[Sciencewoman]

It's a mid-October recruitment, and there is apparently a NPC no-contact rule once class starts. My take-away was that NALFO groups are getting a month or so head start recruiting members at the beginning of the school year, because they are not bound to the no-contact rule. I'm not sure when actual invitations to join are offered by the NALFO groups (before, during, or after NPC format recruitment).

ETA: Yes, SoCalGirl, your first paragraph is what I'm describing. In this case, I think the gap is actually more like a month.