Explaining: Alpha Phi Can't Fill a PC

I read a comment about this on the APhi thread on here so I decided I would explain to PNMs why Alpha Phi has not filled a PC/has done COB for the last 8 years.

What this means: Alpha Phi gets -a lot- of girls who decide to return for Pref Day, meaning they choose to go back to Alpha Phi + one other house as their final choice to make. However, when girls submit their Preference (their order preference for the house they would most like to join left of the two they have for Pref Day), they more often than not choose the -other- house (usually DG, Kappa, sometimes Theta). Because of this, Alpha Phi's Preference Yield is very low, so they do not get back most of the girls that show up for Pref Day, which is unusual in the Core Four.

Further, once girls are forced to speak with -one- member for a full 45 minutes on Pref Day at Alpha Phi (which is how Pref Day works; there's no small talk, just one long talk), a lot of girls are disappointed, since the APhi girls are very good at small talk, but generally fail at long, deep conversations.

Thus, more than just pref'ing their -other- house over Alpha Phi, many PNMs do what is called a "suicide," meaning they leave Alpha Phi out of their Preference to begin with (as if to say they would A) like to give themselves a better shot at the other house they have, since leaving out your second house gives you an algorithmically/statistically better shot at the other, and B) would rather not be in a house than to be in Alpha Phi). In doing so, Alpha Phi has fewer girls to even give bids to than DG, Kappa, and Theta.

This is not meant to be a hate post, this is just explaining, since there are common misconceptions about COB and this is just about as real of an explanation as you will get.