i went to our website to see which states had the most(active) ZTA chapters and they are

Texas-17
Pennsylvania-16
South Carolina-10

I just looked up active Theta chapters for states according to our website:
California - 18 (or is it 17? Didn't San Diego just close?)
Ohio & Pennsylvania - 8 each (wow! Because they're home to a lot of little private universities?)
Texas - 7
Virginia - 6

I think there might be a semantics problem here. When I say "people don't care," I am talking about non-Greeks. In professional environments around the country, the chance of meeting a non-Greek is high enough that you risk the negatives brought up earlier. Now, if you're talking about joining the Junior League in any city USA, yes, you will probably encounter other sorority women and they may be impressed with your specific org based on their own preconceptions. But I wouldn't include it in an interview unless your skills learned there directly impact this particular job. And that's not really what we're talking about here.

And I was looking at the states I'm most familiar with and I think the reason I personally don't see this as much of a thing is because those states (Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana) have a lot of sororities represented at fairly even concentrations. No sorority really owns any of those states. So as a result, as a grown up, saying you're a sorority woman is going to be at least as valuable as saying you're a member of any given sorority.

Theta Phi is pretty spread out. These are our "denser" states:

State - Active Chapters/Total Chapters
New Jersey - 6/9 (including colony, 7/10)
New York - 6/10
Ohio - 7/11
Pennsylvania - 7/13 (including colony, 8/14)

California has 18, SDSU closed May 2011. There are several Theta chapters in San Diego, by the way.

FWIW - I don't see how counting the number chapters in a state is indicative of anything. What are we looking at? I mean, poor North Dakota - how can they ever compare with New York, for example. Arizona isn't much better, we really only have seven four-year institutions of higher learning and to the best of my knowledge, GLOs are only present at four of those.

Using that standard, Alpha Phi and Pi Phi would be top dogs in AZ as they are at UA, NAU, ASU.

Know what I'm saying?

ETA: lowCsharp just said what I wanted to say, only much more concisely (of course).

It's just weird for me to think of things in these statistics. Arizona only has seven 4 year colleges in the entire state? Public and private schools included? I had no idea, and that is mind boggling to me. I feel extremely naive now.

Yep, Arizona has only 7 4 year colleges and only 4 of them (UofA, ASU, NAU, and Embry-Riddle Aero) have greek life. Only 3 public universities.

Exactly. I am from a neighboring state and my pool man's daughter pledged Chi O at Arkansas 3 years ago. My only point being that your dad doesn't have to be a congressman to get a bid there. Chi-O is strong at U of A but I would say there are a couple of other groups that rival them for "top chapter" status. I think that Greek life in general is very dominant at U of A, and maybe that has diluted the prominence of Chi O there, since many groups have benefitted from the high quality PNMs and competitive recruitment atmosphere.

My interpretation is that a sorority stronghold is where non-members – including non-Greeks - often view members of a sorority (ABC) in a positive light simply because they *are* a member of that sorority. This perception is based on previous and ongoing positive reputations of ABC members in the local community (area) and perhaps at the inter/national level as well.

For example, the local community thinking might be “Scarlett just moved here. I hear she is an ABC and you know the ABCs around here have always been good community leaders. Therefore, I anticipate Scarlett to do the same.” Scarlett is already viewed in a positive way simply because of her ABC sorority affiliation.

I suggest this also applies to non GLO groups as well. For example, certain groups (women's clubs, men's clubs for example) may be viewed as “stronger” in their community by non-members and members alike. And not just because of numbers, but because of the perceived (anticipated?) positive work the members of that group do (will do) within the community.

We became a state 100 years ago, and haven't had the population or history that you East of the Rockies folks have.

Waiting for the Big One so we'll have a coastline and lots of beaches, and THEN maybe we'll get some respect.

http://www.oocities.org/sungeun2k1/chlaughing.gif

#TeamTEXAS

IMO, I think that the original article and the statement about Chi Omega getting respect in Arkansas goes back to the dreaded word: tiers.

I think that many people in Arkansas who are "in the know" about Greek Life will hear that someone is a Chi O at Fayetteville and think, "Wow."

There are two other Chi O chapters in the state, one at Arkansas State and the other at UA-Little Rock. Now, the girls at both chapters are great, but as 33girl said in the other thread (referring to ASA at her school and the chapter at Truman State(MO)), neither chapter at ASU or UALR are "worse" than the Arkansas chapter, just "different". I think when someone hears that someone else was a Chi O from ASU or UALR, they think, "Oh, that's nice." And, not the "Oh, how nice for you," that is a different tone and meaning.

I do think that the whole thing does come down to the perceived tiers. I honestly don't think in any state, one whole group (with two or more chapters in that state) are automatically seen as the strongest group in the state.

The same goes for fraternities. Except Sigma Chi. We're wonderful everywhere.

:cool:

If I didn't like you (and not in a weird way!), you'd be hurting right now, sir.

FWIW I wasn't even thinking about SPORTS.

Me neither :) AZ < TX, just in general hahaha

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

and it's your fault if this thread gets derailed. Usually I'm the one to blame, but this time it's squarely on your shoulders :p

Well yeah!, TX is is geographically the size of the sovereign country of France.

I am completely OK with derailing threads :D

Exactly! I'll reference my earlier post about the difference between California, where it's not unheard-of for an organization to have 15+ chapters, to Louisiana, where Phi Mu has more than TWICE AS MANY chapters as any other single organization.

But also, you have to look at the size of the school and Greek system, etc. Campuses (campi?) with three orgs and quota of 15 aren't going to produce nearly as many total alumnae or individual org alumnae as a campus with twelve orgs and quota at 65.

Ahem... the same is true for ADPi, Chi Omega and Gamma Phi. Which proves even more that parity comment from DubaiSis.

When I went through rush in the Midwest a million years ago, *the* chapters of choice were Alpha Phi, Delta Gamma and Gamma Phi Beta. From what I understand, this is still true at schools with these chapters, at least in my immediate region. Some sororities with more of a "big name national recognition" weren't as big a deal here as they apparently are elsewhere, and some of those chapters closed on their respective campuses. It's weird how perception is so different everywhere. It may be a big deal (to some) to say "I'm a Chi O from U of Arkansas", but in my part of the Midwest, when you say "I'm an Alpha Phi", that means something! :D

As much as I love Tool, Maynard and that song (ie.. Ænema)...and the comedy routine....

I kinda like living in my state and city...so please don't wish for it to turn into Arizona Bay (and yes, I know how to swim :p )

Ready for some numbers nerdiness? I thought so...

ALABAMA
15 - Total campuses with NPC Greek Life
11 Chapters - Phi Mu
9 Chapters - AOPi
8 Chapters - AGD, ZTA, Chi O
6 Chapters - ADPi, KD
5 Chapters - DG, DZ
3 Chapters - AXiD, AChiO, TriDelta, Pi Phi
2 Chapters - GPhi, Theta, Kappa
1 Chapter - ASA, AST, APhi, SDT, SK

ALASKA
2 - Total campuses with NPC Greek Life
2 Chapters - TriSigma
1 Chapter - ASA

ARIZONA
4 - Total campuses with NPC Greek Life
3 Chapters -ADPi, APhi, GPhi, Pi Phi, ChiO
2 Chapters - AEPhi, DG, TriDelta, Theta, Kappa, SK
1 Chapter - AGD, AXiD, AOPi, AST, AChiO, DZ

ARKANSAS
10 - Total campuses with NPC Greek Life
4 Chapters- ASA
3 Chapters - AST, DZ, TriSigma, Phi Mu, Chi O
2 Chapters - AXiD, AOPi, ZTA, KD
1 Chapter - AGD, ADPi, GPhi, DG, TriDelta, Kappa, Pi Phi, SK

CALIFORNIA
41 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
23 Chapters - Alpha Phi
19 Chapters - DG
18 Chapters - GPhi, Theta
16 Chapters - Kappa
15 Chapters - TriDelta
14 Chapters -AChiO
12 Chapters - Pi Phi
11 Chapters - SK
9 Chapters - ADPi, DZ, PhiSig
8 Chapters - Chi O
7 Chapters - AOPi
5 Chapters - AEPhi, AXiD, KD
4 Chapters - AGD, ZTA
1 Chapter - AST, DPhiE, SDT, TriSigma, Phi Mu

COLORADO
10 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
4 Chapters - APhi, Pi Phi
3 Chapters - GPhi, DG, TriDelta, Kappa
2 Chapters - ASA, DZ, Theta, SK, PhiSig, Chi O
1 Chapter - AOPi, AST, AChiO, ZTA, KD, TriSigma

CONNECTICUT
12 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
4 Chapters - PhiSig
3 Chapters - DPhiE, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi
2 Chapters - ADPi, AEPhi, DG, DZ, SDT
1 Chapter - AXiD, ASA, APhi, AChiO, ZTA, Theta Phi, KD, SK, Phi Mu, Chi O

DELAWARE
2 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
1 Chapter - ADPi, AEPhi, AXiD, ASA, APhi, GPhi, DG, DPhiE, Theta Phi, Theta, SK, Chi O

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
3 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
2 Chapters - AEPhi, DG, Phi Sig, Chi O, SDT
1 Chapter - DZ, Kappa, Pi Phi, SK, Phi Mu

FLORIDA
22 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
9 Chapters - ADPi, ZTA
8 Chapters - TriDelta, KD
7 Chapters - AChiO
6 Chapters - DG, Chi O
5 Chapters - AXiD, AOPi, DZ, DPhiE, Theta, Kappa, SDT, Phi Sig
4 Chapters - GPhi, Pi Phi, TriSigma
3 Chapters - AGD, AEPhi, APhi, Theta Phi, SK, Phi Mu
1 Chapter - AST

GEORGIA
22 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
15 Chapters - Phi Mu
10 Chapters - ZTA
9 Chapters - ADPi
8 Chapters - KD
6 Chapters - AGD, AOPi
5 Chapters - DZ, Chi O
4 Chapters - AXiD, GPhi, TriDelta, SK
3 Chapters - AChiO, Kappa
2 Chapters - AST, DPhiE, Theta, SDT, TriSigma
1 Chapter - ASA, APhi, DG, Theta Phi, Pi Phi

HAWAI'I
1 Total Campus with NPC Greek Life
1 Chapter - AGD

IDAHO
4 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
2 Chapters - AGD, AXiD, GPhi, Theta, Kappa
1 Chapter - APhi, AChiO, DG, TriDelta, DZ, KD, Pi Phi, TriSigma

ILLINOIS
24 - Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
9 Chapters - DZ
8 Chapters - APhi
7 Chapters - TriDelta, Pi Phi, SK, Chi O
6 Chapters - ASA, DG, Kappa, TriSigma
5 Chapters - AGD, AChiO, KD, Phi Sig
4 Chapters - ADPi, AOPi, AST, GPhi, Theta
3 Chapters -AXiD
2 Chapters - DPhiE, ZTA, SDT
1 Chapter - AEPhi, Phi Mu

To be continued....

Really interesting... What jumped out at me was Phi Mu on 11 of the 15 campuses in AL but only 1 of 41 in CA. I know Phi Mu has a strong reputation in the south, but was still surprised by how few in CA.

me too, I've gotten pretty good at it, and it's never on purpose. :rolleyes:

And...the derailing starts? :D

well hello ms_gwyn! nice to hear from you again!

so much for the topic comments... back up in the bleachers go I!

I'm sorry to say that we had a lot of chapters in California.

What I get from this: AGD owns Hawaii.

LOL!!

INDIANA
17 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
8 Chapters - SK Chi O
7 Chapters – A Phi, Pi Phi
6 Chapters – AchiO, TriDelta, ZTA, Theta, Phi Mu
5 Chapters – AOPi, GPhi, DG, Kappa
4 Chapters – DZ
3 Chapters – AGD, ASA, KD
2 Chapters – ADPi, AXiD, AST, Theta Phi, SDT, Phi Sig
1 Chapter – AEPhi

IOWA
9 Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
4 Chapters – TriDelta, Kappa
3 Chapters – ADPi, AXiD, AOPi, APhi, GPhi, Theta, Pi Phi,
2 Chapters – ASA, AChiO, DG, DZ, ChiO
1 Chapter – AGD, AEPhi, ZTA, KD, SK

KANSAS
8 Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
4 Chapters – TriDelta
3 Chapters – AGD, AChiO, GPhi, DG, ZTA, Theta, Chi O
2 Chapters – ADPi, ASA, APhi, KD, Kappa, Pi Phi, SK, TriSigma
1 Chapter – AxiD, AST, DZ, SDT

KENTUCKY
13 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
8 Chapters – KD
7 Chapters – Chi O
6 Chapters – AOPi
5 Chapters – AGD, ADPi, DZ, Phi Mu
4 Chapters – SK,
3 Chapters – DG, TriDelta, Theta, Pi Phi
2 Chapters – Theta Phi, Kappa, TriSigma
1 Chapter – AxiD, ASA, APhi, GPhi, ZTA, Phi Sig

LOUISIANA
14 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
10 Chapters – Phi Mu
4 Chapters – AOPi, KD, TriSigma, Chi O
3 Chapters – DZ, ZTA, Theta Phi,
2 Chapters – AChiO, DG, TriDelta, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi, SK
1 Chapter – ADPi, AEPhi, AXiD, ASA, AST, GPhi, SDT,

MAINE
2 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
1 Chapter – AxiD, AOPi, APhi, DZ, Pi Phi, Phi Mu, Chi O

MARYLAND
9 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
5 Chapters – Phi Mu, Phi Sig
4 Chapters – ZTA
3 Chapters – AOPi, AST, APhi
2 Chapters – AEPhi, AXiD, ASA, AChiO, DG, TriDelta, DPhiE, KD,
1 Chapter – AGD, ADPi, DZ, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi, SDT, SK,

MASSACHUSETTS
18 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
6 Chapters – Phi Sig
5 Chapters – AEPhi, APhi
4 Chapters – AST, DPhiE, Kappa, SK
3 Chapters – GPhi, SDT, Chi O
2 Chapters – AChiO, DG, Theta Phi, Theta, KD, TriSigma
1 Chapter – AGD, ADPi, AXiD, AOPi, TriDelta, DZ, ZTA, Pi Phi

MICHIGAN
23 Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
11 Chapters – Phi Sig
9 Chapters – AGD
8 Chapters - DZ
7 Chapters – AST,
6 Chapters – AXiD, ASA, AChiO, SK,
5 Chapters – APhi, GPhi, DPhiE, Chi O
4 Chapters – ZTA, Pi Phi, TriSigma
3 Chapters – AOPi, DG, Theta, KD, Kappa, SDT, Phi Mu,
2 Chapters – ADPi, AEPhi,
1 Chapter – TriDelta, Theta Phi,

MINNESOTA
7 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
3 Chapters – GPhi, TriSigma
2 Chapters – AChiO, DZ, DPhiE,
1 Chapter – AGD, AEPhi, AOPi, ASA, APhi, DG, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi, Phi Sig

MISSISSIPPI
5 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
5 Chapters – TriDelta, KD, Phi Mu,
4 Chapters – Chi O
3 Chapters – DG, Pi Phi,
1 Chapter – ADPi, AOPi, ZTA, Theta, Kappa

MISSOURI
23 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
9 Chapters – ASA, TriSigma
8 Chapters – DZ, ZTA,
7 Chapters – ADPi,
6 Chapters – SK, Chi O
5 Chapters – AGD, KD
4 Chapters – APhi, AChiO, GPhi, DG,
3 Chapters – TriDelta, Kappa, Pi Phi, Phi Mu,
2 Chapters – AXiD, AOPi, Theta Phi, Theta,
1 Chapter – DphiE,

MONTANA
2 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
1 Chapter –AGD, AOPi, APhi, DG, Theta, Kappa, Pi Phi, ChiO

...
I think Mississippi makes a good case for this "stronghold" business in terms of alumnae and name recognition: three organizations are represented on every single NPC campus in the state, meanwhile 15 NPC organizations aren't represented anywhere in the state.

Being in New England, I am shocked that there are 18 campuses with NPC greek systems in MA. I can only come up with about 10. Also that Phi Sig has the most chapters in both MA and CT. I only know 1 phi sig alum in the area and can't think of any schools off the top of my head where they are represented. Though I do think their badge is super cool.

Next I'd like to break down which groups have chapters at public schools versus private schools as well as schools with larger/ smaller student populations. This probably interests me because I'm a math nerd :)

This explains why I feel like I live in a Tri Delta wasteland. It's because I do. Twenty-three campuses and only one chapter in the state and it's the hated rival school. LOL!

That said, I don't think I've ever met a Phi Sig or AST even though they are all over the state. Strange.

Now I'm starting to think about the organizations for which I've never met someone who was a member. I've honestly never thought about it before. New thread? Weird?

KD is on three campuses in Indiana, and will shortly be on 6 campuses in Missouri. We colonize at WUSTL in January 2013. /nitpicking

I see what you're saying about the Mississippi thing, and it matches up with my impression of KD nationally when I was an undergrad. I don't know how it is now, but when I was 19, if you asked me to name a place where KD was crazy dominant, I would have said Ole Miss.

Oops, updated!

While not a state, I know that Alpha Gamma Delta has the most chapters in Canada (8), followed by Alpha Omicron Pi (7) and Alpha Phi (6).

MISSOURI
23 – Total Campuses with NPC Greek Life
9 Chapters – ASA, TriSigma,
8 Chapters – DZ, ZTA,
7 Chapters – ADPi,
6 Chapters – SK, Chi O
5 Chapters – AGD, KD,
4 Chapters – APhi, GPhi, DG,
3 Chapters – TriDelta, Kappa, Pi Phi, Phi Mu,
2 Chapters – AXiD, AOPi, Theta Phi, Theta,
1 Chapter – DphiE,

~~~

I'm pretty sure Alpha Chi Omega has 4 chapters in Missouri (very good friend is Alpha Chi from Missouri)

You're correct, I fixed it.

I was doing a running count going through IrishPipe's lists, so it looks like I occasionally missed an organization (I did the same thing with KD and Indiana).

I updated the KD Missouri count to six, then decided to put it back at five, just because there are so many planned colonies all over the nation, starting this fall, next spring, the fall after, etc. For our unofficial purposes, and to create a legitimate cut-off, I'll count chapters that have a colony class in place.

It cracks me up that Phi Mu is a biggie in Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and...Maryland? How did that get in there?

Oh, yes. Park Cities. Dallas. Texas.

Happened with girls who were legacies to a certain GLO who didn't stand a strong chance of making Mother and Grandmother's sorority at certain Texas schools, because there would often be nearly 200 legacies to that chapter and the numbers were brutal. They would go to an out of state school, usually in the southeast or even to one of the Arizona schools, and pledge over there.

After their freshman year, they'd transfer to Mother and Grandmother's alma mater back in Texas as an active and affiliate there.

I'd never heard of it either, til I worked as a sponsorship chairman of a Dallas suburb's Alumnae Panhellenic. Darndest thing I ever saw.

That's what I was thinking. OF COURSE a whole bunch of sororities can claim they are strong in states where there are tons of colleges. It's kind of like saying McDonald's is the best food because they have the most locations. For all we know, those 49 chapters in PA could only have 10 people each in them and be struggling to stay open semester to semester.

And now it's devolved into how many chapters are in each state...which we have all been able to figure out for ourselves from irishpipes' rush threads for years, if you REALLY gave a shit.

I guess I don't see the point of this thread when the majority of people posting in it can't figure out what was originally being asked in the first post.