Ideal chapter size
 

With all the explosive growth on so many campuses, this is something I've been thinking about, and how it varies from school to school. The systems with the huge physical structures don't want to expand to the point that they can't fill the houses every year, but you don't want to turn too many girls off because of an overly competitive recruitment either. In an unhoused environment, it's less about money but there are still burdens associated with too many members, not just too few. Meeting in a classroom is one thing, but if you have to rent a lecture hall to meet that would be less than pleasant.

So maybe some people can share. What do you think the perfect chapter size is at your school? And maybe a reason or two why.

I went to the University of Iowa (go Hawks!). The chapter houses are large traditional structures that hold 40-60 women. At least in our case, over the years they have adjusted down the number of girls who can live in. I don't know if that's because nobody wants to sleep in a quad or fire safety or too much electrical burden on an old house, or what. Anyway, I think the ideal chapter size at Iowa is 100-110. At 120 it was a little big, but much below 100 and you have to have more girls living in more years than they want.

Next?

At Illinois, quota was about 50 most years that I was there, and I think that was about "right" for most chapter houses. Most of the time, the sophomore class + officers + a few women from the junior class who decided to live in again would fill the house. Some years, some chapters had to tell women who wanted to live in that they couldn't, and some years, some chapters had to tell women that they had to live in.

Anyway, given the retention problems most chapters had, this led to most chapters around 150, with official total set at 145. I think that was a workable number.

I agree with you on size. Once you get over 150 the chapter is difficult to manage. I also think large PNM classes are a strain on the chapter too.

Why do you think every one wants to be Greek right now? Is it the media?

It's the birth rate (aka the baby boomlet).

Total was set at 50 at my school (small public institution, most houses held 15). I think that was the perfect size. Small enough to know all your sisters but big enough to not be stressed with multiple offices. And small enough so that all the Greeks pretty much knew each other.

I think I read somewhere that when society is in conflict, people seek out ways to be connected. But that doesn't make complete sense, since the late 60's/early 70's were about as bad as it gets socially, and Greek life was plummeting on most campuses.

But I think with all of the networking people learn to do from a very young age PLUS the ever growing understanding (right or wrong) that it's not what you know it's who you know, it makes sense that people would seek out real life connections in college. That may also be why girls will drop out of rush if the "right chapters" cut them. If they aren't going to make the right connections, why join at all? And of course explaining to an 18 year old that the pretty cheerleader type is not necessarily the one who grows up to be president or secretary of state or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, is probably a waste of breath.

/not that the pretty cheerleader type CAN'T be uber-successful. I think you get what I'm saying.

I was in a chapter that total was set at 105. Plenty big. I work with a chapter at a school where campus chapter totals was 60. The pledge classes are typically 14-17 and while these girls are really close, it's too small for me.

I think the chapters will PCs over 100 are rediculous and girls can fall away from the meaning of sisterhood. But, who am I to judge. I just don't think I would have been happy in such a situation.


ETA: Our chapter house then held 56 (I think they now only require 36 to live in that same house).

When I was active, our campus Chapter Total was 100. Most houses could hold 50-70, so that everyone from Soph through Sr. could live in. That was the expectation. With 100 members, you had enough diversity to find your place, have a variety of friends and circles, spread the work and responsibility around, but small enough that you knew everyone. Also, we had a full semester (plus a month or two) for pledging. Time enough to get acquainted and adjusted.

I think max 135-150 for Chapter Total, but that's just me. Pledge classes of 35-50 are really managable, when you get to 100 or more in a pledge class, I think it's difficult, especially in a 6 week pledge period.

Back in my day, we had bed quota so the total for each house was different. Some houses held 90 girls. I think our house held something like 75. The key for me was that EVERYONE lived in the house. No exceptions. My daughter is a member of a mega chapter and they do have to meet in a lecture hall. It all seems so cold and detached to me. But that is all she knows. I think her house holds like 30-35 women. She has no desire to live there. Same sorority(not chapter) two different experiences.

At Iowa, (and to an extent quite a few other campuses) it's a combination of those reasons plus the fact that girls just have more Stuff they bring to college (everyone has their own laptop, their own TV, their own stereo/iPod dock, etc... plus hairdryers, curling irons, flat irons, and clothes and shoes galore) that they cut down the capacity in the rooms to create more space. Plus, girls only want to live in two years, Maximum, regardless of whether the house is at capacity or not. I agree that 110 is a good number for Iowa.

When I was in school at Iowa State, total was 92. Most of the chapter facilities could hold 55-70 women (capacity at the Kappa house was 65). That meant you lived in the house at least two, if not three years (soph-senior). But that was the norm on campus, so it wasn't a big deal. Total was decreased to 85 about 7 years ago when recruitment numbers fell and very few houses could maintain total at 92. However, with pledge classes being in the high 20s and low 30s for the last two to three years, I can see total being increased back to 92 or even slightly higher. I think anywhere between 90-100 is a good number for Iowa State. It allows for average attrition throughout the years while still keeping chapters at capacity and allowing some seniors to live out if so desired. Pledge classes are manageable, size-wise, and you still know pretty much everyone in your chapter.

Coming from a smaller campus with a small percentage of students who are Greek, this is the problem I see the chapters running into more so than any other. There are 3 sororities, and 3 meeting rooms in the student union building, available for any student organization to reserve, that are used for chapter meetings and recruitment events.

Total is set at 40. Even when I was my chapter's recruitment advisor a year ago and there were 30 girls, those rooms were tight (with tables set up in a square/rectangle). When the chapters reserve those rooms, they do so for an entire semester, and while each chapter basically had their "designated room" year after year, it has come to a point where every sorority is fighting for the largest room. And if you don't get it, you're stuck being squished for 10+ meetings, until there's a mad dash to Student Activities the following semester.

And recruitment events.. I'm not sure if they've moved them anywhere else, but for those of you who read my recruitment story thread in the past couple days, you know that 84 PNMs showed up for recruitment.. A new record in at least the last 10 years. So you have 30-40 sisters with 28 PNMs, and you can imagine what that's like in a room that is just comfortable enough to have the 30-40 sisters standing in it.

I think that total is ok where it's at for now, but I'll be very curious to see what's going to happen as all of the chapters continue to grow.

You know, it's funny that most of the comments here relate the chapter size to the available facilities, housing or otherwise. This hasn't devolved into the big vs. small debate.