Daily Beast & Newsweek Release Their Top 25 National Fraternities and Sororities List

Rob Fox12 years ago

The Daily Beast and Newsweek Magazine have released their 2012 College Rankings List, and it’s pretty much like every other college rankings list you’ve ever seen. There are categories for prettiest campus, biggest party schools, happiest colleges, etc. They did however also take the time to rank the top 25 fraternities and sororities nationally. The explanation of their rankings, and the rankings themselves, are below. I’m not going to lie, some of the criteria they used for these rankings seemed… odd, or at least not as fully encompassing as they should/could have been, but with that said the rankings, especially the top 5 for each category, turned out more or less how I thought they would. There were, however, a few surprises.

Top 25 Sororities

To analyze which sororities have the largest national footprint, most devoted sisters, and greatest philanthropic footprint, we compared the 26 Panhellenic Conference sororities based on the number of active collegiate chapters, the number of Twitter followers and Facebook fans (to measure alumni and member interest) and the amount of money the sorority’s non-profit fund donated to 501(c)(3) organizations according the most recent public filing (funds were normalized using a per-chapter ratio). Funds donated to individual chapters, classified as a 501(c)(7) non-profit social club, were not considered for this aspect of the ranking.

We attempted to get an accurate count of the current number of active collegiate chapters from a variety of sources, and contacted all sororities to verify. Several sororities and The National Panhellenic Conference declined to participate or comment for this article due to their governance policies.

25. Theta Phi Alpha

Active Collegiate Chapters: 94
Twitter Followers: 1,831
Facebook Fans: 5,122
Funds donated through the Theta Phi Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $6,761

24. Alpha Epsilon Phi

Active Collegiate Chapters: 45
Twitter Followers: 3,103
Facebook Fans: 1,290
Funds donated through the Alpha Epsilon Phi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $23,571

23. Sigma Delta Tau

Active Collegiate Chapters: 61
Twitter Followers: 3,281
Facebook Fans: 4,120
Funds donated through the Sigma Delta Tau Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $13,250

22. Alpha Sigma Alpha

Active Collegiate Chapters: 86
Twitter Followers: 3,640
Facebook Fans: 11,553
Funds donated through the Alpha Sigma Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $10,375

21. Alpha Sigma Tau

Active Collegiate Chapters: 80
Twitter Followers: 3,567
Facebook Fans: 6,379
Funds donated through the Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $54,340

20. Phi Sigma Sigma

Active Collegiate Chapters: 109
Twitter Followers: 3,347
Facebook Fans: 12,908
Funds donated through the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $78,675

19. Sigma Sigma Sigma

Active Collegiate Chapters: 108
Twitter Followers: 4,479
Facebook Fans: 16,514
Funds donated through the Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $40,600

18. Alpha Xi Delta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 116
Twitter Followers: 6,792
Facebook Fans: 16,569
Funds donated through the Alpha Xi Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $47,200

17. Alpha Gamma Delta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 112
Twitter Followers: 7,090
Facebook Fans: 13,581
Funds donated through the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $234,765

16. Sigma Kappa

Active Collegiate Chapters: 112
Twitter Followers: 8,900
Facebook Fans: 21,572
Funds donated through the Sigma Kappa Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $67,070

15. Phi Mu

Active Collegiate Chapters: 115
Twitter Followers: 10,043
Facebook Fans: 24,369
Funds donated through the Phi Mu Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $77,000

14. Gamma Phi Beta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 125
Twitter Followers: 6,892
Facebook Fans: 20,829
Funds donated through the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $497,675

13. Alpha Chi Omega

Active Collegiate Chapters: 133
Twitter Followers: 8,684
Facebook Fans: 28,918
Funds donated through the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $106,675

12. Delta Zeta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 158
Twitter Followers: 9,332
Facebook Fans: 14,986
Funds donated through the Delta Zeta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $281,668

11. Kappa Alpha Theta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 129
Twitter Followers: 8,344
Facebook Fans: 19,218
Funds donated through the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $695,242

10. Alpha Phi

Active Collegiate Chapters: 157
Twitter Followers: 11,065
Facebook Fans: 13,915
Funds donated through the Alpha Phi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $342935

9. Alpha Omicron Pi

Active Collegiate Chapters: 191
Twitter Followers: 7,938
Facebook Fans: 15,401
Funds donated through the Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $521,380

8. Delta Delta Delta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 138
Twitter Followers: 11,133
Facebook Fans: 21,600
Funds donated through the Delta Delta Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $264,508

7. Kappa Delta

Active Collegiate Chapters: 142
Twitter Followers: 12,789
Facebook Fans: 13,492
Funds donated through the Kappa Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $414,793

6. Pi Beta Phi

Active Collegiate Chapters: 135
Twitter Followers: 8,900
Facebook Fans: 27,585
Funds donated through the Pi Beta Phi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $522,696

5. Chi Omega

Active Collegiate Chapters: 174
Twitter Followers: 10,189
Facebook Fans: 35,569
Funds donated through the Chi Omega Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $85,971

4. Alpha Delta Pi

Active Collegiate Chapters: 142
Twitter Followers: 11,217
Facebook Fans: 34,945
Funds donated through the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $120,957

3. Kappa Kappa Gamma

Active Collegiate Chapters: 108
Twitter Followers: 12,039
Facebook Fans: 31,602
Funds donated through the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $624,500

2. Delta Gamma

Active Collegiate Chapters: 147
Twitter Followers: 11,835
Facebook Fans: 32,717
Funds donated through the Delta Gamma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $792,499

1. Zeta Tau Alpha

Active Collegiate Chapters: 159
Twitter Followers: 11,995
Facebook Fans: 40,647
Funds donated through the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $384,039

Top 25 Fraternities

For all the attention devoted to the hazing practices and bullying of a few collegiate fraternities, the average Greek frat brother is more active in his community and has a higher G.P.A. than his non-fraternity peers. (Ed. Note: Boom roasted) In order to compare the 75 fraternities that are members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, we first considered the number of active collegiate chapters for each. We also considered the number of alumni who are currently members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the alumni, if any, who became president. Lastly, we considered the amount of money the fraternity’s non-profit fund donated to 501(c)(3) organizations according the most recent public filing (funds were normalized using a per-chapter ratio). Funds donated to individual chapters, classified as a 501(c)(7) non-profit social club, were not considered for this aspect of the ranking.

25. Delta Upsilon (ΔY)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 76
Number of Congressional Alumni: 3
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Delta Upsilon Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$35,022

24. Phi Beta Sigma (ΦBΣ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 152
Number of Congressional Alumni: 2
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Phi Beta Sigma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $0

23. Phi Kappa Sigma (ΦKΣ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 48
Number of Congressional Alumni: n/a
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Phi Kappa Sigma Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $157,843

22. Delta Chi (ΔX)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 135
Number of Congressional Alumni: 4
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Delta Chi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$23,603

21. Beta Theta Pi (BΘΠ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 128
Number of Congressional Alumni: 7
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Beta Theta Pi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$0

20. Iota Phi Theta (IΦΘ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 270
Number of Congressional Alumni: 1
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Iota Phi Theta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $0

19. Sigma Alpha Mu (ΣAM)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 52
Number of Congressional Alumni: n/a
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $123,950

18. Alpha Tau Omega (ATΩ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 132
Number of Congressional Alumni: n/a
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Alpha Tau Omega Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $114,711

17. Pi Kappa Phi (ΠKΦ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 155
Number of Congressional Alumni: 2
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Pi Kappa Phi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$73,765

16. Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 292
Number of Congressional Alumni: 3
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Tau Kappa Epsilon Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $0

15. Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠKA)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 224
Number of Congressional Alumni: 4
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Pi Kappa Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $58,406

14. Lambda Chi Alpha (ΛXA)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 192
Number of Congressional Alumni: 6
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Lambda Chi Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $50,238

13. Phi Kappa Tau (ΦKT)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 77
Number of Congressional Alumni: 3
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Phi Kappa Tau Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $102,609

12. Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 408
Number of Congressional Alumni: 5
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $0

11. Delta Tau Delta (ΔTΔ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 130
Number of Congressional Alumni: 6
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Delta Tau Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $90,457

10. Alpha Phi Alpha (AΦA)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 414
Number of Congressional Alumni: 6
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Alpha Phi Alpha Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $0

9. Kappa Alpha Order (KA)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 124
Number of Congressional Alumni: 5
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Kappa Alpha Order Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $118,115

8. Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦE)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 240
Number of Congressional Alumni: n/a
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Sigma Phi Epsilon Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $219,538

7. Alpha Gamma Rho (AΓP)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 70
Number of Congressional Alumni: 4
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Alpha Gamma Rho Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $1,397,891

6. Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEΠ)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 155
Number of Congressional Alumni: 1
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $178,067

5. Sigma Nu (ΣN)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 175
Number of Congressional Alumni: 8
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Sigma Nu Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$143,921

4. Theta Chi (ΘX)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 133
Number of Congressional Alumni: 2
Number of Presidential Alumni: n/a
Funds donated through the Theta Chi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$278,962

3. Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 123
Number of Congressional Alumni: 3
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Phi Gamma Delta Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $424,525

2. Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣAE)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 246
Number of Congressional Alumni: 9
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation to 501(c)(3)s: $242,225

1. Sigma Chi (ΣX)

Active Collegiate Chapters: 246
Number of Congressional Alumni: 11
Number of Presidential Alumni: 1
Funds donated through the Sigma Chi Foundation to 501(c)(3)s:$1,436,883

• [via The Daily Beast]