Current Sophomore at UA. COB or Formal Recruitment

Cob for sure, super laid back and you control it all I did it sophomore year and loved it cause I could chose which houses I wanted to talk to it’s also way easier to get a bid that way

Formal recruitment 100%. Sophomores almost always get the “cream of the crop” - houses have to invite a certain number of upperclassmen back each round and they are voted on separately than the freshmen. This means you generally almost always get 10-12 houses back for philanthropy and a full 6-7 back for sisterhood (there are exceptions of course). You also will have way more say in what house you end up in because there is way less competition in the sophomore/junior groups. This means that you will most likely pref your 2 favorite houses, or at least 2 out of your top 3. A lot of the “top” houses that you may be interested are way more accessible because you’re an upperclass men. A lot of the “top” houses DO NOT cob. You have way less options during cob. The only pro to cob is that it’s more chill.

^^^Not to be negative but do not trust above advice! I’ve known plenty of sophomores who seem like desirable girls who did NOT have good formal recruitments. I think it’s really a toss up as a sophomore but from personal experience I would say cob you’re just more likely to get a bid that way I think

If you already know exactly what house you want because you have friends in it and that’s the only house you care about going, AND they’re a house that typically COBs then go that route. If you wanna get to know all the houses and have more options then do formal. You could also always do formal and if it doesn’t work out for you try cobing in the spring