skip to main content
Panhellenic Council
The University of Mississippi

Continuous Open Bidding (COB)

The primary recruitment period for The University of Mississippi College Panhellenic Council occurs in the fall semester. The University of Mississippi College Panhellenic does have informal recruitment opportunities, so women interested in sorority membership following the conclusion of fall primary recruitment in the fall or in the spring should complete the COB Interest Form.

COB INTEREST FORM

Please note: Just because a chapter is eligible for COB does not mean that will participate. Additionally, filling out the interest form does not guarantee that a woman will be contacted by a chapter.

What is Continuous Opening Bidding (COB)?
Continuous Open Bidding (COB) is an informal recruitment process that Panhellenic sororities use to recruitment new members outside of the designated primary recruitment period to reach quota and/or Panhellenic Total (i.e. Median Chapter size). For example, if Alpha Alpha Alpha sorority has 395 members for the semester and Chapter Total is 400, then Alpha Alpha Alpha can offer 5 COBs if they are interested.

Is a Snap Bid the same as a COB?
No. Snap bidding ends when bids are distributed on Bid Day. Continuous Open Bidding (COB) begins as soon as our Bid Day programming ends. Further, Snap Bidding is ONLY allowed for those chapters that do NOT distribute as many bids to join as they are allowed in the bid-matching process of primary recruitment. The Snap Bidding process takes place before bids are distributed on Bid Day and eligibility is limited to women who participated in at least the first round of recruitment (i.e. Greek Day). Snap Bids are coordinated and extended through the College Panhellenic/Office of Fraternal Leadership & Learning, before the distribution of bids and the start of Bid Day activities. It is important to note that snap-bidding is rare, and we do not encourage any PNM to rely the opportunity to receive a snap bid to join an organization.

Who is eligible for COB?
All female University of Mississippi students are eligible to participate in COB provided that (1) they are enrolled as full-time students, (2) they have never been initiated into one of the 26 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities at The University of Mississippi or on another campus, and (3) they have not received a bid during the most recent primary membership recruitment and declined the bid or have broken their pledge.

Is there a minimum Grade Point Average to Participate in COB?

It is a policy within our University that all students interested in joining an organization within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours and hold a 2.7 cumulative GPA. Any potential new member who does not have a 2.7 GPA at the time of registration closing (July 14th, 2024) will not be permitted to participate in the 2024 primary recruitment process. To read more about this policy, you can refer to the M Book, policy DSA.DS.400.005.

In addition, all of our Panhellenic organizations have individual requirements to extend a membership invitation. For a sorority to extend a membership invitation, the typical GPA is 3.00. Women who have below a 3.00 GPA are advised that they are at a greater risk of not receiving a bid due to their academics. GPA tends to be a characteristic all groups strongly consider. 

The Panhellenic Council created grade zones to show how academics may factor into joining an organization. 

GPA Zones

Green Zone = Your options are not likely limited based on your GPA. (3.0 + )

Yellow Zone = Your options are more likely to be limited by your GPA. (2.8 – 2.99)

Red Zone = Your options are very likely to be limited based on GPA. (2.79-2.7)  

How does COB work?
Unlike primary recruitment, COB is a very casual and unstructured. Each chapter does COB differently so the College Panhellenic Council does not set dates for informal recruitment events or offering of bids. Chapters individually contact a potential new member and invite her to an informal recruitment event or chapter activities in an effort to get to get to know her better.

If a woman receives a COB, what are her options?

  • If a woman receives a COB from a chapter that she is not interested in joining she may decline the bid.

  • If a woman receives a COB from a chapter she is interested in joining she can accept the bid. Those accepting bids through the COB process will be required to sign a COB MRABA acceptance binding agreement, which must be filed with the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life, Student Union Suite D within one business day of accepting the bid.

  • If a woman receives a COB from a chapter and is unsure about accepting at that time, she may ask to wait to accept or decline the bid. Each chapter is responsible to determining when an answer must be given by (normally 24-48 hours from time a bid is issued).

Which sororities can participate in COB?
Any Panhellenic sorority that has an overall chapter membership below Chapter Total, is allowed to, but not required by Panhellenic to pledge additional new members up to Total. Participation in COB is ultimately up to the discretion of the chapter, so there is not set number of chapters and/or a guarantee that specific chapters will participate.

How many women will receive bids through COB?
This number varies semester to semester. Given that COB is not mandatory and that chapters have the option to recruit up to Chapter Total, we cannot speculate the overall number of bids that will be issued and/or number of women that will receive bids.

 What do I need to do if I want to be considered for COB?
Women interested in being considered for COB should fill out the online COB Interest Form on the ForUM. The link to our Spring 2024 Interest Form can also be found at the top of this page.

Is there a cost associated with COB?
No. There is not a cost to participate in Continuous Opening Bidding.

Are letters of recommendation required?
Letters of recommendation may be required by some NPC organizations.

 How long will chapters COB?
Chapters are allowed by the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) to extend bids or offers of membership to unaffiliated women during the regular school year (as defined by the academic calendar). During the fall, COB begins after the formal structured recruitment process has concluded up to the week before final exams. During the spring, COB begins the first day of classes and concludes prior to the week before final exams.

 If a woman completes a COB Interest Form is she guaranteed a bid for membership from a sorority?
Filling out a COB Interest Form does not guarantee that a sorority will contact a potential new member nor does it guarantee that she will receive a bid.