Invite-only parties during informal rush?

[aephi alum]

Is it common to hold invite-only/pref parties during informal rush?

In the past at my school, my sorority has been the only one eligible to do COB. We always held about 3 open events, which we advertised generally as well as specifically inviting some of our unaffiliated friends, then we extended bids.

This year, the school is going to deferred rush, so every sorority is currently under total and holding fall informal rush for upperclasswomen and transfers. I found two sororities' rush schedules online. One sorority is holding 3-4 open events and then extending bids; the other is holding 3 open events, then an invite-only dinner, then pref (also invite-only). I thought this was a great idea - it's a shame that many PNMs going through informal rush never get to see pref ceremonies from the PNM side.

So - do a lot of sororities hold invite-only events during informal? Is everyone invited to pref then offered a bid, or do you invite a couple of extra people if you're near total (i.e. say total is 100 and you have 95 sisters, do you invite 5, or do you invite 7, bid 5, and if one of the 5 declines, you bid one of the other 2)?

Also, for the guys - do fraternities do anything similar, i.e. an invite-only party or dinner for the men you intend to bid?