can the ranks be like this instead? (+rush thoughts)

Pike
ZBT
Phi Psi
Sig Chi

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Phi Delt
Delt
AEPi

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Beta
Sig Nu
DX

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Lambda
DU
Sig Ep
Fiji


Reasoning and notes:

Four tiers kinda make more sense. The commonly known "middle tier" is a big jumble and there's a huge gap in quality between Phi Delt at its top and Sig Nu at the bottom. Delt and AEPi join Phi Delt in that upper middle grouping after rush. All of them did pretty solid especially considering Phi Delt and Delt were on probation and couldn't do much in fall rush. AEPi pulled a huge class but some of them were snap bids so it could work out, also could not.

Beta slides down a bit, they were giving out some late desperation bids on Day 3 but some of the guys they got are still ok. If AEPi's pledge class doesn't mesh well they could retake that spot. Sig Nu more or less stays where they are. Some good guys but also some not so good. And if you break up the tiers like this DX kinda slides into the bottom of that lower middle. They're still not above any of the aforementioned houses but at this point there's a pretty big gap in quality between them and the rest of the historically referred to "lower tier". LXA (the next house down) barely cracked double digits in pledges this year and DX had double that.

Going back to the top, ZBT and Phi Psi leapfrog Sig Chi after rush, those two did great and Sig Chi did meh. The guys Sig Chi already had before rush keep them top but if they don't rebound next year they could go down.

In regards to the bottom, LXA stays above DU but that gap is definitely closer than in the past after rush. Sig Ep still sucks but they move up only because Fiji isn't trying to improve themselves. Sig Ep has at least made some kind of an effort so they get credit for that I guess.

I think the absence of SAE also had a trickle down effect not just at the top houses, but down the line. Some guys who would've filled a pc there went to ZBT and historically upper-middle Phi Psi, pushing some of the guys of the quality Phi Psi would normally take down to Phi Delt and Delt, and so on.

Overall a pretty weird rush. Lots more movement than usual. Time will tell how each houses' pc's will mesh and whether this movement is gonna be permanent or just a temporary reaction.