There are times when a woman works hard to prepare for sorority membership recruitment, goes through the entire process, attends preference, ranks her final groups, and ends up with no bid. This can be shocking for her, her friends and family members who are Greek, and those who have supported her in her quest to join a sorority. Although no one will be able to tell her exactly what went wrong, there are general reasons why this happens in most cases.
Lower GPA Makes Women a Greater Risk
It is possible to meet the GPA requirements for recruitment, but not receive a bid because of GPA. If the recruitment process is highly selective and there are dozens or hundreds of outstanding women from which to choose, women with the higher GPA will usually be selected first. Sororities need to keep up their chapter GPA and given the choice between two women they like, more often than not they’ll take the one with the higher GPA.
Being Too Selective and Not Maximizing Opportunities
Some women going through sorority recruitment simply are too selective and fail to maximize their options during the process. Women who go into recruitment with only one or two groups in their mind are setting themselves up for disappointment, especially if the only sororities they will consider are the “top” groups on campus. Women who remain open minded during the process will usually end up with a sorority home. Women who are extremely selective are more likely to not receive a bid. Being too selective is one of the biggest mistakes women make during recruitment.
A Negative Reputation Will Hurt
Sometimes a woman will not receive a bid because of a reputation problem. This can crop up in any number of ways. Did the sisters see something on your Facebook page or blog that turned them off? Did you have a reputation for participating in illegal or questionable behaviors in high school or your first weeks or year at college? Contrary to what people might write about the wildness of sorority women, most groups are not interested in bringing in sisters who will bring down the campus reputation of the group.
Not Being Prepared or Realistic
Although a lack of preparing for recruitment will generally be reflected in fewer invites back in the earliest rounds, a lack of preparation can definitely lead to no bid. Women who don't understand what to wear or how to prepare for the grueling experience of recruitment will often not fare well.
Some women fail to be realistic about their chances of being invited to join a sorority. Although it might sound harsh, some women will not be an asset to a sorority either because of poor hygiene, lack of pride in appearance, or other external factors that will work against them. If the sisters in a particular group would not be proud to have a woman wearing their letters and walking down the street with them, they are not going to extend a bid.
Bid Matching Failure After Final Round of Sorority Recruitment
Although it does not happen often, there are times when a woman does not receive a bid because of the way bid matching happens. Panhellenics have made many changes in recent years in order to further minimize the chance of this happening. Some panhellenics even guarantee that if a woman goes through every round of recruitment and maximizes her choices every round that she will receive a bid.
However, this is not the case at every school and there are times when a woman will end up in the wrong place on the wrong bid list and not receive a bid. Sometimes when this happens the woman will be quickly snapped up after formal rush is over. But depending on how a woman ranks her preference chapters and where she ends up on the different bid lists, it can end in a fluke with the woman not receiving a bid.
Simply Not Fitting in with Any Sorority Chapter
In the end, the problem may be that the woman simply did not fit in with any group. A woman might be a good student, involved on campus and generally likable. But if she doesn't click with the sisters in the sorority, she won't be invited to become a member. There is an intangible part of sorority recruitment that is hard to explain, but sorority women generally know who will fit in with them and who won't. It isn't even a matter of not liking someone. It may just be that the woman didn't "fit in".
There are many benefits of sorority membership and it can be a great experience for women. For those who put forth the effort to join a group and do not receive a bid in the end, the disappointment can be overwhelming. But by assessing the situation honestly, most women can determine why they did not receive a bid and can then make decisions about what to do after not receiving a bid.
Sallie Schaaf Borrink - Sallie Borrink is a professional writer with extensive experience with business clients, the consumer market, and online destinations.
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