bid match ups

becca101 · #1 09-23-2009, 04:33 PM

ok i do have a question. i just went through formal recruitment for a cpc sorority. there were seven houses... and 250 girls that rushed too... i was invited back to a house for pref day that i really liked and she kept telling me how much she has heard about me from her other sisters, that she thinks i will be just like her and hit the ground running to get involved. also, that they think i am a perfect fit for th house... so i loved them to..they were great... i marked them as my number one and i chose another house that i dont really like as my number two...so when bid night came later that night... i found out i was put into the other house...the one i didn't really want... i was shocked and i dont understand why... so is it basically that because the other house really really wanted me that they put me really high on their list so i didn't get into the one i wanted or what? ne clues?

Benzgirl · #2 09-23-2009, 05:07 PM

It's not that they didn't want you. As Jen said, it's all about where you ended up on their list.

ComradesTrue · #3 09-23-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by becca101

... so is it basically that because the other house really really wanted me that they put me really high on their list so i didn't get into the one i wanted or what? ne clues?

To clarify: no.

Not getting your first choice has absolutely nothing to do with where you ranked on your second choice. Everyone is attempted to match to their first choice. If the first choice fills to quota before your name appears on the rank list, then- and only then- is there an attempt to match you to your second.

As other have stated- you just were not high enough on your first choice's bid list. That does not mean that they didn't like you or that they didn't want you. It simply means that there were many PNMs that they also liked, and those women just happened to rank higher on the bid list.

Chin up. Move on. Hopefully you are giving your second choice a chance. They may be feeling the same rejection from you that you are feeling about your first choice. Many, many, many women have had happy, meaninful, and cherished memories in chapters that were not originally their first choices.

Just interested · #4 09-23-2009, 05:46 PM

Well said, Blondie 93!

FSUZeta · #5 09-23-2009, 06:29 PM

when i was going thru rush counselor training, the NPC president made a visit of fsu and she met with us. she told us a story about her daughter going thru rush at ole miss, where she was an alumnus. she shared this piece of advice with her daughter-and years later with us-"i hope that you find your dream chapter when you go thru rush. I hope that you get your first choice, but if you don't get your first choice, i hope that you will accept the bid to the chapter that did want you, and from your first day, work to make this chapter your first choice."

she was a very wise woman! i hope that you will follow her advice.

gee_ess · #6 09-23-2009, 06:34 PM

Yes, I would encourage you to read through some of the threads that deal with women who got their second choice, were initially very disappointed, stuck it out, made friends and realized that they are very happy. Give your sorority a chance.

Do not feel bitter toward the girl who spoke with you on pref night. I have no doubt that she did feel very strongly about you, but she is only one vote, one voice, one XYZ among many. They liked you or they never would have invited you back. It is just a matter of where you landed on the quota/bid list - definitely nothing you did wrong.

Katmandu · #7 09-24-2009, 09:57 AM

Just to reiterate, getting your second choice chapter has NOTHING to do with how highly the second choice chapter ranked you. In fact, you may have been toward the bottom of their bid list as well. (Not to make you feel bad, just reality).

If quota is 15, and 30 women attended Chapter X's two pref parties, all 30 women appear SOMEWHERE on Chapter X's bid list. The 15 most highly ranked pnms are listed alphabetically on their first list. Numbers 15-30 are ranked in order of preference on a second bid list. In being invited to a pref party, the sorority is stating that they see you as a potential sister, and are willing to offer you a bid. Whether that bid is actually forthcoming is determined by where you fall on that list and how quickly that chapter reaches quota in the bid matching process. Sororities use private and ritual methods of selection that determine who is invited to parties and where you fall on that final bid list.

Panhellenic (either through hand matching, as was the case when I was in school, or via computer programs) attempts to match you up with your first choice house. If you list Chapter X as first choice, and you are on Chapter X's list of their first 15---Hurrah! Game over. You are a match.

If you are not on Chapter X's first bid list, your card is set aside (either by hand or in cyber space) in the hopes that as other women on Chapter X's first list are matched with Chapters Y, Z and Q, and their names are crossed off, your name will move onto Chapter X's first list. If it does, Bingo, it's a match and you will receive a bid.

However, if Chapter X reaches quota before that happens, then the matching process turns to your second choice house, Chapter Y. By signing that bid card, you have indicated that you are willing to receive a bid from either X or Y. If you are on Y's first bid list, it's a match. If you are not on their first bid list, your card is set aside once more in the hopes that as matching continues, a slot opens up in Chapter Y's first list.

A second choice chapter "wanting you more" than a first choice chapter has absolutely no influence on Bid Matching, since every attempt is made to match you with your first choice, and moves to second choice only when your first choice chapter has met quota.

I am sorry you didn't get your first choice, but it is something that happens fairly often. It is not the end of the world, although it can sometimes seem like it at the time. Have a good cry, then get acquainted with the sisters in the chapter where you landed. Although you can't help but think about "what if", it's not really productive and it gets in the way of bonding with what is probably an amazing group of women who have a lot to offer you.

I know there are a lot of other alum advisors on the board who can explain the process a lot better than I can, but I think these myths about bid matching are damaging to the system as a whole and don't do the PNMs any good. Best of luck to you as you sort all this out.

jennyj87 · #8 09-24-2009, 11:47 AM

You never know my dear. We have girls who have straight up said "I preffed XYZ sorority" and are now very loved girls by the chapter as well as officers.
Including my roommate, she preffed another sorority and now she says she can't imagine herself anywhere else.

AXOrushadvisor · #9 09-24-2009, 01:56 PM

you did a great job of explaining the process Katmandu. I can tell you even Active members in the Chapters don't have a real good handle on how bid matching is done. It is something we explain to the women every year so they have a complete understanding of the process.

The only other way becca101 may have ended up with her first choice would have been quota additions, but not every campus does those.

Give your second choice a chance becca101. I bet you'll find a lot in common with your new member class. Good luck!

LAblondeGPhi · #10 09-24-2009, 02:40 PM

Hi Becca,

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get your first choice chapter, but I hope that you will stick it out with your 2nd choice. I cannot stress enough how much a chapter can change by one or two new member classes - especially if they are motivated. I know of many women who have been in your situation, and later became an agent of change within their org - president, executive council, etc.

Good luck!

LionTamer · #11 09-25-2009, 12:03 PM

If it makes you feel any better, as far as I know (and you "Recruitment Professionals" - feel free to correct me) the general membership does not SEE their sorority's bid list. So with the exception of the Recruitment Chair, most of the girls in your first choice chapter will assume you CHOSE your 2nd choice.

If quota is 20 and 60 girls came to their Preference Parties, they may know who makes the top 20 (and I doubt that), but they don't know who was #21 on their list, or who was down at #60. Even after we started making quota easily, we always assumed when someone went elsewhere it was their own choice.

And I can tell you for certain that the Recruitment Chair in your second choice chapter doesn't know that they weren't your first choice.

Save Ferris · #12 09-25-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LionTamer

If it makes you feel any better, as far as I know (and you "Recruitment Professionals" - feel free to correct me) the general membership does not SEE their sorority's bid list. So with the exception of the Recruitment Chair, most of the girls in your first choice chapter will assume you CHOSE your 2nd choice.

Yeah, I don't know much about logistics about it but I can't imagine why the other members would have access to the list.

Becca, keep your head up. It's truly nothing personal. Perhaps you should examine why you "really" didn't like the second choice sorority. If you put them on your pref card as second, they did better than the other five (who you cut/didn't go back to). There must have been a reason you liked them enough to list them on your pref card. Just because they weren't your number one originally doesn't mean they couldn't become your number one eventually.

However, if you truly know in your heart that you wouldn't be happy at your second choice, find out about informal recruitment/go through formal again next year. It wouldn't be fair to you and the sorority to accept a bid that you truly didn't want (as long as it was for lack of connection rather than something like status on campus). On the other hand, are you giving them a fair chance? It's possible that you loved your first choice so much and are stuck in the idea of being one and can't even imagine being your second choice.

I obviously don't know why you didn't like the second sorority and won't pretend that I know. However, consider if you could eventually be happy there. If you know you couldn't, it's not fair to accept the bid (if you haven't declined/still able to accept bids).

As corny as it sounds, listen to your heart. *cue Disney moment*

AZ-AlphaXi · #13 09-25-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LionTamer

And I can tell you for certain that the Recruitment Chair in your second choice chapter doesn't know that they weren't your first choice.

If you don't tell what your preference/bid card rankings were, no one in the chapter will know who you put first and who you put second or even third (if that's an option)

lyrelyre · #14 09-25-2009, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LionTamer

If it makes you feel any better, as far as I know (and you "Recruitment Professionals" - feel free to correct me) the general membership does not SEE their sorority's bid list. So with the exception of the Recruitment Chair, most of the girls in your first choice chapter will assume you CHOSE your 2nd choice.

It is my understanding that this varies from organization to organization and even chapter to chapter.

33girl · #15 09-28-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyrelyre

It is my understanding that this varies from organization to organization and even chapter to chapter.

yeah, I think if a chapter is small enough, everyone knows darned well that if a certain PNM doesn't show up on the bid list, something shady happened. (I am talking 40 members or under)