At most colleges, Pref is the last round of sorority recruitment. During this round, you have to be invited back to the sororities. Your schedule could be the two sororities you voted to keep. It is much more common to get a schedule that has a mix of the sororities you wanted to go back to (keep) and sororities you tried to drop. It is possible to get back two sororities you tried to drop.
After you meet with your recruitment group, you line up outside of your first sorority. You are in charge of getting yourself to each sorority on time.
What happens during this round?
These parties are the longest of sorority recruitment. The longer parties allow you to learn more about the sorority and what makes it so special. Pref is structured in a different way than the other rounds. For Pref, the members are not screaming door chants and bursting with excitement. This round is more serious and a ceremony. Sometimes there is light classical music playing. Other times, a member may announce your name as you walk into the sorority.
Your conversations are structured differently. The members want to know if you want to join the sorority. This day can be very emotional for everyone. You have to be honest with the members. Tell them how you feel and if you like the sorority. It might be hard to be vulnerable. If you do not tell them how you feel you might get dropped. They need to know how you feel so they can vote correctly!
Also, typically the members do most of the talking for this round. They share why they joined, what makes their sorority so special, etc.
At the end of the party, the member walks you out, and you go to your next sorority or take a break if you do not have a party schedule.
How to think of this round
For Pref, you want to think of this round as a proposal. You lay your heart on the table and share what you love about the sorority.
During Pref, the members want to give everyone a bid, but they cannot. They look to you to know how to vote. You have to show interest in the sorority. If you do not show interest, the members might assume you will join the other sorority. If they make this assumption, you will not receive a bid.
How many members will you meet?
Most likely, you will talk to multiple members at each sorority. However, you could meet only one. It depends on how the sorority sets up Pref.
When will you vote?
You vote after you meet all of the sororities on your schedule.
How the members score you
A lot of times during Pref, the members do a blunt vote. It is a YES (the best score they can give) or NO (the worst score they can give) vote. They do this dramatic vote because it helps get potential new members they want on the top of the Bid Day list.
Have you looked at your college’s Panhellenic website?
Did it give you a plan for getting a bid?
Did it tell you how to answer the members’ questions?
Did it tell you what the members are looking for in a new member?
MOST LIKELY, NO.
Many of these websites give FACTUAL information. This lack of information leaves many potential new members feeling behind on preparing for sorority recruitment, missing important information, having a disadvantage. Can you relate?
If you feel overwhelmed or behind, you want to watch this video. In the video, I give you 3 secrets to stand out, have options, and run home to your dream sorority.
To watch the video, please click the button below.
Should you use a single preference vote [also, known as a suicide vote]?
Will you be placed at the end of the bid day list? Short answer no.
Will you be automatically cut? Short answer no.
Will you have a disadvantage if you use this type of voting style? Short answer yes
I am going o break it all down for you.
LET’S GET INTO EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A SINGLE PREFERENCE VOTE.
How a suicide vote works during sorority recruitment
At Pref, it is the first time you have voting options. You have two options.
Option #1. Vote on both of the sororities.
For this option, the order MATTERS. 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.
Option #2. Vote ONLY on one of the sororities.
For this option, you visit two sororities. You intentionally only vote on one sorority.
You get to pick which option is the best decision for you.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR OPTIONS.
How voting works after Pref
After the sorority meets all the women they invite to a Pref ceremony, they vote on each woman and create a list. The list has every woman who attended the Pref ceremony on it from best to worst score.
Example. You attend a Pref ceremony for Alpha Alpha Alpha. Tri Alpha invited 80 women to Pref ceremonies.
#1. Name of the woman with the BEST score at Tri Alpha
#2. Name of the woman with the second-best score
.
.
.
#80. Name of the woman with the worst score at Tri Alpha
Then, Tri Alpha sends this list to Panhellenic.
Panhellenic determines quota. The quota is determined by the number of women who voted and signed the MRABA divided by the number of sororities on campus. For this example, let’s say the quota is 60.
Panhellenic goes through the top 60 scores on Tri Alpha. They are looking to see if the woman has put Tri Alpha in her #1 spot on her voting card.
Situation #1. You are in the #1 spot on Tri Alpha. You receive a bid! Yay!
Situation #2. You are in spot #61.
When Panhellenic goes through Tri Alpha’s list, the women in spots #1 to #5 have Delta Nu as their #1. Delta Nu has them in the top 60. These women all receive bids from Delta Nu.
Now, Tri Alpha has 5 spots AVAILABLE. Panhellenic looks at the women in spots #61 to #66. If you voted on BOTH sororities, you move up to the Bid Day list. You receive a bid from Tri Alpha.
Situation #3. You are in spots #67 to #80 and voted on both sororities. You RECEIVE a bid to your #2 choice.
When Panhellenic goes through Tri Alpha’s list, the women in spots #1 to #5 have Delta Nu as their #1. Delta Nu has them in the top 60. These women all receive bids from Delta Nu.
Now, Tri Alpha has 5 spots available. Panhellenic looks at the women in spots #61 to #65. They all want to join Tri Alpha. Since you are too far down on the list and guaranteed a bid, you receive a bid to your #2 choice, Delta Nu.
Situation #4. You are in spot #61 AND used a SUICIDE vote — only voted on Tri Alpha.
With a suicide vote, you HAVE to be in the top 60. If you are at #61 you are AUTOMATICALLY dropped from Tri Alpha. Panhellenic is required to penalize women who suicide vote by not allowing them to move up on the list. They are stuck in the position. Even if some of the women do not want to join Tri Alpha, Panhellenic skips over the women who used a suicide vote. Now, you are dropped from Tri Alpha and do not receive a bid.
A suicide vote is a dramatic voting style. It is very risky. It should ONLY be used if you absolutely cannot see yourself in the other sorority. You would rather NOT be in a sorority than the other sorority.
WHEN CONSIDERING A SUICIDE VOTE, HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF.
How bad do you want to be in a sorority?
How upset would you be if you received a phone call that you were dropped from sorority recruitment?
Would you rather see your second choice on your bid day card OR get the phone call?
Do you think you are above quota?
If you could slightly see yourself in your second choice sorority, you want to vote on both of them. Again, a suicide vote is an extreme style of voting. IT SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH NOT RECEIVING A BID.
If you are dropped from your #1 choice and you used a suicide vote, you can still join a sorority! Find out about all your options HERE.
WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSIDER A SINGLE PREFERENCE VOTE?
If you say, “I like Tri Alpha. I just would rather be a Delta Nu”, you should vote on both sororities.
If you say, “I absolutely do not like Delta Nu. I would immediately drop. I would not go to bid day”, then you should consider a suicide vote. It should be a strong feeling, and you are okay with not being in a sorority.
As I said, this type of voting is risky!
This decision is hard to make. I recommend talking to your mom, sister, recruitment counselor, friend, or someone you are close with before you choose to go through with a single preference vote.
WHY DO THE PANHELLENIC MEMBERS RECOMMEND MAXIMIZING YOUR OPTIONS AFTER PREF?
The Panhellenic members want to see every potential new member join a sorority.
They want the best for you and every other potential new member.
Sometimes you think a sorority is not right for you, but maybe you have not met the right people yet. There is a reason the sorority is asking you back to Pref… they see you as a future member.
By maximizing your options, you are guaranteed a bid.
Good luck with recruitment! I am rooting for you!
Sloan
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON SORORITY RECRUITMENT?
Advice will NOT get you a bid. A lot of advice is too general, comes from first-year members, and is outdated.
To get a bid to a sorority you love, you have to communicate that you are the right fit for the sorority. You need a step-by-step plan that tells you how and when to communicate. The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment gives you that plan.
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