Continuous Open Bidding (COB) is an informal recruitment process that Panhellenic sororities use to recruit new members outside of Primary Recruitment.

No. Snap bidding ends when bids are distributed on Bid Day, while Continuous Open Bidding begins as soon as Bid Day starts. Snap bidding occurs before Bid Day, and eligibility is limited to women who participated in at least the Open House Round of Primary Recruitment. Snap Bids are coordinated and extended through the University Panhellenic Council before the distribution of bids and the start of Bid Day activities.

All female students at The University of Texas at Austin are eligible for Continuous Open Bidding provided that:

• They are enrolled as full-time students.

• They have never been initiated into one of the 26 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities at The University of Texas at Austin or on another campus.

• They have not received and declined a bid during the most recent Primary Recruitment or broken their pledge.

Although the University Panhellenic Council does not require a minimum grade point average for Primary Recruitment or Continuous Open Bidding, most sororities require a minimum grade point average for membership eligibility.

Unlike Primary Recruitment, Continuous Open Bidding is considered casual and unstructured. Each chapter handles Continuous Open Bidding differently, so the University Panhellenic Council does not set dates for informal recruitment events or offer bids. Chapters individually contact potential new members and invite them to informal recruitment events or chapter activities to get to know them better.

Any Panhellenic sorority with chapter membership below quota is allowed, but not required, by the University Panhellenic Council to extend bids to additional new members up to the chapter total. Participation in Continuous Open Bidding is at the discretion of the chapter, so specific participation cannot be guaranteed.