what does cross-cut mean?

I'm just going to use examples to make it easier to follow, and I'm only using two houses, even though I know most people pref 3.

Say you pref KD and XO. You rank KD first and XO second.
Sororities also have different lists. Say you're on XO's first list, but you're on KD's second list.
When the computer does bid-matching, it will see that XO put you first, but you didn't put them first so it will move you to the bottom of their list to come back to later if you don't match to KD. By the time they get back to you, their quota is full so you don't get a bid from them. At the same time, KD fills up their quota from their first list before they get to you on their second list, so you don't get a bid from them either. So now you've been cross-cut and are left with no bid.

It happens a decent amount, but not a ton. When this happens, humans go back, look at everyone who was cross cut and not bid-matched, and will sometimes allow a sorority to have "quota plus" which means they could let one of the houses take you, but that doesn't usually happen. You're eligible for a snap bid if this happens.

It seems like this could happen a lot. How could you know if you are on their first list?!

No it doesn't happen a lot UA has a great match rate so don't worry if you didn't suicide you will be just fine.

It happened to me. Maximized my choices, had a great rush experience, then didn't receive a bid at all. But I can't think of any other girl it has happened to and they all seemed to be having fun on bid day, so as long as you don't have my luck you'll be fine.

When it happens now it's usually early. Like if you get all your first choices after IWTs so all the houses you didn't select are dropped. Then when you get dropped by your favorite houses you have no houses to fall back on.

Cross-cutting doesn't happen anymore because of Quota Plus. It refers to Bid Matching after the Preference Round. Before Quota Plus, it would sometimes happen that a PNM put house A as their first choice and house B as their second. But house A did not have her high enough on their bid list so they filled Quota before they got to her, and meanwhile house B had her very high on their bid list but she didn't match with them because she had them as her number two, so house B had to skip her and go on down their bid list and match to Quota without her. That is being cross-cut, and she wouldn't get a bid at all. (Very, very sad.) Quota Plus ensures that this doesn't happen so that PNM's who rank both their houses are guaranteed a bid, so no more getting cut after pref!

These definitions are weird. Okay so “cross cutting” as it was described LITERALLY CANT HAPPEN ANYMORE SO DON’T WORRY! When Panhellenic nationally introduced RMF, aka the computer system that matches you because it literally use to be done by hand, if you pref the max number of houses (2 here) and rank both after pref you will get a bid. 100%. That’s why houses final numbers are normally higher than the set quota.

HOWEVER, to my knowledge cross cutting always referred to similar chapters cutting girls they did want because they think they’re for sure going to a different house/legacy house. So to echo the above example, say XO, DDD, and KD are the only sororities. You’re a KD legacy, KD cuts you for whatever reason. XO and DDD think you’re a shoe in with KD so they cut you so they don’t “waste” a space on a girl that won’t pick them. Now you’re a highly qualified PNM that houses wanted but fell thru the cracks. Because we have so many sororities these girls typically still find a home. But it happened to my friend who went to a school with 6 sororities. She was able to cut her bottom three, then the same night (night before pref) the other three cut her. They all thought she liked a different house better because she’s very reserved so they thought she wasn’t enthusiastic about them but would be where she wanted to be. She found her self released and everyone was SHOCKED it happened. Girls she knew in those three houses told her all this so she knows she was a cross cut victim. TLDR: similar or same ranked houses all cut a girl because they think they don’t have a chance. Girl ends up released or in a lower ranked house as a result.