two prefs vs. three prefs

I think it will be REALLY hard for girls to narrow down their options between sisterhood and pref (because that’s usually when PNMs are the most torn), but I think it will be good to eliminate the third house because a lot of girls will like their first two houses but really not want the third one.
I am worried it will lead to more suiciding if girls have one house they love and one they hate.

NPC made the decision based on years of evidence suggesting that PNMs are far more confident in their first and second choice houses than their third choice. I know when I was preffing 4 years ago, I was torn between my first and second, but my third just wasn’t clicking for me. I think fewer girls will suicide because PNMs will know it’s a 50/50 chance where they go if they maximize, and in the past putting down only 2/3 houses is still “suiciding,” because you didn’t maximize.

I have the same questions as OP. I too think girls are less likely to suicide with three prefs than two. It seems like bigger stakes this year than past years but that's my guess. I wish we could still have a three house pref option.

No, no, no! The three pref system has mountains of evidence against it. #2 comment has it on the money and @Active's experience is by far the one that most always statistically happens. First of all, there was a very LOW percentage of PNM's who ended up getting their 3rd choice house. Of those PNM's, there was a very HIGH percentage of not accepting those bids or not putting the 3rd choice on the card. So, the statistics point heavily to that 3rd choice not really being viable. Under two prefs, a PNM can go ahead and possibly get the third one off her card and not worry about landing there, OR be able to understand her real options going into pref when she is released from a house that would carry her to pref but have her so low on their bid list that she wouldn't have gotten that bid anyway, ie better to know before pref than get hopes up for bid day. Two prefs is going to be way better for PNM's.

I do think the 2 house change may lead to heartbreak earlier on for some women. If they are dead set on a house going into pref they may have a difficult time on pref day if the house they wanted doesn’t come back. Rooting for all those Rho chi’s out there!!

I saw a LOT more not-showing-up-for-Bid-Day with 3 prefs than 2. And I've watched this for 40+ years.
Now, will it increase the number of girls dropping when they see their final two sororities? Absolutely. going from 8 to 2 is going to be a shock no matter what, but so was going from 8 to 3.
In the end, I think going back to 2 prefs is good.

If you don't match with your first or second choice, you will probably get your first choice as a quota addition right? This would be better than matching with your third choice.