Upper limit on new pledges/associate members

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Excuse me if this question is too much in your kool-aid.

I get the impression (in general) that fraternities in the NIC, or otherwise participating in a campus IFC, typically have a more laid-back sort of rush/recruitment process in which they just take the guys they want without regard to quotas, release figures, and all that chichi froufrou npc stuff.

(If there is a flaw to the above statement, please help me understand more clearly)

Otherwise, with all that said, I have a question:

Can an NIC fraternity pretty much take whoever they want without regard to any sort of upper limit?

Or are the "available slots" ever based on beds at the house, if there is one?

Or are there other factors I am overlooking?

No limit.

But risk management, brotherhood and quality of the overall house could suffer.

We limit the amount of pledge partly (mostly) because of risk management.

[Firehouse]

It's a good question. Men would not put up with limits or quotas, at least not at a public university. I know of one or two private shcools that impose limts but it's extremely rare.

But on some campusses, especially in the midwest, often fraternities are expected to house their members. There are schools where the purpose of summer rush is to fill a certain number of "freshmen beds" in the house.

It's not true in the south. Here the houses are beautiful but don't actually house that many men. However, the larger fraternity chapters in the country tend to be in the south.

The answer to your question varies depending on where you are.