How does your school handle bidless PNMs on bid day?

[UGAalum94]

Although it's hard for me to imagine recruitment going on a SEC schools while classes are in session (I know that a couple of them do it), I do think of the big disadvantages of rush before school starts is that PNM have no perspective. Almost every single person you talk to is drinking the NPC Kool-Aid. (On some campuses, aren't the dorms only open to girls participating in recruitment until maybe the last weekend.)

I think having non-greek campus folks make contact with PNM who get cut or drop out could be a great step. There are always some campus activity leaders who aren't Greek who might even be honored to be asked to do this. Because they'd clearly be happy, involved, successful people, the PNMs would see that life goes on just fine.

[Ocalagirl]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I think having non-greek campus folks make contact with PNM who get cut or drop out could be a great step. There are always some campus activity leaders who aren't Greek who might even be honored to be asked to do this. Because they'd clearly be happy, involved, successful people, the PNMs would see that life goes on just fine.

I agree. It is really hard to listen to sympathy from greek members. It comes across that why am I not good enough to make it into one, but I am listening to a women who was good enough to get in. Sooner or later, you realize you are just as good as they are but it was just the luck of the draw you didn't get in. The other really hard part is that first week or so when you see everyone on campus in their bid day shirts and bags. I think a non-greek woman breaking the news would have come across alot better than a Rho Gamma calling for one minute to let you know you didn't get an invite.

[epchick]

At my school, Rho Chi's are suppose to call you before Bid Day if you didn't get a bid, so that you didn't show up to Bid Day.

I'm so sorry if this has been asked....but i was wondering if you guys can give me a run down (maybe in lay-man's terms? lol) of quota additions and what happens when girls don't get bids.

Here was my situation in the fall:

So supposedly there were 35 PNMs going through recruitment, and quota was set at 17. Well 17 + 17= 34, which meant that one lone PNM would be dropped from both groups (regardless of where she was placed on their list). (this is where it gets confusing). We according to what i was told, I was the 35th person to be matched, but by the time they had gotten to me quota had been filled (and i was told by each sorority that I had been on their "A" list), so I didn't get the bid. Supposedly, one sorority wanted me as their 18th person, but the other sorority wouldn't allow it because they wouldn't get the extra person. Wouldn't I have been considered a quota addition? It never really seemed logical to me, but BOTH sororities told me the same story, so I believed it.

How is this type of situation handled at your school?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by epchick

At my school, Rho Chi's are suppose to call you before Bid Day if you didn't get a bid, so that you didn't show up to Bid Day.

I'm so sorry if this has been asked....but i was wondering if you guys can give me a run down (maybe in lay-man's terms? lol) of quota additions and what happens when girls don't get bids.

Here was my situation in the fall:

So supposedly there were 35 PNMs going through recruitment, and quota was set at 17. Well 17 + 17= 34, which meant that one lone PNM would be dropped from both groups (regardless of where she was placed on their list). (this is where it gets confusing).

I tell every PNM who hears a "bid matching mistake" story from sorority members about why they didn't get a bid to ignore it because usually it's never the truth. They weren't there and most of the time, they don't really understand bid matching anyway.

I would like to think I understand bid matching well. Corect me if I'm wrong but:

This story is false. The extra girl wouldn't just be dropped. She'd be matched as a quota addition to one of the sororities (assuming she preffed and ranked both of them).

[epchick]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I tell every PNM who hears a "bid matching mistake" story from sorority members about why they didn't get a bid to ignore it because usually it's never the truth. They weren't there and most of the time, they don't really understand bid matching anyway.

I would like to think I understand bid matching well. Corect me if I'm wrong but:

This story is false. The extra girl wouldn't just be dropped. She'd be matched as a quota addition to one of the sororities (assuming she preffed and ranked both of them).

Oh actually what I meant was I didn't hear it from a sorority member, it happened to me---this fall (that is why I said "here is my situation"). I was the 35th person and I preffed both houses and ranked both of them. On Bid day I was told that I had been dropped by both sororities (actually, bid day started at 11:00 and I was contacted at 10:45, once I had already arrived at the school...lol). The story I wrote about was what was told to me by both sororities. They both said that there were no quota additions, and I was picked up as a COB right after bid day

[jwright25]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I tell every PNM who hears a "bid matching mistake" story from sorority members about why they didn't get a bid to ignore it because usually it's never the truth. They weren't there and most of the time, they don't really understand bid matching anyway.

Exactly. Regardless of who told you (epchick) that you were the "35th person," there's really no such thing. It's kinda hard to explain it all in detail here about mutual selection. Lists can be matched alphabetically or not, but there is no special order in which Panhellenic organizes them in 1-35 fashion. PM me if this doesn't make sense, and I'll try to go into more detail.

Quota Additions are allowed by NPC, but each individual campus Panhellenic must choose to participate - it is not a Unanimous Agreement. If your campus doesn't have a history of doing it, it makes sense that they didn't do it for your recruitment either. If your campus was using the new RFM procedures (which for two chapters on campus I doubt they were), the Specialist would have placed you at your top ranking chapter, assuming both chapters matched Quota.

To say that you were placed as a COR bid means that either your chapter was under Total even after recruitment (quite common) or one of the women who matched to them during recruitment declined her bid before her pledging ceremony (also quite common). If neither of these things are the case, chances are they decided to go ahead and make you a QA after the fact. Smaller campuses can make decisions like that when they are in the best interest of the PNM and the Greek System.

I know that you are curious about what happened in your situation, and I think it's great that you are trying to understand the process in more detail, but don't count on getting straight answers from collegians in your chapter or anyone on your campus unless they were involved in bid matching. AND even then, that process is intensely private, and the advisors involved are trusted not to speak of it.

[UGAalum94]

It seems really odd to me that they wouldn't have figured out to add her as a COB on bid day simply so she could have the full experience without this 35th person nonsense.

It seems like a campus that small with only two groups would work it out. It also seems to me that you'd set quota so that all girls who preffed could be placed.

It's a weird situation alright, but it all worked out!

I guess an issue has to actually occur before the campus knows how to handle it, and from now on, they will!

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

It seems really odd to me that they wouldn't have figured out to add her as a COB on bid day simply so she could have the full experience without this 35th person nonsense.

It seems like a campus that small with only two groups would work it out. It also seems to me that you'd set quota so that all girls who preffed could be placed.

It's a weird situation alright, but it all worked out!

I guess an issue has to actually occur before the campus knows how to handle it, and from now on, they will!

Exactly. It was a weird situation!. Its just a shame that only advisors were allowed in to the room, so no one really has an idea what happened, but it worked out for the best.

And you better believe that when the Panhellenic Council asked how recruitment could be done better, I made sure that they included quota additions. Even if the campus never utilizes it again, it will be good to be in the bylaws and make sure that it gets implemented.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

It seems like a campus that small with only two groups would work it out. It also seems to me that you'd set quota so that all girls who preffed could be placed.

I thought quota was set by dividing the number of PNMs - who attended at least one preference party - by the number of chapters. So in this case, the number would have been 17.5 (35/2 = 17.5). Since you can't bid 17.5, the number is rounded up to 18. However, and in theory, this would mean that only one chapter could make quota (18 [quota] + 17 = 35).

I believe this is where "quota range" is suppose to help. Which also is part of the new release method right? Quota would be set at 17 and one chapter would bid 17 and the other bid 18. Thus both chapters get to report back to their HQ that they made quota (17).

[dukemama]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I think having non-greek campus folks make contact with PNM who get cut or drop out could be a great step. There are always some campus activity leaders who aren't Greek who might even be honored to be asked to do this. Because they'd clearly be happy, involved, successful people, the PNMs would see that life goes on just fine.

Speaking as one who has been there, amen to that!

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I think having non-greek campus folks make contact with PNM who get cut or drop out could be a great step. There are always some campus activity leaders who aren't Greek who might even be honored to be asked to do this. Because they'd clearly be happy, involved, successful people, the PNMs would see that life goes on just fine.

I know it's weird to quote myself, but I wanted to make clear that I didn't imagine the non-greeks doing the actual notifying of not getting bids, but that they could follow up with girls who didn't end up matching. sort of like the paired up Rho Gammas and bidless girls, but maybe one better because it would be a totally new option on campus.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Yeah, that was kinda my thinking when I first posted it. I don't know who you'd pick, exactly...unless you had one non-Greek Rho Chi in each group from the beginning.

[KSUViolet06]

Nothing anyone says is particularly comforting to a girl who is dealing with what is quite possibly the first rejection she's ever had in her life.

In addition, I think that having a non Greek say stuff like "You can have fun at college without being in a sorority. I'm involved in governement, rec league soccer, etc" is not going to comfort her. If she wanted government or soccer, she would've joined that in the first place.

It's like when people suggest that girls join other groups on GC when girls go bidless. It doesn't help because it's not what they want. She wants bigs/littles, date parties, block seating at football games, formal, etc.

I think a preofessional counselor being available is a good idea though because they are a trained professional.

[exlurker]

A question about "bidlessness" in general:

Not long ago some college Panhellenics had "guaranteed placement" policies and procedures, as I understand it. On those campuses, if a PNM was invited to preference and maximized her options, she would get a bid.

Are these "guaranteed placement" policies disappearing? Increasing? Or staying about the same, just depending on the campus?

My sense of how this works (worked) -- in theory -- is that it eliminated being bidless after going through pref. It wouldn't prevent a PNM from being cut from all chapters before pref, thoough.

(These practices -- again, as I understand it -- didn't guarantee getting a first choice. However, a woman who made it to preference would get a bid to one of the chapters that invited her to pref, as long as she listed every chapter she preffed on her card. No guarantees if a PNM intentional-single-preferenced. On the other hand, if a PNM got invited to only one chapter for pref, and listed that chapter, she would get a bid from them.)

[fantASTic]

..Isn't that a bit unfair to the sororities? If they discuss it and decide they don't want her, she could potentially be taking another NM's spot in that sorority.