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Originally Posted by DubaiSis
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.
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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.