Which sororities have the most members?
 

Hi everyone!

Since I am going through Recruitment next week (my story is on here) at huge greek school there have been many rumors flying around about which sororities have the most initiated members. Does anyone have a list in order? It's not that important to me as far as choosing a chapter, but now I'm kind of curious about who really is the biggest, second, third, etc.

I've heard that 1 in 4 sorority women are in Chi Omega? This seems impossible to me. I've also heard that Kappa, KD, DZ and Zeta are 2nd. I'm so confused!

Thanks for your help,

Caligirl

Who's the biggest should not be a concern for you at this point. Your focus should be on the houses at your campus, not national numbers.

If numbers really mean that much to you, I'm sure each sorority HQ website will have that information for you...but there's no actual way to tell, as numbers change often due to recruitment.

Do a search. This has been discussed over and over.

I did do a search
 

I did do a search. I mean that was the obvious first step. Pretty much every post in the GL forum came up. So that wasn't very helpful. I also did multiple searches on google. If it were so readily available I wouldn't bother everyone by asking. I don't want the exact numbers, just an idea. And yes, it is a concern for me. If every sorority on campus is claiming to be the biggest then they obviously think its something the PNMs will be interested in as well. If anyone has a real answer or at least an explanation of why there is so much confusion, please let me know. Thanks.

All four of the NPHC sororities have more chapters than any of the NPC groups.

As far as largest, the numbers can be so manipulated it's not worth looking at. It can be number of members, number of chapters (collegiate and alum), number of collegiate chapters, number of chapters chartered etc etc...

Not to mention that the number of members fluctuates on a daily basis.

I can, however, state that the "1 in 4 sorority women is a Chi Omega" is absolutely untrue. It's just not possible (if you take into account NPHC, local groups etc).

What you are hearing is the usual rush hyperbole. Take it with a grain of salt.

Why is it important to you? Really, why does it matter? If one group has 5000 more initiated members than another, really, how is that going to change your experience????

KD has approx. 190,000 initiated members (as of this summer). We are pretty much in the middle. We have the largest number of chartered alumnae associations- almost 500.

What is considered "biggest" can also mean a number of things- initiated members, living members, number of active chapters, number of chapters inactive and active, number of alumnae associations, etc.

It really doesn't mean squat.

Look at your local chapters, join the best one you can get into.

Other than that, I wouldn't buy into much of what you hear during rush.

I'll put it this way
 

It actually didn't matter at all to me. My mom and sister were both in midsize sororities and I know how pleased they were with their choices. National size didn't even cross my mind until all the sorority girls on campus started telling me about how they are the biggest or second biggest or whatnot. It would be like if all your friends said they won homecoming queen. Wouldn't you be the least bit curious who actually won? No, I'm not going to base my choice on who has the largest national numbers. But I am curious enough to try and find the answers.

You've received great answers from sorority alumnae members and just go on that.

Leave the issue alone.

SRSLY.

Answers
 

I haven't received any answers. Why bother saying "why do you care?" The point is, I'm just curious that's all. All the chapters on my campus are awesome, so I'll be happy with any of them. I'm just interested in which ones have the most members. I don't need exact numbers or even an exact order, just the top couple or whatnot. I don't see anything wrong with asking that.
I'm not sure why everyone is up in arms?

Thanks 33girl for clearing up that info about Chi Omega. I knew that couldn't be correct.

Why don't you check the websites of the sororities that you're interested in knowing about?

I posted this yesterday in response to some posts in another thread. I used both Wikipedia and official websites except where noted:


According to Wikipedia (which, yes, has accuracy problems, but this is corroborated by the KKG website) KKG has over 200,000 initiated members. That puts it in second place behind ChiO (over 300,000) and ahead of ZTA ( over 187,000). However, Kappa Delta's website claims over 190,000 initiated members, which would push ZTA out of the top three-especially since I couldn't find any information at their website.

Actually I have
 

Good suggestion kddani, but I already have. Some of them say initiated members, some say collegiate, some don't mention any sort of numbers. Like everyone said, it's not an easy list to find. This is why I asked on GC. I figured if anyone knew, it was someone on here.

Tri Delta is up there, as is Pi Phi. I believe the former is at 220 and latter is at 222, approximately. I think this is from ariesrising's old site.
\
\The Chi O numbers seem a bit high. I always thought they were in the 240s.

Thank you GDI
 

Thank you GDI. That's exactly the information I was looking for. I didn't think to check wikipedia (since you're right about the questionable validity). I will take those rankings with a grain of salt. However, at least now I have some sort of information regarding the numbers. Thank you again for providing an answer to my question.

The ChiO website says 300,000 here: http://www.chiomega.com/chiomega/?recruitment
But 240,000 here: http://www.chiomega.com/chiomega/

I couldn't find any reliable Pi Phi or Tri-Delt information online.

No wonder why there are so many chapters claiming to be the largest! It seems like nobody really has any idea.

Jocelyn -

Thanks for that info. This is exactly why I became so curious! I feel that if nobody is really sure which sorority is the largest, none of the chapters should claim this title. Besides, I think there are a lot of more important things to consider anyway.

CaliforniaGirl, put it this way: Most of the NPC sororities are close enough in terms of #s that it really makes no difference in terms of what you're going to get out of it. 10,000 more members does not mean that a sorority is better than another...at that point, you're splitting hairs. If I were you, I would pay attention to the chapters on your campus, since it's those 100 women you'll be spending time with, not the other 100,000+ members of each organization.

Why do sororities like to say they're #1 or #2 in size? Because they know PNMs, who may not know much about sororities at that point, might think that's a big deal. Bottom line is that all of the NPC sororities you have to choose from are excellent and you will be surrounded by sisters in California. Trust me, I went to a Calif. school too.

Well thanks everyone who answered my question. From what I've found on here and online searches it seems to me that Chi Omega, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta (in that order) have the most. Like I said numerous times, this isn't a factor in my decision, just an answer I was interested in finding. I mean what in the world is the difference between 195,000 and 187,000 anyway? Thanks to everyone who helped.

Chi Omega remains the largest NPC group both by the number of initiated members and the number of active (open) collegiate chapters. I believe we also have the largest number of delegates attending our National Convention. (I know in 2004 in San Antonio we had 1300+ in attendance.)

I didn't know that. :) I suspect it levels out because NPC chapters are usually bigger than the average NPHC sorority chapters (eventhough AKA and Delta have the most members of NPHC orgs and many of their chapters are relatively big).

Thank you!
 

Oh my gosh Aries thank you so much. This is what I was looking for the entire time, and people acted like I was searching out the holy grail or something. This is exactly what I wanted. Thanks a million.

Cali girl

Maybe some posters think that aspirants shouldn't be concerned about the size of sororities. It makes it seem as if your decisions will be based on (what some deem to be) superficial qualities.

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking.

Yeah because I happen to base my decisions on the fact that Theta has 191,000 members but DG only has 190,000. Good one. I already said I'm not interested because that's what I'm basing my decision on. Who cares about how many sisters you have as long as they're awesome girls who you love?

Don't get snippy. You acted confused about the reception you received and I told you one reason for the reception. People base their decisions on all sorts of factors. Some people go based on popularity or which group has the prettiest girls.

Well wooptywooo...I hope your time as both an aspirant and new member will be spent wisely.

I wasn't confused at all. Everyone was acting like it was impossible to find a list like this. And there was one, which was very straightforward and clearly organized. I prefaced the question by saying I was simply curious about this phenomenon of all the chapters claiming to be largest. I don't really see how anyone could have gotten the wrong idea. Either way, I'm glad I have the information I was looking for. I don't know anyone basing their choice on national numbers, I don't really see how it makes much of a difference. I feel a lot of people didn't take the time to listen to why I was interested in knowing this information. Thanks again for your help aries!

It was in the "largest house" thread which got revived earlier this week. The quote was posted by myself yesterday, with numbers I looked up yesterday. Didn't notice that Hootie's post was 5 years old, though :o

I thought size didn't matter...?
 

CaliforniaGirl7, I'd like to share with you what we were taught as New Members:

It's easier to take the top ten in size, and realize that, in any given year, ABC could have two members more than XYZ, and vice versa. Worrying about who has what (with the exception of the wonderful site that ariesrising has http://www.threebluestars.com/greek) is an exercise in frustration!

We have to keep in mind that size does matter to some...depending on what you are looking for in an organization. Most of the NPC sororities are around the same size anyway. It's the same way that a joining a national might matter to some more than joining a local. Everyone has their prefererences.

I think Caligirl got the main points that we wanted to make: choose based on how you feel about each chapter, your experiences there, etc. But she DID ask, and since there is info here, I'm glad she got the answers she needed from ariesrising and others.

No, you were wondering why some people responded to you the way they did (hence "confused"). So I explained one reason to you. Don't be so hellbent on antagonism. :rolleyes:

But with all due respect to ariesrising and her website (and that is a whole lot of respect), you have to remember what others have said -- these numbers change every day. Chapters open, chapters close, new members are initiated, initiated members die. At best, any list is going to be only a snapshot of how things stood on the day the list was created. But even then, the list may be out of date as soon as it is created.

Caveat emptor.

Because wanting to join a house with the cute girls, or the 2-woman rooms instead of sleeping porches, or the one with the better proximity to campus aren't superficial reasons? :rolleyes:

Cali: I'm not saying you care about the above, but plenty of PNMs pick based on the above and don't get the isht you are - expecially when they use the "didn't feel a connection" comment. Don't worry about asking. I always ask how big a company I'm interviewing with is on the national/international level. Being biggest doesn't mean you're the best (though I might beg to differ on that one! ;) ), but it's a perfectly valid question.

Just yesterday I got an Annual Fund letter from DZ Headquarters and it was mentioned that we've initiated 212,000 since our founding in 1902. Not exactly where that puts us as far as "biggest" since, as someone mentioned upthread, the numbers are constantly changing. I do know we're up there, though.

Best of luck in your rush experience!

DZ can certainly afford to boost its membership by all reasonable means possible. Why?

I just paid my daughter's first semester DZ fees! Yowza! Ha!

P.S. It is totally worth it and more....

BamaDad, my dad balked at my fees too until I took him to his first Alpha Chi Dad Days (golf and bbq!!!! :D ) Hopefully DZ will soon hold some fun daddy-daughter activities and you'll get to even further benefit from that dues check. :)

I guess I need to check on the current numbers, but trust me -- we're #1