Round 4: Preference Day
Preference Day is the most exciting round! It is finally the last day of rush, and it’s where you’ll find the house where you feel at home! You should wear your nicest dress this day, with either a dress or heels. In the picture of my in my pref dress I am wearing sandals because I had to walk a mile from Sorority Row to my dorm!
Preference Day is the most serious day. An active will take you to a seat where you will watch a presentation that the house puts on usually followed by a song or slideshow. After, you will talk just like you did for the other rounds with one girl. Make sure you ask any final questions that you have on this day! A lot of the seniors cry at this ceremony because it is the last time they will participate in rush week. Many PNMs (potential new members) even get emotional too..I got goosebumps in the house I was in.
Today’s voting is especially important. You must sign a contract stating that any house you write on the contract you will accept a bid from. You are bound to this agreement for 1 calendar year. If you are not willing to join one of the houses that you visited on preference day, do not write it on the contract. If you maximize your options, meaning your write down the name(s) of the house(s) you visited on preference day, you will get a bid. However, if you don’t maximize your options and do not write down all of the names you are not guaranteed a bid. This is because the houses can see that you did not maximize your options and are no longer a faithful member to the panhellenic system. This is referred to as “suicide bidding” because you are only putting down one choice and are unlikely to get a bid from any place. If you would only be happy in one of the houses, you should consider your options. You should either write down the names of all of the houses, risk it, or drop and try spring recruitment.
Be aware that each chapter has a quota they must fill, and they cannot exceed that quota. For example, if you are dropped by a sorority that you really wanted to join and drop out of recruitment hoping to rush in the spring and get in, it may not happen. Some houses don’t offer spring recruitment because they have already reached their quota, but there is no way to predict this from year to year. Also, usually it is a very small number of spots to open up (maybe 5). The drawbacks to rushing in the spring would be that your pledge class is very small, and you won’t be able to participate in events or programs that actives will be (girls who rushed in the fall will be actives and already initiated).
Preference Day is a very long day. You must stay on Sorority Row all day and you need to be silent. You also can not have your cell phone until you vote at the end of the day because they do not want anyone to influence your decision. You probably won’t be able to sleep at all the night before Bid Day because you’ll be too excited, but I don’t blame you.
Happy rushing!
Roll Tide!
Sarah
