What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com (2024)

There are two ways to participate in recruitment to join a sorority. You may already be familiar with primary recruitment as the most common way to join a sorority. The other way to be extended a bid from a sorority is through a process called continuous open bidding (COB).

COB provides women an additional opportunity to explore the possibility of joining a sorority.

COB looks very different from primary recruitment. It is more informal and, unlike primary recruitment, you do not need to attend events for all sororities. You are welcome to attend events for various sororities, though not all events take place during the same time frames, so it can be more complicated to do so.

When a sorority participates in COB, it hosts a number of different informal and intimate events to get to know potential members better. As a potential member, you get to meet a variety of women from the chapter in a relaxed setting, ask your questions and learn more about the organization and its members. Attending as many events as you can is still the best way to learn if you would like to be a member of that sorority.

These informal events will look different for each organization. Sorority chapters might host a game night, roller skating, bowling, potluck or similar types of events. COB events are designed to be less structured than primary recruitment, which can allow you to speak with more chapter members. These events may provide some insight into what being a member of that organization is like. That is because many of these COB events are very similar to sisterhood events the chapter might host.

What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com (1)
What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com (2)

Participation

COB is held after the primary recruitment period, which looks different on each campus so be sure to check the schedule for your college/university. Not every sorority on campus may participate in COB. Only those that still have spaces to fill in their chapter will keep recruiting. When a sorority is participating in COB, it will publicize this information on social media and around campus.

Unlike primary recruitment, which often takes place over a week or weekend, there are no set expectations for the duration of COB. The best way to learn about how it works is to ask the College Panhellenic on your campus. Sororities often spread out the timing of COB events to help increase the number of women who can attend. So, you might find the time frame ranges from one week to several, depending on your campus and the sororities on it.

Bid Distribution

What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com (3)

Once you’ve figured out which chapters are participating in COB and you’ve attended multiple events, how do you know if you have received a bid? Just like primary recruitment, not all women who participate in COB will be extended a bid. If a chapter will not be extending a bid to you, a member should contact you and let you know. This allows you to participate in COB events for other sororities or wait until the next primary recruitment period.

At the end of primary recruitment, the College Panhellenic distributes the bid that a sorority is extending to you. During COB, the sorority will contact you directly to extend you a bid. Each organization handles bid distribution it differently, but it always an exciting event. Many will still host a Bid Day to welcome their new members home and celebrate their new membership. Once you have received a bid, it is time to celebrate the lifelong membership benefits of sorority that are being shared with you!

What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com (2024)

FAQs

What is Continuous Open Bidding? - TheSororityLife.com? ›

Continuous open bidding (COB) is an informal recruitment process that allows sororities to continue to recruit new members throughout the year. COB has no set structure and happens following the primary recruitment period.

What is continuous open bidding for sorority? ›

What is Continuous Open Bidding (COB)? Continuous Open Bidding is a very informal process that sororities use to take in new members. Unlike formal recruitment, there are no silence rules, no long days of going from party to party, or complicated invitation acceptances.

How many bids do sororities give out? ›

In other words, they are eligible to give out 8 bids during the Continuous Open Bidding process, but no more. Some sorority nationals require their chapters to participate in COB if they are under chapter total in order to balance their numbers.

How do sororities decide who gets a bid? ›

The voting process for the sororities can vary depending on the campus and the sorority. Two main methods usually take place: Chapter Vote: A chapter vote is when everyone in the sorority has a say in potential new members. Your name will come up, and everyone will vote on whether or not to invite you back.

What do sorority girls call each other? ›

Soror – Means sister, this is a term used by NPHC sorority members to acknowledge one another. Rarely used among NPC sororities. Sorority – A Greek organization for women. Many of the 26 NPC sororities are actually fraternities, as many were created before the word sorority was coined.

How does open bidding work? ›

Open Bidding requests are handled by Ad Manager via a “server-to-server” integration between publishers and their demand partners. Once an ad request is generated, Ad Manager runs a unified auction to determine the best yield. This enables third-party demand partners to compete for your inventory in real-time.

Are you guaranteed a sorority bid? ›

The sorority you place in the #1 spot is the sorority you want to join. When you vote on both sororities, you are guaranteed a bid to one of the sororities. If you receive your schedule for Pref and you only have one sorority on it, you are guaranteed a bid to that sorority if you vote.

How to tell if a sorority wants you? ›

Signs a Sorority Wants You

Here are some signs to look out for: Personalized Conversations: If the sisters remember details from your previous conversations, it's a good sign they're interested in you. Invitations to Events: If you're invited to more events or private gatherings, it's a positive sign.

Does pref night guarantee a bid? ›

Even after Preference Night there is no guarantee that PNMs will be offered a bid. We do our best to place everyone, but that is not always possible. Q: WHAT DOES ACCEPTING A BID ENTAIL? A: When you accept a bid, you become a new member of that organization.

Do you pledge after you get a bid? ›

After Accepting a Bid:

The period between the moment when a new member accepts his bid and his initiation as a full brother is known as new member education (Some fraternities use the term associate member process or pledgeship).

What do akas call each other? ›

The term soror, derived from the Latin for "sister", is used between members of the sorority. Membership of the Directorate includes the board of directors.

What are the four top black sororities? ›

There are four major sororities, all of which were established in early twentieth century, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (Howard University, 1908), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (Howard University, 1913), Zeta Phi Beta Sorority (Howard University, 1920), and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority (Butler University, 1922).

What do you call a girl in a sorority? ›

Sister – A term used by sorority members in reference to one another.

What is the difference between open and closed bidding? ›

Bids are typically sealed and selection occurs through either an open bidding process, in which they are revealed in view of the bidders, or a closed bidding process, in which they are opened in a closed session. The process is designed to increase the competitiveness of pricing and minimize the preferential treatment.

What is open bidding? ›

Meaning of open bidding in English

a situation in which people offer to supply goods or services at a particular price or offer to pay a particular price to buy something, and the offers are not kept secret: an open bidding contract/process The contract was awarded through a competitive, open bidding process.

What is the difference between open bidding and header bidding? ›

Should I use Open Bidding or header bidding? Open Bidding is easier to implement than header bidding. You can use your existing tagging on website or apps, or you can opt for an SDK implementation. Open Bidding in Ad Manager also reduces the latency historically associated with header bidding.

What does bidding mean in a sorority? ›

Bid – an invitation to join a fraternity or sorority. Bid Day – the final day of a recruitment period when bids are distributed. Bid Matching – a system for matching the choice of a potential new member with the choice of a chapter. Brother – an initiated or new/associate member of a fraternity.

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