps.