[WhiteRose1912]

Eh, if it's coming down to reputation issues, taking a few weeks to realize the chapter women are ordinary people, just like her, can really make a difference. This might be a YMMV situation. I haven't dealt with a lot of "shoppers".

I think it'd be interesting to see how this rule applies on minimally-structured recruitment campuses. For partially- or fully-structured recruitments, formal rush is the preferred method to get a bid--you get a chance to meet every sorority and mutually select your best fit. COBing is to fill spots left over by poor formal performance or retention/graduation. It's not less-than to get a COB bid, but COBs are secondary to formal recruitment. The rule accounts for the bids coming in midway through a recruitment year.