Yep! Me too
My chapter had an open spot and after hanging out with some friends I already had in the house, I expressed my interest in joining. They extended me a bid and the rest is history. But in other cases we have little get-togethers during study break with ice cream or invite girls over for dinner to get to know them and they can see the house, etc. Then if we extend bids to them they can accept.
It happens after formal recruitment too, but it's not isolated to that time period.