worried

Quota (the number of bids each house may extend) adjusts upward based on the number of women going through recruitment. That is why pledge classes increased from 70 in 2013 to nearly 80 last year - more space was needed to accommodate more PNMs who registered.

While there is always a chance that someone will be released entirely from recruitment, the vast majority of women who "maximize their options" will get a bid. This year, there is also the opportunity to pursue Gamma Phi Beta after formal recruitment ends, and every so often, chapters will participate in Continuous Open Bidding in order to extend bids for spots where a New Member has to resign her membership, etc.

However, if you stick with giving every chapter a chance during recruitment and go in with an open mind, the odds are very high you will find a home!

Very low as long as you stay with the process including Gamma Phi Beta who will be taking a lot of members to colonize and their class will most likely be more than quota, which is set at prefs.

It's actually rather unlikely that you'll be dropped entirely from recruitment, assuming you maximize your options. You may not end up with the house you were obsessed with before recruitment, but if you put three houses on your final selection after Prefs you'll most likely end up with a house that LOVES YOU, which is what matters. :)

I did not have 3 options at the end. Only one house kept me. It was very scary and stressful. We have to be real here. Not everyone will have 3 houses to put down.

I only had one house at preference too after my legacy chapter dropped me after 3rd round. I was initially disappointed that I didn't have options but now I can't imagine my life in any other house. All the houses at UF are amazing. Maximize your options and you will find a home to make your very own. Don't worry about the tier nonsense because your pledge class will infuses your chapter with energy and excitement. Make it a great place for the next 4 years. Get excited! Fall Recruitment is finally HERE!

Some of this worries me more. Could everyone drop you and you are left with nothing? Does someone have to take you? Can you really be left with just one house? Everyone keeps telling me it's OK if you are left with 3 houses but I keep hearing stories of people that have only one choice. Does that happen a lot? I am freaking out a bit here.

Lots of people end up with only one or two houses at the end - but all you need is one!! If they love you enough to pref you, you have a very good chance of getting a bid there. Washouts after prefs are rare.

To actually answer your question, yes it is very possible to be dropped from recruitment entirely. If 16 houses took every single girl, then we would have an approximate 130 girl pledge class. I know a few people who were dropped entirely from recruitment, and even though I was lucky enough to find my home, it can happen

There is a greater than 50% chance that when you get to the end you have less than 3 houses and none are the houses you wanted. There are so many girls going through the process that one bad interview can drop you from a house. This happened to me and I refused to join the ones that I had left so I dropped out with 3 left. Went through the next year and knew more people and this time the tables were turned and I had over 90% chance of getting the house I wanted because none of them dropped me. Once you know the process you can use it to your advantage. Just be yourself and remember better people than you have been dropped all together. It happens and if it does to you then consider going through again next year. Stress, Anxiety, Tears, Happiness, Sadness, Joy and Humility.....thats what you will experience the next week!

Forget about being a legacy, it doesn't matter at any of the houses. Two friends of mine went through last year. One was a quadruple legacy at a top tier house and got dropped after 1st round. She went on to join another top tier house. Second friend was a triple legacy at one house and a double legacy at another (sisters, mother, grandmother, great grandmother) Dropped after second round at both. Went and asked and was told that Legacy doesn't matter this is 2015! What matters is who you know in the house in 2015.