cob vs rush?

I strongly discourage COBing unless you have a poor gpa. A sorority experience your second semester of freshman year is completely different than that of your first semester freshman year. If you don't COB you'll miss out on pledge parties, swaps, new member meetings, literally everything that makes being a freshman at alabama fun. Also from what I understand, if you COB you're kinda just thrown to the wolves like everyone already has their friends groups and sororities are so big so no one may even notice that you're new so you may struggle in that aspect.

i meant if you DO cob

I can't think of any pros for COB because it is not easier in any way. Very few sororities ever COB and if they do it's for very few spots, and it's not usually open events; they reach out to girls they already met during formal recruitment, so you wouldn't even be on the COB radar. If your rush doesn't go well your COB options won't really be any better, and if you wait to COB you won't run home on bid day and will miss swaps and football games and all those things. Honestly your chances of getting a bid are way, way higher doing formal recruitment. With that said, SK is coming on this year and they will be interviewing for their colonizing class. But they will not be taking everyone who is interested so no guarantee there either.

You are taking a huge chance that any group will be able to COB. Even if they do, there are a very limited number of spots, they usually invite friends of members, and often the parties are word of mouth.

You are an idiot if you skip rush thinking COB is an equivalent option. You will be much more limited on the houses that you could possibly get a bid from. No one will know who you are so no will care about giving you a COB. COB events aren’t publicly advertised so unless you have friends who tell you that they are COBing you won’t even know.
Can’t emphasize enough how stupid it would be to skip rush and try to rely on COB.

I was a COB pledge. Despite excellent grades, involvement, great reputation, many recs, love to talk, being from AL, etc., I actually got dropped during fall. 😢😢 My maiden name was common and there were other girls with the same name. When I say it messed up, it really messed up! I wasn’t even invited back to GPhi, DZ, or Theta after IWT! 6 houses for philanthropy and only 1 for sisterhood and then completely dropped. I was devastated and actually told something messed up! Computer glitch! I went through COB in spring and got a bid to a house where I had NO friends. I was so concerned. I even asked guy friends in fraternities about it and friends in my hometown sororities about it. BUT I accepted the bid and loved my house and sisters. I was active 3-1/2 years. I would absolutely go through fall but it’s not BAD to be a COB!

You need to got through formal recruitment.The only reason houses COB at all is because they have several open spots. The only houses that have open spots are those that did not do well at recruitment or those that had alot of drops. Houses do not like to COB because it is a sign of weakness in either recruitment or member retention, so even if some spots fo open up, many do not COB unless membership drops so much the house needs new members for financial support. To get an idea of the very few spots open for COB, go to Greek spring grade report and look at new member numbers... those are spring COBs.

heres the number of COBs each house took last year

DZ: 19
ZTA: 16
Aphi: 12
Pi Phi: 9
DG: 4
Theta: 4
XO: 1

AOII, AXO, AGD, ADPi, DDD, GPB, KD, KKG, PM: 0

That means there was only 65 bids to be had for the whole semester vs. thousands in the fall. Do not COB.