Citations: Here's What It Cost Me to Be in a Sorority for 4 Years (Credit.com), How Much Do Sororities Cost? At the end of the day, there is no cheap way to do sorority life. There are not-so-tiny fines of upwards $100 for each breaking of a fraternity or sorority rule. 490 Riverside Drive, Rm 414, New York, NY 10027, Announcing Spectator’s 145th managing board, House Hunters: Try one of these unconventional places to live next semester, Roommates 101: Finding the right roommate. Many sorority members refer to their big as a key reason why they love their sorority, yet the opportunity to become a Big can revolve around the ability to pay. Last year, it was awarded to three recipients, covering their dues for a semester, according to Lynley Matthews, the Panhellenic Council’s Vice President of Finance. Each chapter will … During “Big-Little week,” each big surprises their little with gifts, food, and clothes. “Even though no one has to know my financial background and my low-income status ... subconsciously it’s going to take a toll on me and the way I perceive myself.”, rahil.kamath@columbiaspectator.com | @columbiaspec. In the first year of membership, a few one-time expenses are assessed. After the newness has worn off, sisters and brothers are responsible for paying active member dues every semester. At the end of the article, DiGangi expresses how she feels about the costs in hindsight. Badge fee. Others—like Delta Gamma or Sigma Delta Tau—have funds where sisters can contribute to the dues of other sisters. Unlike sororities, which disclose dues in the Panhellenic Manual, fraternities do not disclose dues at any set point during the rush process. That's all on top of living costs. (Campus Explorer), Here's What It Cost Me to Be in a Sorority for 4 Years. There are a lot of the cost factors people overlook before joining a sorority. Columbia has no such centralized information about the costs of Greek life (Associate Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jazmyn Pulley was not made available for an interview). Social events such as formal, semi-formal, crush, retreat, and Big-Little week—where older members welcome new members—optional, but they remain integral to being a part of the community. Regular chapter membership dues, which can certainly also add up, are other hidden costs that many do not think about. Initially joining will be the most expensive aspect, but it is still expensive after you become a member. If you’re a small chapter, sisters may not need to pay too much comparatively, but sorority dues can often reach over $1,000 per student per semester. With the help of student loans and loaned money from her parents, DiGangi was able to make it work. However, most Greek life organizations on campus have attempted to provide aid in ways that vary widely from chapter to chapter. She included all costs, from housing to little things like beer cozies and sweatbands worn for events. Another method to avoiding these additional costs is the decision to make dues more all-inclusive—a system employed by Columbia’s chapter of Beta Theta Pi—which allows for the costs of all social events like formals and retreats, as well as extra costs of drinks and food, to be covered by dues. That adds up to $14,800 for all four years. Additional information regarding the average chapter dues at the University of Alabama may be… “February came at a time when I was unsure where I felt like I fit in,” Sigma Delta Tau member Nicole Fischbein, CC ’20, said. That adds up to $14,800 for all four years. Associated expenses include those of badges or pins, which vary from school to school. A report published by the Working Group on Campus Social and Residential Life at Princeton explored the demographics of students who participate in Greek life, 75 percent of whom had a family income of over $75,000 per year. In general, the initial new member semester is the most expensive due to some one-time fees. After initiation into the sorority, the dues are reduced for the following semesters. Being part of a sorority or fraternity gives you a lifelong sisterhood or brotherhood, respectively. Considering this, what is the most expensive sorority? I thought that Greek life provided a good opportunity for that.”. Despite the widespread appeal of Greek life as a means to find community, for many, the community it offers is unapproachable from the start because of the baseline cost of dues. “Since everyone is publicizing what they did [for their little], if you don’t step up or go all out, it looks like you don’t care,” Marisa Ngbemeneh, SEAS ’20, said. She lived in the sorority house for some, but not all, of her four years in college. And while most fraternities and sororities have begun to implement scholarships and other forms of institutional aid, these initiatives are scattered and inconsistent across houses. Obviously, sororities are organizations that need some funding to function. The first semester will be the most expensive because recruitment, registration and initiation fees are piled on everything else. • Most of the fraternities and sororities have reduced dues for members on co-op • New member dues are typically more expensive • The student would live in the fraternity house over the summer (most of the sorority houses close for the summer; but you can imagine that finding on- or off- According to data from the 2015-2016 school year, the least amount a UCF student would have to pay as a new member of a sorority is $956 per semester at … Get the latest news and top stories delivered to your inbox. Once you are an initiated member, the price of dues decrease for your remaining semesters. Then, if you chose to accept a bid to a sorority, your first semester dues as a new member will range between $400 and $800 depending on the chapter. The remaining money contributes to social events, philanthropy, house maintenance, and other chapter-specific costs. However if you drop out of the sorority after you have been initiated, you are NEVER able to go through sorority recruitment again!! While most fraternities and sororities have begun to implement forms of institutional aid, these initiatives are outpaced by student need. Some people think joining a sorority is basically "buying friendship," but anyone who has joined one will tell you that's not always true. Aside from the the first rush event—a Greek life mixer at which all fraternities are in attendance—every event is chapter-specific, meaning that there is no single event dedicated to explaining the finances of rushing fraternities. As fraternity rush comes to a close and next semester’s sorority recruitment approaches, the prospect of participating in Greek life will remain out of reach to many low-income students unable to afford the steep costs associated with being a member of a fraternity or sorority. Sororities at the University of Mississippi provide estimates for in-house member dues of $2,900 to $4,200 per semester Living in-house as a member of … What is the most expensive sorority? After those initial payments are made, your student’s only expense will be semester dues. The cost of membership varies from chapter to chapter. It is important to remember that sorority membership is the most expensive during the first semester due to one-time new member fees (i.e. Members are required to pay dues, whether by month, quarter, semester or year. Penn State and the University of Mississippi don't offer housing for sororities, but members must pay either monthly or per semester to be a part of them. Here are some examples, but keep in mind every school and chapter are different. The number of students who express interest in joining fraternities or sororities has increased every year, with hundreds of students going through the rush process last year and close to 20 percent of the student body currently involved in Greek life. Weighing the price of becoming a sister for life is different for every person. Joining a sorority could mean spending almost $500 on just t-shirts over four years. “I am considering rushing again, but the financials are still really holding me back,” a Columbia College sophomore who received a bid during the last recruitment cycle but had to decline for monetary reasons said. Huge parties and living accommodations aren't free, people. You can see how much the costs vary. For them, it doesn’t seem like a sustainable social scene,” Sigma Delta Tau member Ngbemeneh said. Is it expensive to be in a sorority? But sorority members at the University of California, Berkeley cough up $3,500 to $4,200 per semester including housing and food. All sororities are willing to work with their members on an individual basis to create payment plans if necessary. While not one of the largest sororities in the country, Phi Mu has arguably the best sorority house at its University of Alabama chapter. Students in this position said in many cases that they would rather drop out of recruitment or forfeit their bid than reveal their economic status. For the most part, joining a sorority will add expenses to an already expensive four-year experience. In one year, in some houses, a member can expect to spend more than $800 on dues and chapter-specific costs ranging from apparel and gifts to formals and cruises. Sure, a t-shirt costs $20 one time, but after many different events each semester, it all adds up quickly. But, not all college kids have to pay fines for missing meetings or getting too drunk at parties like sorority members do. According to interviews with members, however, most chapters’ dues fall between $400 and $600, while dues for pledges can be slightly higher than those for returning members. The average cost of New Member Dues is $1,700 for Fall semester. Her final breakdown came to $16,015.21 for the four years she was part of a sorority. All rights reserved. At the University of Michigan, a larger public college, dues for the first semester of sorority membership range from $220 (an unhoused chapter) to $1,753 (a housed, on-campus sorority). Students who rush said that they see Greek life as one of the few clear ways to make friends and fulfill a lacking sense of community, especially on an isolating campus like Columbia’s. Members also have to pay for apparel like t-shirts (everyone has to match), alcohol, social events like other fundraisers, clothes for themed parties and gifts for younger members. So yeah, joining a sorority is a bigger financial decision than you'd think amidst the fun and excitement of rush week. Being in a sorority isn’t cheap. The first semester as a sister is usually the most expensive, and sorority girls at the University of Georgia, for example, will find themselves paying $1,570 in Panhellenic dues … This is the most important thing: Being in a sorority is EXPENSIVE. The only Columbia-wide offering is the Panhellenic Award, a need-blind form of aid eligible for students in the six Panhellenic sororities. Cost of membership in a Greek organization varies, depending on the organization and housing options. Many groups use financial management companies, which offers online access and monthly payment plans. No method is consistent across all chapters, and the majority of any chapter’s scholarship resources‚ if any, are provided on a case-by-case basis. Beyond the cost of dues, members are faced with a number of small, unannounced costs that can add up to pose a significant financial burden. Click the blue “on/off” icon and make sure it turns gray. Each fraternity and sorority is self-supported through dues charged to all members. Greek life can be a rewarding and special experience, both during your college years and post-grad, too. Those funds are often insufficient to support the need presented by potential members—and are sometimes insufficiently advertised those those debating Greek life. The $13 million, 39,444-square-foot home features a baby grand piano and a chandelier that once hung in New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which is what the whole house feels like. “It’s going to have to come out of the [work study] wages that I make here, and that’s like three months worth of wages for me to join a sorority just for one semester.”. “SDT does a really good job of making resources available, but I could definitely see there being a pressure to buy new clothes and other stuff.”. According to data from the 2015-2016 school year, the least amount a UCF student would have to pay as a new member of a sorority is $956 per semester at Delta Zeta, compared with the highest amount – $2,346 – at Delta Delta Delta. Remember that even though these costs can be expensive, they are often cheaper than normal on-campus dorm housing. pledging, initiation, badge or pin fee, etc.) Although sororities started reporting the dues associated with each chapter during recruitment last year, fraternities still do not publicize their dues to non-members. And although the open structure of sorority recruitment allows potential members to interact with all sororities at the same time, there is a mutual selection process in which both the potential members and sororities rank their preferences at the end of each day, with no guarantee that low-income students will be selected by the sororities that have lower dues or provide better scholarship opportunities. Click on your ad-blocker icon and select 'Options'. Because each house has varying dues and support, low-income students who are not accepted into a more-supportive house of choice may be unable to join an organization at all. Even with efforts undertaken to make Greek life more accessible, low-income students said that the explicit costs of Greek life—and pressure to cover implicit costs—ultimately contribute to a sense of alienation. I'm sorry that I cannot be implicit, but initiation fees, dues and donations for various activities add up rather quickly. And then there are colleges with expensive membership fees that don't include anything else, like at the University of Southern California, where sorority members have to pay an additional $1,300 per year. Contracts of chapters with housing typically include room and board, as well as social fees, local and national dues, and some incidentals. Although a Big can resort to cost-effective options—like handmade gifts—and a number of chapters offer ways to obtain hand-me-down apparel for discounted prices, many choose not to, citing pressure to impress their Little and housemates and, in many cases, to post pictures of the gifts on social media. All Greek life members can apply to scholarships offered by their respective national societies, but these opportunities are not guaranteed and depend on the alumni endowment of each organization. It's hard to nail down an actual average of basic costs, such as registration fees, dues and housing because every school is different. Greek life for international students. ] Yes, living in sorority housing can be cheaper than on-campus housing, which is often required for undergrad students on most campuses. Before joining, create a plan on how you will afford the dues and be prepared to commit financially. Dues—which all participants in Greek life must pay to retain active member status—are the first and most prominent barrier encountered by most low-income potential pledges. Damn. This standardization is facilitated by the use of payment plans, which allow members to pay their dues in scheduled installments over a longer period of time. pledging, initiation, badge or pin fee, etc.) No matter what school you go to or what kind of family you come from, costs are definitely something to consider when making a huge commitment like joining a sorority. At UNC, for 2018, new members pay between $575 to $2,500 in new member dues in the semester when they … “Currently, I don’t know how I’m going to afford a little because during Big-Little week, every day there’s a theme, and the big buys a bunch of stuff for their Little and that can add up to be super expensive,” Alpha Chi Omega member Joanna Paik, SEAS ’20, said. You’ll make friends who have similar values as you, but that also come with a diversity of backgrounds, interests, lifestyles, and more. Membership dues and housing costs are the most expensive costs of sororities. New and Active Member Dues . The new member fees vary by chapter and range from $670 to $1,940 For the six sorority chapters under the Columbia Panhellenic Council, dues average $650 for new members and about $400 for returning members, with some houses decreasing dues based on the season or length of membership. At the University of Florida, sorority members pay around $3,700 per year, and that includes housing. Because of new member dues, you can expect your first semester in a sorority to be the most expensive. Financial requirements are membership dues, which include a meal plan, social events, leadership training, sisterhood events, support to the local chapter and international organization, and more. This is a big commitment for many students who are on a tight budgets. At the University of Florida, sorority members pay around $3,700 per year, and that includes housing. The first semester of membership if the most expensive due to many one-time fees (house corporation fee, initiation fee, etc.). This average includes what is required. Other fees may include membership education, social activities, national and local dues, and upkeep on the chapter house I wouldn’t know about all this stuff if my best friends weren’t in sororities now,” the Columbia College sophomore said. Formal—the event that most members attend each year—can cost more than $50 per person. Yikes! We use advertising revenue to subsidize the cost of providing journalism to the campus, and to fund over fifty students who are on our work-study program. Dues can be expensive. This cost is doubled if the brother or sister pays for their date––which is often the norm, especially for fraternities. “I was kind of looking for like a home base. According to data from the 2015-2016 school year, the least amount a UCF student would have to pay as a new member of a sorority is $956 per semester at Delta Zeta, compared with the highest amount – $2,346 – at Delta Delta Delta. For the six sorority chapters under the Columbia Panhellenic Council, dues average $650 for new members and about $400 for returning members, with some houses decreasing dues based on the season or length of membership. If you’ve planned important chapter initiatives that are costly, yet the benefits to the chapter outweigh the cost of losing them, put your scissors away. However, the cost of living in a fraternity or sorority house is generally comparable […] If you may be in need of financial assistance for membership, many chapters offer payment plans and scholarships. The money spent is friendship earned, I guess. Again, this is dependent on the school and sorority, but with all the activities you do in a sorority, dues can be expensive. It does not include the cost of the formal attire that many people buy or rent for the event, or the cost of transportation to and from the venue, which is usually off-campus. There are many good reasons to join a sorority, but the benefits come with a pretty large price tag. At Penn State, sorority members pay $350 to $600 per semester, which adds up to $2,800 to $4,800 total. and we suggest that you anticipate the total fees using the higher projections provided below. In an article on Credit.com, Christine DiGangi broke down each expense by looking at her old credit card and sorority billing statements and estimating cash costs. Greek life for international students. ] “I know that the pool of people who rush and get in is most likely people who don’t come from a low-income background, so people are deterred because they can’t see themselves in that kind of community in general. This strategy—common across both fraternities and sororities—is one of the primary methods of alleviating the overwhelming price of semester dues. Beta’s dues are $600, which falls on the higher end of the spectrum for fraternities, but—according to President Justin Borczuk, CC ’18—they help prevent brothers from having to pay out-of-pocket. Fraternities and sororities pay their own way through dues, membership fees and one-time new member or initiation fees. For both fraternities and sororities, a large part of these dues—usually around 50 percent—goes to the corresponding national organization. These regular dues can set you back between $20 to … Pledging and initiation can be the most expensive processes of Greek life. Cost of Sororities and Fraternities: Active Member Dues. Dues, what you must pay to participate in the sorority, can range from $250 – $1000 PER SEMESTER! Some—like Alpha Omicron Pi, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Sigma Nu—have in-chapter scholarship funds that funnel alumni donations or fundraising money toward aid for dues. 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