[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by 33girl

(I get the impression that sometimes that is the opinion when NPHC lines are super large.) There are huge numbers of awesome rushees that any chapter would love to have.

Some chapters can have issues with qualifications but that tends not to be the concern.

Larger NPHC chapters tend to have 50+ people who are all extremely qualified. For instance, if a chapter has 200+ at the "informational or rush," 50-100+ can be highly qualified. Some of them may have more qualifications "on paper" rather than "in person" but large chapters tend to be large because they are at schools with a large (potential) aspirant population. Some of these chapters choose to narrow the qualifications even further because of this large aspirant population.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I personally would hate the concept of not knowing all my chapter sisters' names and only having super close friendships with a fraction of the chapter....

That is one of the main complaints about large chapters (and not just sororities). This includes new members not knowing older chapter members and also new members not really knowing their fellow new members. I do know NPHCers from large lines who have introduced themselves to their own line sisters.

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Maybe I'm more sinister than the people who have replied already, but don't the debates over small vs. large lines or NPHC chapters also have something to do with feeling like if you get too big, you get away from being as selective as you should be?

I think the whole quota system means that NPC groups don't get hung up on that very frequently.

I'm certainly not claiming it's never been said; I've just never heard of a top group saying that even if they attracted every strong potential new member going through recruitment, that they still wouldn't feel like they have quota's worth of worthy candidates.

I've only heard of "struggling" groups who face the pressure to take quota but might feel like they didn't want the part of the pool that wanted them.

I think the philosophy is that if the campus is good enough to have your group on it, then there are enough good candidates out there; your job as a chapter is to make sure you get the top girls as your pledge class.

Now, with fraternities, I've heard of stronger ones being critical of other stronger groups because they took too big a pledge class so they weren't as selective as they should have been. I think the when number of bids that you can give is sort of open ended, then the pressure is greater about where to draw the line so you don't appear to be just asking everyone to join.

But yeah, I'm sure the experience of being in a chapter of 200+ presents different challenges for sisterhood.

Thanks for your response. Nothing sinister about it.

As for the bolded, such statements have sparked big debates among NPHCers. LOL. It gets into the discussion of whether being officially qualified means the sisterhood/brotherhood needs all of these people at once. This is perhaps more a perception among some NPHCers because NPHC aspirants can be however old they want to be as long as they qualify. You can be a senior in college (traditional age or 40 years old) or a 65 year old woman/man pursuing through an alumnae/alumni/graduate chapter. There are larger chapters that only take the top percentage of applicants and will not accept a line over a certain number. Everyone else can keep trying until they either make it or get tired of trying.

Thanks for responding, everyone who responded.