tangent
Every once in a while I have wished to have been in an SEC chapter especially when in the house picture threads. Then I read a thread like this and go "Oh thank God!"

/tangent

Actually, I think that using the process of spending less than 4 hours, each with various groups (all at their shiniest), in order to chose lifelong friends, would seem pretty absurd to most people.

It seems more a process of joining a group, all of which have wonderful opportunity for friendship, and then developing lifelong friends.

i had a quick look at the top row of chapters on the alabama panhellenic page.

here is what i found regarding first year costs for new members:

---------- SEM1, SEM2
AXO ----- 4200, 3500
ADX ----- no financial information provided
ADII ----- no financial information provided
AGD ----- 2777, 2777
AOII ----- no financial information provided
APHI ----- 2700ish, 2400ish (listed each individual fee and i just estimated the total)

living in costs were not quoted for any of these groups. if any of these are not exactly right, then it is possible that i may have missed something, but i am just going off of what was on their PDF as the above poster suggested.

so the info is not necessarily out there and easily attainable. it was there for half of the groups listed, but this doesn't help if the chapters you are interested in (or, more accurately, the ones that are interested in you) do not have info listed.

sure there are ways to remedy the situation with a job, a summer job, payment plans, scholarships, etc, but it is really not unreasonable that someone would be caught off guard that some of the chapters are much higher in cost than what is stated to be the average.

maybe chapters don't want that info out there readily available, but they could list total yearly costs for all chapters without specifying which amount belongs to which chapter. this would give parents and PNMs a truer picture of the actual costs they may be facing.

if someone wants to gather info on the remaining chapters, feel free.

I think the thing a lot of parents lose track of when wanting the best of everything for their kids is that sometimes you simply can't afford to give them everything you want to give them. Sororities are a luxury, not a necessity. Even the supposedly bargain priced ones (which may be less expensive only because the quoted fees don't include things like activities, events, formals etc.) come with hidden costs ... clothing for all kinds of events, road trips, football games, spring break etc. If anything above the "average" cost is a stretch for you, it sounds like your money may be better spent elsewhere and Greek Life at Bama isn't financially feasible without a great deal of sacrifice.

Amen to this....

And OP, I'm 66 years old so I hope to God I'm not going to be having any more children! Yikes! And since I've volunteered locally and nationally with my group for over 35 years and my son is national president of his GLO, I think I have seen your situation more times that I can count. Trying to see that your daughter only "falls in love with" a cheaper group is like trying to nail jello. You just can't do it. You let the horse out of the barn when you let her sign up for recruitment. And without having each chapter's budget in hand, which you will never get before being a member as that is private information, you really can't ever know exactly what is covered in each group's fees. It just isn't possible. PH tries to get that information and give you and
"idea" of the costs. Because different groups charge different things in different ways, you are comparing apples and oranges. I'm sorry if this reality is hard for you, but we are trying to be honest and you are trying to makes us give you information we just don't have as you don't have all 17 groups represented here with someone from each group ALSO being from Alabama. Sorry. I don't know what else to say about it.

So glad I went to Auburn instead of Alabama for so many reasons, not the least of which was the cost of sorority dues. When I was in school only a decade ago dues were only $600/year. My cousin pledged a chapter at Alabama the same year and her dues were more than 5 times mine.

And you had chapter rooms, not houses, for which the rent to the Universisty was only $6000 a YEAR for the whole space! Far cheaper than what it costs to run a house at Alabama. I'm not sure how Auburn is doing it now but when the new dorms were opened - what, 5 years ago? - there was no rent to the chapters for the chapter rooms but ALL Greek women were charged $150 a semester on their University bill to cover the cost of the rooms. So you really can't compare the two.

I'm just going to point out again, because everybody seems to include meal plans in the "dues" list, that it doesn't make sense to include that. I'd figure the difference between what I'm paying for meals to the University vs. to the sorority. which appears to be about $300, not $1500.00 and that's dining dollars from the looks of the Alabama web site.

(I'm shocked how cheap Alabama is... I see why they get a lot of out of state students!)

I know the OP has left, but something about this is really bugging me. This isn't her first time on the sorority track if you will. She has stated that her older daughter is in one. So I just don't understand why she didn't expect it to be expensive.

Apparently, her elder daughter attends a Midwest school with a less competitive Panhellenic environment. PNM daughter is in recruitment at Alabama, which is the pinnacle of SEC highly competitive recruitment environments.

When I "rushed" a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, at a competitive SEC school, as a segment of the skit party the chapters handed us a small card with the financial information printed on it. Of course it was all apples, oranges, pears, and pineapples due to different ways of charging, but it was helpful. Of course today the PNMs cannot carry anything away from a party.

The AGD fees don't include the meal plan, so add another $1500-1600.

LOL...probably the same with any of them that are in the $2400 range.

That was the best part of this thread - you and I being mistaken for youngsters. OMGZ R U going to the One Direction concert with me? If so we have to go get some sparkly glitter makeup to wear.

Hartofsec, you know what I mean. Dissecting posts is silly. If you're trying to say "she could join a cheap group and get the same experience" - then you're clueless as well. You cannot, in rush at Alabama, pick and choose which groups to return to. The groups are cutting you. If all she has left is more expensive groups, that's all she has. PERIOD.

jll, sorry if your older daughter's experience misled you, but I am assuming that you knew your younger daughter wouldn't have the same type of wardrobe, living costs, or travel expenses to school attending Bama vs. a small Midwest school. Why on earth would you think that the sorority experience would be the same?

I understand a parent’s desire to know how much everything will cost before a PNM accepts a bid. However as already said, it’s not easy to find the specific breakdowns of each chapter at Bama. Here are some things to keep in mind. Not saying I agree with all of these, just explaining.

- Panhellenic’s published dues average means just that – it’s an average. ABC might charge $5,000, while XYZ only charges $1,000. That puts the average at $3,000 which is a big difference between the two groups.

- NPC groups don’t bill their members in the same way. ABC may include everything involved in sorority life, while XYZ charges separately for things like formals, etc. Those “ala carte” items can add up quickly, yet aren’t officially considered dues.

- I won’t say it’s considered a “if you have to ask you can’t afford it” mind set in the South, rather it’s just considered tacky and possibly even rude to discuss finances. PNMs are always warned to stay away from the B’s in conversation: booze, boys, Bible, and bucks.

- PNMs might equate higher dues with a more elite/top tier chapter while lower dues must mean it is lesser quality/lower tier chapter.

- What if during Recruitment Polly PNM didn't specifically express that the bill won’t be a problem or if she even had some concerns? Annie Active might assume wrongly that means Polly can’t afford it and so better cut her.

The other problem that comes up with a combination of OOS and asking about dues is that OOS are already more likely to transfer. Having concerns about money up front makes that a concern as well.

Which chapters cost more can be all over the place because a smaller chapter may have to spread housing costs out differently, while a chapter that everyone wants to live in the house can afford to give a better break to girls that don't live in the house.