I think what makes that thread so problematic is the huge swings in numbers being thrown about. There is a HUGE difference between $2400 and $4000.

At schools with lower dues, the differences are often lower. I think my chapter's dues were something like $300, and the most expensive chapter was something like $500.

So, I think it's easy to say "find a way to cover the extra $200", but not nearly as easy to say "find a way to come up with the extra $1600".

Is money a stupid basis for choosing a chapter? Sure, but so is the physical house, and how funny the skit is, and a dozen other things that factor into recruitment for women who going in knowing few people.

Oh, I agree. The problem is telling someone they can choose to look at only the "cheap" sororities, as if rush was one-sided. It isn't. You can't walk into your first meeting with your rush group and Rho Chi and say "I only have $2000 a year to spend, so can I just skip the parties of the groups that cost more than that?"

No, just the opposite. I'd never have equated sorority membership with either "if you have to ask you can't afford it" or with "drop the lattes". My experience was so much better than that. But I'm learning from Greek Chat that there are many, many chapters and many, many schools where such trivia is important.

I'm sorry that happens.

In many of those schools the "trivia" includes beautiful houses with fulltime cleaning staffs, cooks, and waiters.

As bizarre as this sounds to me (and to you), when you shake the costs out, it's probably no higher than Ima Independent doing the following:

-renting a student apartment
-eating out constantly because she doesn't cook
-driving from place to place to see her friends because they live faraway at the other end of campus/town
-constantly calling cabs to get to nightspots

As far as clothing, shoes, bags...that has NOTHING to do with sorority membership. The "right bag" etc issue is EVERYWHERE. I'm sure that right now, there is a girl ready to enter some enlightened place like Juniata, standing in Macy's telling her mom that IF SHE DOES NOT HAVE A COACH WRISTLET SHE WILL DIE, ABSOLUTELY DIE. Hell, there's probably some girl getting ready to go to CCAC saying the same thing.

I'm relatively new at this but just to butt my head in, during recruitment at a school without houses (so obviously our dues are not anywhere near what they would be at an SEC school) we PNMs were consistently told that should paying dues be a problem, that no sorority would turn them down and they would be glad to work out a payment plan with a new member and/or look for dues "scholarship" money they said was available. I'm lucky that I never had to look into either of those options, but are those unique to my school? Could you maybe look and see if those options might be available to you too?

My school is definitely not SEC, though we do have houses. I can't say all chapters, but the majority had financial help available be it through payment plans or what have you. We were always encouraged to try for scholarships as well. Our panhellenic council required every chapter to have financial information available to anyone who asked including a board which laid out the costs and the PNM recruitment booklet had the information as well.

Maybe. I never have understood the concept of "cute shoes" and have never owned more than one purse at a time, that I carry with everything. I have never subscribed to, nor read, fashion magazines except to giggle, and don't recognize most of the names that people use to tell recruitment stories. I realize I'm way at one end of the spectrum, but most of the young people I know are way more practical than that.

Thanks!

I wasn't planning on asking as the prices are shown in the recruitment guide book/manual; it was out of pure curiosity since there has not been a recruitment info session yet.

My parents and I are able and willing to pay for whatever costs and I have 3 back up plans in my mind should something happen.

I just became curious after seeing that other thread y'all have mentioned--the one about the mother telling her daughter to "cut" the more expensive sororities.

I'd never purposely try to ruin my recruitment experience based off of money though.