If you could determine your pledge class size...

[violetpretty]

It's no surprise that most people said their ideal nm class size is what they are used to at their undergraduate school. Ideal size is more than an arbitrary number. It has to do with the size of your chapter house/suite, and the size and culture of your campus.

You can't talk about ideal nm class size without talking about ideal chapter size.

At Maryland, chapters are 95 (total) in the fall and 120 or so in the spring. Spring nm classes are mid to upper 20s, with 32 this past year being a high mark. Fall nm classes are shrinking, usually 10 or fewer. Most chapter houses have 40-50 women living in, with 3 holding 33 and 2 holding 60. Since my chapter's house sleeps 33, we would need a bigger house if chapter size got any bigger. I'd like to see Maryland go to extension instead of raising total if the recruitment numbers keep going up. We can barely fit enough chairs for meetings. Initiation and other rituals are also way too cozy.

I like the size chapters/nm classes are now at Maryland. They're large enough to be diverse, but small enough to still be personal. Even though I would have made the effort to get to know everyone in my chapter even if it were 300 women, I can't say that everyone else would. I'd say 45 in a NM class is the upper end of ideal for me.

[Benzgirl]

I had 36. The chapter I now work typically has quota around 16-18. I see how much closer that pledge class is, but it's also a small school compared to the largest school in the nation. I think 15-25 is a great size.

[LucyKKG]

My undergrad chapter has had about 22-25 for the last couple of years. I didn't really have a NM class because we basically did COB as a local sorority for a while.

[agzg]

I would think it would be easier to prefer a class of 80 but end up in a class of 8 than prefer a class of 8 and end up in a class of 80.

I would imagine that many women who join when the pledge class is smaller may not join if the chapters/pledge classes were larger. I probably would not have joined had I not gone to the particular college that I went to and had the particular experiences that I ended up having, which led me to Greek Life.

[AXiDa22]

Those pledge classes are bigger than my whole chapter. My pledge class was 22 and I thought that was big! I'm more comfortable in smaller groups so my pledge class was perfect for me!