Fear of cross-cut

[txcutie]

I've heard some horror stories of girls making it all the way through pref day and then getting cross-cut, which means that neither sorority they preffed gave them a bid. I'm a freshman and I'll be going through recruitment in a few weeks in early January and at my school, the fall semester is a time where a lot of the girls in sororities get to know the freshmen who are rushing. While this can be a good thing, there is a lot of communication between sororities and sometimes if ABC has gotten to know a girl and likes her, but then finds that XYZ was also interested in that same girl, and if there is any word that the rushee had a preference toward one or the other, ABC might try to save a bid to give to another girl they know would accept it. However, if XYZ knew that ABC liked the rushee too, then XYZ might not be certain that the rushee would accept THEIR bid. I might just be paranoid but I'm scared to get a phone call the night before bid day.

[LegallyBrunette]

Okay, there are probably some posters on here who are better qualified to answer this question, but I'll take a stab at for now since I don't think any of them are signed in now...Basically, my understanding is that cross-cutting is a bit of a myth. If you were to pref two groups and list both on your bid card, the only way you wouldn't get a bid is if you were too low on BOTH groups' lists.

It sounds like you are at a school with a fairly small Greek system (or if not small, very communicative system) and you're concerned that one group may list you lower just because they think you're more interested in a different group for some reason, despite the fact they totally love you otherwise. Does that sound right?

I would suggest that if you think your friendships/past connections with a certain group will cause concern amongst the other orgs on campus, address it in a tactful way. For example, saying something like this:

"I'm really enjoying recruitment, especially being able to meet all the sororities. Before recruitment, I had a few friends in XYZ and that's all I really knew about Greek Life. Now I'm realizing that even though my friends are in XYZ, there are other groups I could fit in too... I've had a really good time at your parties."

Of course, bids are not guaranteed in any sitation, but making it clear that you're not already set on one group could help take that factor out of the equation. Just my $.02. Good luck!

[txcutie]

I would not say that the Greek system is small but it's definitely not huge either. There are 9 NPC sororities and the average pledge class is about 50 girls. However because it is deferred recruitment, girls in sororities have had the opportunity before they rushed to make friends with girls who are now in other sororities, and so there are many intertwined friendships. I'm not sure what the silence policy is during recruitment, at least at my school; are girls in ABC sorority allowed to talk to girls in XYZ sorority during silence? Also, when girls fill out preference cards, do sororities get to see these cards?

[LegallyBrunette]

That sounds pretty big to me, but then I went to a school with three NPCs where pledge classes topped out at 10!

But anyway, NO, the sororities do not get to see bid cards before compiling the bid lists (or at any time for that matter).

[FSUZeta]

i come from a school with fall recruitment-but honestly, we were way too busy with our own stuff to talk with members of other sororities during recruitment. we might have even had a rule that if you run into a member of another sorority, you just say "hello" and move on. i would be very surprised if the sororities are sharing information with each other.

pnms can end up with no bids, even if they attend the maximum number of parties, all the way thru prefs. it is rare, but it happens. the exception would be on those campuses where pnms are guaranteed a bid if they maximize their options. it is a matter of where the pnm ends up on the sorority's bid list and which position she ranks her choices. of course, if she is the #1 girl on all the sororities bid lists, then she's got it made!

your best bet is to maximize your options, and be openminded thruout recruitment. even if you already think where you have a favorite that you would fit in perfectly, your opinion may change as the week goes on.

if you have not already done so, read thru the rush threads posted in these forums.there are tips on what to say and when to say it, what to wear, etc. the stickies at the top of the recruitment thread are especially helpful.

i wish you the best of luck, and hope that you find the sorority that is right for you. please let us know how things go.

[Fleur de Lis]

I can't speak for all sororities, but I believe most NPCs in a large greek system simply don't have time to say "txcutie really likes XYZ better than us, so let's put her low on the bid list." It's more likely that individual members who have gotten to know you will say "I know she likes XYZ, but let's try to win her over so she chooses us!" No one knows who you put down on your preference card, and the chapters don't see the final bid lists, either. I recommend you just relax and enjoy yourself! If your school has an decent greek life office and you maximize your options (go back to all parties you're invited to), chances are very slim that you will be "cross-cut." Good luck!

[KSUViolet06]

Also, the sororities don't know who you list first or 2nd on your final rankings anyway, so there's no way they could find out that you like one better than the other unless you tell them.

The bid lists are usually set before Pref, so even if they did find out (through some miraculous way) who you put first, they couldn't go back and change their lists at that point, because once you turn your cards in for matching, it's too late to make any changes (on your end or theirs).

[violetpretty]

Often, College Panhellenics will guarantee a bid to a PNM who maximizes her options throughout recruitment. This means you go to every party to which you were invited, and that you list all chapters on your pref card where you attended preference. Schools may guarantee bids to women who maximize their options as a means of discouraging suiciding. Just because a bid is "guaranteed" doesn't mean you'll get your top choice.

Then again, I don't know if your school does this or not.

[KappaKittyCat]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

The bid lists are usually set before Pref

That's not true everywhere. I know a lot of schools, especially smaller ones, that do their bid lists after Pref.

Regardless, however, sororities don't have the time or energy during rush for ABC to figure out that Susie likes XYZ better and put her low on ABC's bid list.

Finally, the way that bid matching works doesn't really penalize sororities for having someone on their first list go elsewhere; it's just that the top person on their second list moves up onto the first list. All groups are still entitled to take quota.

[Benzgirl]

Only a few members in our chapter knew the PNM's position on the bid list. Even though we knew how we ranked someone, we didn't know where they landed. We had no way of discussing with someone in another house to "compare rankings".

I think only the Membership Chair, the President and the Recruitment Chair in our chapter saw the rankings.

I agree with the poster who mentioned to check out the Recruitment website where you plan to go to school. What is most important is to relax, keep an open mind, be yourself and enjoy yourself. Don't worry about things you have no control over. Good Luck!

[txcutie]

Okay that helps a lot. I think it's just paranoia because I know of several upperclassmen rushing again who did not pledge as a freshman, but I think that is because they did not maximize their options or had their heart set on one or two sororities. I'm planning on attending every party I am invited to because you never know, even one I didn't initially consider might be the best fit for me. My school does a "Fall Parties" weekend where we visit each sorority over the course of a weekend to get a feel for each one and then we cut 2 of them, and there are two sororities that are supposedly not very good that most people plan on cutting before they even visit them, but I remember being pleasantly surprised with one of them and I ended up not cutting them.

[adpiucf]

Put it out of your mind b/c your placement on a sorority's bid list is something that you have absolutely no control over. You can maximize your chances by being yourself and being a good guest at the parties. Act like a lady and be your personal best. Focus on the big picture and don't get bogged down in small details that you have no control over.

[Southern Mom]

I seldom visit this forum, but I saw this thread and thought I'd respond.

My daughter was cross-cut during bid matching.

It was unfortunate because she had not been cut at all through the entire recruitment process. In her situation, she was left with too many options.

It turned out that the two groups she did not put in her top two going into pref did want her, but as one alum said afterward "she cut us."

Several years have passed since this experience, and I can tell you my daughter says it was a blessing in disguise that she did not end up with the group she ranked first after pref.

Had the new release process been in effect at the time my daughter went through recruitment, she wouldn't have been left with as many options, yet I am fairly confident she would have received a bid.

My advice to you is to enjoy the process, keep an open mind, maximize your options, and go with what you feel in your heart is right for you.