How does your school handle bidless PNMs on bid day?

[carnation]

In the nineties, I talked with a Pi Phi at a private college that had a quota much higher than the number of PNMs rushing would suggest. Three sororities there had folded, while 6 were still around. The Pi Phi told me that the huge quotas were due to the college president's mandate because he wanted all the PNMs to be happy...I don't know if this included ruling that any girl could get a bid where she wanted but it seemed to stop just short of it.

[lauralaylin]

Originally Posted by susan314

That's horrible! I'm surprised that the advisors/national reps from the sororities on campus didn't fight that a little more.

Well, it's not a big Greek campus, but I'm pretty sure that the everyone knows about this on a national level. I don't know the specifics as I didn't really get involved too much with this chapter (I was already advising another one), but I think this is just the way things are here. They also allowed a huge amount of rush violations this past year because there's no GA either and the administration don't care. It's just all screwed up.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

I *have* heard of chapters dirty rushing by telling PNMs to drop out of recruitment and go through informal and they would be given a bid to XYZ that way.

This was a HUGE problem on my campus. Certain chapters would tell girls to drop out and go through informal. The Rho Chi's had to have an emergency meeting about it last year because HALF of their groups were saying "I'm dropping out and going XY through informal."

Of course they couldn't twist their arms and make them stay. So these girls would drop out, thinking that come next week, they'd be XY's. Wrong. XY would fill quota plus and hit total. All those girls who were told that they should come to informal were devastated because XY was totally full and there wasn't going to be any informal (except for a few spots in the spring).

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

IBME that chapter members do not know where a PNM is placed on the bid list. So I don't know if intentionally putting Sally PNM at the bottom of the list to guarantee a QA would work.

It would not, because you don't know where she is on anyone else's bid list.

[PenguinTrax]

Originally Posted by carnation

In the nineties, I talked with a Pi Phi at a private college that had a quota much higher than the number of PNMs rushing would suggest. Three sororities there had folded, while 6 were still around. The Pi Phi told me that the huge quotas were due to the college president's mandate because he wanted all the PNMs to be happy...I don't know if this included ruling that any girl could get a bid where she wanted but it seemed to stop just short of it.

Even at FSU where they guarantee placement if you complete Recruitment, cut is cut. Quota is set before Pref...things usually work out swimmingly.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I think that the Greek Advisor should call each chapter's advisor and say "hey, suzie PNM was cut from all chapters, would you like to invite her back as a freebie?" as long as each chapter can then say no.

Some chapters have to make tough choices because of release figures, but that is really different from actually not wanting her. At least in a large recruitment, some women just slip through the cracks. I remember this happening to about 1% of PNM's at my school, and it was just bad luck.

[AlwaysSAI]

Originally Posted by 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.

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto! I like the way this girl thinks!

[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.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Now, I don't know what happened in that room, but in a general sense:

If they went with a QA, they have to place the PNM in the chapter with the lowest total chapter size (well, they don't HAVE to do anything, but that is what the GB suggests). If that is not the PNM's first choice, too bad.

OTOH, if neither chapter will be at total after bid matching, the PNM's first choice can offer her a bid, and she ends up there. So she missed bid day and such, but she gets her first choice chapter.

Now, I would argue that maybe total needs to be reevaluated if you have two chapters and neither one is at total, but that is a side conversation.

[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).