NPHC life at Howard

[babe'sbabe]

Originally posted by Rudey
So they are not the best of the best but the best of Howard?
If so why would it be more competitive there?

-Rudey

Ok here is a hypo:

ABC org has a rush and 300 women attend. Of those 300 women, 150 exceed the minimum requirement of gpa, community service, and leadership, 75 meet the basic requirements and 75 fall short. Now, the chapter can not accept all of the women and the pool of qualified applicants is extremely large. The organization has the job of selecting say 100 members from a pool of 225 applicants. That means that 125 girls that meet (or exceed) the minimum qualifications are not going to make it. Thus the applicant must do any and everything to make them shine in order to get one of the spots.

Now, if you combne this with a school that has higher requirements than the national org, only the " best of the best will make it" Or to say it another way only the over qualified of the qualified will make the cut because those that meet the minimum qualifications are just average compared to the other applicants that exceed them.

make sense now?

[CarolinaCutie]

Here's what I'm saying:

ABC organization, with their Alpha chapter at Howard, 25 open slots, must have 3.5 GPA and 75+ hours previous community service, etc.

You say the Howard students are "overachievers", so we'd assume a high proportion of these students are going to make minimum GPA requirements. In addition, there's the fact that 5 of the Divine 9 have their Alpha chapters at that school, meaning going Greek is a BIG deal there. Also factor in the large groups of people who have grown up with that org in their families and maybe even chose Howard because of that (what I would call a legacy). To me, those characteristics are going to mean that there will be a high number of qualified (qualified meaning meeting the baseline standard) applicants, more applicants than there are open spots.

So if there are 25 open spots on a line and 150 applicants... the 25 that get in are going to obviously be the cream of the crop- higher GPAs than 3.5, excellent community service record, plus there's that X Factor of membership selection where everyone likes her, classy, good leader, etc.

This obviously differs from a school where going Greek is not as big of a deal. They may have the potential for 25 open spots as well, but have trouble finding applicants that meet the baseline standard. Or it's possible that (with exceptions involving that X Factor) the majority of qualified applicants are accepted.

Thus, it would be easier to be an ABC at the second school than the first. At the second school, you are meeting the basic standard and making sure everyone likes you. At the first school, you have to do those things AND making sure you're better than the majority of applicants: COMPETITION.

Obviously I am not in an NPHC sorority nor do I attend Howard, but this is just my interpretation of what might happen. I'm not saying this is what happens, but I'm trying to better understand. I don't see how it's flawed logic, but it's entirely possible that there are factors I'm missing.

[Rudey]

I might have not been serious about the over achiever remark. I'm not sure now that I think about it.

-Rudey

Originally posted by CarolinaCutie
Here's what I'm saying:

ABC organization, with their Alpha chapter at Howard, 25 open slots, must have 3.5 GPA and 75+ hours previous community service, etc.

You say the Howard students are "overachievers", so we'd assume a high proportion of these students are going to make minimum GPA requirements. In addition, there's the fact that 5 of the Divine 9 have their Alpha chapters at that school, meaning going Greek is a BIG deal there. Also factor in the large groups of people who have grown up with that org in their families and maybe even chose Howard because of that (what I would call a legacy). To me, those characteristics are going to mean that there will be a high number of qualified (qualified meaning meeting the baseline standard) applicants, more applicants than there are open spots.

So if there are 25 open spots on a line and 150 applicants... the 25 that get in are going to obviously be the cream of the crop- higher GPAs than 3.5, excellent community service record, plus there's that X Factor of membership selection where everyone likes her, classy, good leader, etc.

This obviously differs from a school where going Greek is not as big of a deal. They may have the potential for 25 open spots as well, but have trouble finding applicants that meet the baseline standard. Or it's possible that (with considering that X Factor) the majority of qualified applicants are accepted.

Thus, it would be easier to be an ABC at the second school than the first. At the second school, you are meeting the basic standard and making sure everyone likes you. At the first school, you have to do those things AND making sure you're better than the majority of applicants: COMPETITION.

Obviously I am not in an NPHC sorority nor do I attend Howard, but this is just my interpretation of what might happen. I'm not saying this is what happens, but I'm trying to better understand. I don't see how it's flawed logic, but it's entirely possible that there are factors I'm missing.

[Wolfman]

Yes, the "Mother Pearl" website is exceptional for its historical coverage. What can be obscured are the people behind the names on the lists of the "lines" from the beginning of the Fraternity to teh present. For example, the current President of Howard Univ., Patrick Swygert, was a member of the '64 line, and late Fr. John Burgess, graduate advisor of Alpha chapter, was Episcopal Bishop of Massachussets, the first African American to serve as a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church, There are many more!

"THe value of our fraternity is not in numbers, but in men in real brotherhood.."-Bro. Walter H. Mazyck,Esq.,The Oracle 1925.

[BlueReign]

Originally posted by Rudey
I don't understand your logic one bit.

-Rudey

I don't understand your logic.

Carolina Cutie, you are pretty much on point.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by BlueReign
I don't understand your logic.

Carolina Cutie, you are pretty much on point.

I would have had to argue something for you to look for logic.

But anyway, Howard students are not exactly better than say...Harvard kids...so how exactly are they the best of the best and better than kids at other schools?

-Rudey
--But who knows.

[babe'sbabe]

Originally posted by Rudey
I would have had to argue something for you to look for logic.

But anyway, Howard students are not exactly better than say...Harvard kids...so how exactly are they the best of the best and better than kids at other schools?

-Rudey
--But who knows.

What are you talking about???!!

No one said that Howard students were better than students at other schools. Best of the best means that only the best applicants in the pool will be selected for membership. A pool that is comprised of extremely qualified applicants.

Are you looking to incite an argument?

[Rudey]

Originally posted by babe'sbabe
What are you talking about???!!

No one said that Howard students were better than students at other schools. Best of the best means that only the best applicants in the pool will be selected for membership. A pool that is comprised of extremely qualified applicants.

Are you looking to incite an argument?

No, I'm not looking for an argument. I am just saying that to be the best of the best, you go to the best pool of people and take the best from there. For those BLO members to be the best of the best it would mean their school was the best to start with.

-Rudey
--What about the BGLO members at say...Harvard? How would they feel?

[babe'sbabe]

Originally posted by Rudey
No, I'm not looking for an argument. I am just saying that to be the best of the best, you go to the best pool of people and take the best from there. For those BLO members to be the best of the best it would mean their school was the best to start with.

-Rudey
--What about the BGLO members at say...Harvard? How would they feel?

Ok,

How about this:

The best and brightest group of applicants from the campus of Howard University, located in Washington, DC.

That better?

[Rudey]

Originally posted by babe'sbabe
Ok,

How about this:

The best and brightest group of applicants from the campus of Howard University, located in Washington, DC.

That better?

Sure. I guess. You got all specific.

Anyway, I would hope that GLO applicants at any campus are the best and brightest, but I am sometimes disappointed in those hopes.

-Rudey

[ladygreek]

Rudey,
I see where you are coming from. But to some people Howard is the best for a lot of reasons other than the general perception of the quality of the school.

For example, my daughter turned down Stanford with a scholarship to go to Howard without one. Why? Because she was born and raised in MN, and we both felt strongly that she needed Howard for reasons that are hard to articulate on here.

Has that hurt her in her career? No. She was highly recruited in her field after undergrad, later went on to grad school at a PWI, and again heavily recruited. She is now on the fast track in a Fortune 100 company. A lot of it is due to her experiences at Howard.

When she rushed Delta, she was turned down on her first try. She knew that having a 3.5 GPA, etc. was not going to automatically get her in the door. That was because of the 200+ in her rush group over 150 at 3.2s and above. And they all, too, had stellar community service and leadership. And at the time, the school set a pledge line limit of 50. So she knew she had to do things to rise to the top of the prospects. (And no, I am not talking about illegal things.) She did those things and was accepted on her second try.

I think this is to what CarolinaCutie is referring.

But it is also true to smaller campuses. A chapter doesn't have to accept anyone if they don't want to. So even the smaller chapters go for the best of the applicants. And if the whole applicant pool is mediocre then they can decide to not take a pledge line at all.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally posted by CarolinaCutie
I know if I were going there, I'd want to go Greek!

Really?

Hopefully that would be because you saw a (chapter of an) organization that captured your eye and your heart. Not just because Greekdom is "big" on campus.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally posted by Rudey
So they are not the best of the best but the best of Howard?

Hmmmm....

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally posted by BlueReign
Carolina Cutie, you are pretty much on point.

She is very on point.

Rudey's just kicking up dust as usual. Then people wonder why certain questions aren't answered on this board.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally posted by Rudey
But anyway, Howard students are not exactly better than say...Harvard kids...so how exactly are they the best of the best and better than kids at other schools?

Hmmmm....

There is no ONE college or university that has the "best of the best." Harvard "kids" aren't the "best of the best." They are simply people who applied to Harvard and were accepted, for whatever reasons.