Some good info after pref
by: Info
I’m all for sticking it out and trusting the process, but there are some things that panhel doesn’t necessarily explain as well as they could and it gets confusing.
If you get two houses back and you know for sure that you absolutely would not accept a bid from one of them, then you should only put one house down tonight, which is called single intentional preference, or SIP. You absolutely run a huge risk of not getting your top house back, but again, if you know for sure you would not accept a bid from the second house then it’s better to get nothing because at that point you are eligible for snap bids and COB. If you put both houses and you get a bid from the second house and you drop then you are ineligible for COB and cannot re rush until next fall.
As others have stated, snap bids are extremely rare, but in the past several of the houses will pick up a few girls in fall COB after bid day shakes out and a few girls either don’t accept their bids or drop. Many houses also do a spring COB. In the spring, there are usually only two houses that advertise COB, but many houses actually do take additions in the spring. The key is to start networking and get your name out there if that’s the route you choose to take. Again, this is risky, and there is no guarantee.
Some people will tell you if you SIP you have a worse chance of getting the one house you put down. That is absolutely false. if you are on the list of pnms before they hit quota then you will get a bid from that house, period. Houses do not know if you SIP and they do not talk to each other about if you preffed some other house and didn’t put it down.
If you only have one house for preference, and you list that house and sign the MRABA, then you will get a bid from that house. If you have two houses for preference and you put both of them down then you are guaranteed a bid to one of them.
Bottom line is you should go to the preference round parties and have an open mind, but it’s important to understand the facts about what happens next
Commentby: SIPSep 7, 2026 4:06:50 PM
As OP and the other poster said, you only SIP if you would NOT take a bid from the second house. If you would rather be in a sorority and would be ok with either one, then you should not SIP.
No one has statistics on how many girls that SIP get a house vs get dropped, but it’s not about your chances of getting a house, either you are OK with either one or you would rather not be in a sorority then be in your second choice.
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by: ^Sep 7, 2026 4:27:39 PM
SIP is for pnm's who are completely anti their #2 house and would rather die than be there. If you would be so sad to not get a bid at all then you wouldn't SIP, you would put both down and make the most of which one you got. To decide on SIP you have to make a personal decision and take your chances at getting your #2 and being locked out of any other choice for an entire year, or possibly not getting a bid at all and being eligible IF something else comes along. SIP is not for every pnm but it's a choice.
The bid matching algorithm gives pnm's better odds at getting their #1, but no guarantees.
Sometimes pref is a game changer and pnm's do see something that makes them want to join a house they didn't want to before. But the MAIN thing is your nm class, not so much the older girls rushing you. If you can see yourself with some or most of the other girls attending the same pref, that's a sign that you could fit there and be happy (and make the chapter better).
The entire recruitment algorithm is designed to not have any houses in the position of snap bidding. No chapter wants that ever. Something has gone wrong for a house to have to snap bid, either pnm's have dropped or SIP'd not wanting them at pref, or the algorithm has required them to release more than they needed to (or they disregarded their given numbers and did so on their own) so they couldn't match to quota. That is why panhellenic advises against SIP, they don't want snap bidding if it can be helped. (It's a real pain for everyone involved and so stressful.)
COB is another thing. Yes, if a chapter doesn't match to quota and can't snap enough to get there before bids go out on bid day then they can COB after bid day to hit quota. But also there is Chapter Total Membership to consider, which is set by panhellenic after bid day. Any chapter that is below this new number can COB to get there, but it is only a few spots because it exists to maintain equity among the sorority memberships, not as a secondary rush to get more pnm's. Chapters that have only a few spots will usually offer bids to girls they already know, or maybe not at all, it's not required to fill them. Chapters with a larger number to fill would actively recruit with announcements and events.
Either snap or COB is low, low odds for any pnm. There is no crystal ball, YOU HAVE TO TRUST YOUR GUT ABOVE ALL THINGS IN RECRUITMENT.
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by: becauseSep 7, 2026 4:00:38 PM
Because pnm's must attend every chapter's party they are invited to at every round. Pnm's don't drop chapters, only rank them. Violating this rule will result in removal from recruitment.
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by: lolSep 7, 2026 4:08:48 PM
because if you don’t attend all of your parties, you will get dropped from the process, lol
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by: okaySep 7, 2026 4:10:29 PM
okay so if you only got one house back for pref, you are guaranteed a bid from that house?
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by: yes!Sep 7, 2026 4:22:17 PM
correct, if you only got back one sorority on your preference list and you go to that party and you list them and sign your mraba, you are guaranteed a bid to that sorority
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by: hmmmmmSep 7, 2026 3:49:18 PM
Doesn't panhel really advise against SIP? I would be so sad if I got a call to not show up on bid day because I was dropped. Realistically how many girls that SIP and don't get a house will get snap bids? Someone earlier mentioned that tri-delt will be the only house that can snap bid, assuming they are the only one's that don't reach quota? Also, if everyone meets quota will there really be a lot of cob's?
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