As with other parts of Greek life, I think anyone trying to make a hard and fast rule having to do with numbers will find themselves disappointed.

Two examples from BU's campus:

My chapter was the largest on campus, and ended up doing quite well (highest grades, most philanthropies, best in sports, awards from IFC every year). It wasn't necessarily because we were the biggest on campus, but that didn't hurt.

On the other hand, when I was a freshman, DTD left campus. At one time, only a couple of years earlier, they had been the largest on campus. Just as quickly, Delts at BU were just a memory.

It can happen both ways; people have to remember that. Large chapters and small chapters can go both ways; you can't judge a chapter by its numbers.

Wow, what happened to the Delt chapter?

It's different at every school. Where I'm at bigger is definently better.

proven over and over
 

Wilson Benton Heller (UMoPike, Press Agent, WWI ace and the publisher of the College Survey Bureau) pushed the notion that as
a rule the largest chapter will be the most prominent, over all, as a GENERAL statement; I knew him well...you can find our letter
exchanges at IL-CU archives. But, folks ever-changing scenes as
Frau Blücher would say, would amend this a bit. TKE at U of AZ was one of those 160 man chapters along with Kappa Sig. We got too big for our britches, the U wanted the house, we went off
for a coupla years, came back and proceded to fold. We are going
to return in the fall. The 150 man chapters might be a harbinger
of the decline...the pretty airheads of the 200 girls in the south, who wonder why those "without a prominent Dixie rep" won't come on. I'd vote in a second to withdraw a charter to most
chapters who don't meet basic chartering standards, but would
not be thrilled, on the other hand, by getting kicked in the nuts by
a 225 man SAE chapter.
Judge each by it's campus...give some consideration to working
with each other...fraternalism does mean something, and we have
enough critics like the Frau within that we could help each other a
bit now and then.
We are not gonna shine with 5 million dollar homes, believe me.

No idea - when I moved in freshman year, my room had DTD carved in a bunch of places, and I heard they had been huge on campus. The chapter served as a cautionary tale; they had once been the biggest and best, got lazy, and were gone just as quickly as they had arrived.

Too bad.