Money?
 

Hey guys,
so I and my friend Chad are both planning on pledging but Chad’s family doesn’t really have the money for him to do so. I told him about the scholarships they may offer, but are there any other options available? How expensive is it to be in a fraternity?:rolleyes:

dues differ from between chapters. go sell blood/plasma/sperm. thats what some of our pledges are doing. hell, its what some actives still do. aren't you still in high school? go get a job and save up.

It can be as little as 1500 a year, but most are far more expensive.

I don't really know how much ours is because my parents pay for it, but I'd guess that's what it's like. Or near it.

I bet my son doesn't know what his dues are either! I'll have to let him know. :rolleyes:

At UT they are around $5,000 per year, so it can be pretty darn pricey. He better start saving his pennies if he wants to join.

Chad can get a job.

Dues vary from campus to campus.

I hope that the $5000 includes living in the house. I know that for my chapter, we pay between $150 and $200 per semester and new member dues are usually around $300. But we also don’t have a house. For at least one of the fraternities, Delta Chi, even with a house, they pay about $450 a semester if they don’t live in the house. And they pay just over $1300 extra per semester if they do. Which comes to about $3500 a year.

So yes, it all depends where you’re going to school and the chapter that you’re joining. Either way, it will cost you. But personally, I worked my butt off over the summer, didn't spend any money, and saved up enough to live on for the school year, pay my dues, and have plenty left over. Just tell him to get a job and don't wait until the last minute to do so. Again, it will cost you, but it's definitely worth it

As everyone has already said, the dues you owe are up to 1) (inter)national dues and 2) local dues. The local dues will depend on the chapter's budget and especially on whether or not they have a house.

Suggestions:

1) apply for scholarship
2) get a part-time job

If neither of those is an option, I would not advise Chad to pledge until he is financially able to fulfill the requirment(s)

Not having a house makes dues much more affordable.

Living in the house and eating meals at the house mine were about $5000 a year I think. Not sure of the exact total, dad paid it, but I know it was something in that range. I think active was about $1100 a semester, meals and rent were $1400. Usually you have to be on meals if your house offers them for at least the first year, have to be on them if you live in the house, and pledge dues are a little bit higher.

^^^ Jesus Christ. I can't imagine paying that amount per semester.

You're at a SEC university, right? From what I've read on here, that's pretty standard but still....damn!

Yeah. The fraternities in the SEC with a full social schedule and a house that's pretty normal. It isn't so bad when you realize it includes housing on or close to campus with lunch and dinner every weekday.

I guess seeing that number as one lump sum is what's throwing me. I'm sure I spend much more than that per semester.

If Chad's parents are planning on paying for him to live in the dorms or have an apartment, then assuming dues include room and board for live-ins, the cost of dues is probably comparable to the cost of dorm or apartment life. Chad should get the facts, crunch the numbers, and present it to his folks that way.

If Chad's parents aren't planning on helping him with that part of college, then Chad can get a job - most chapters will allow members to work out a payment plan of some sort - or not pledge. It's that simple.

We're slightly higher than most FSU fraternities at $790/ semester. The extra costs make it like $2600/ year. House rent (holds 48) is $500/ month.

500 a month? Not bad!

"Speaking of reasonable, only $500."

I don't know how you couldn't know at my alma mater. During rush we were given handouts that outlined exactly how much each chapter cost per quarter. Even if you didn't pay the dues yourself, you had the handout and the Rho Chis went over it with us to explain the terms. The fraternities did the same thing the first day of their rush. I remember compairing the fraternity dues versus the sorority dues- not only the amounts but what the money went for.:cool:

Unfortunately it doesn't. The dues do cover meals, so my son does go by the house to eat. I'm not sure what it will cost him to live in the house, at his fraternity that is generally reserved for seniors and he is just a sophomore.

We were told at the parent's meeting that the reason the dues are so high is because of property taxes in Austin, insurance rates, upkeep of the house, etc. Social dues tend to be extra in that I get a call every couple of months where my son needs an extra $250 (I'm guessing that is for the booze funds).

We knew what we were getting into when he pledged, so it is what it is, and even with the added expense we're still paying less per year than if he were at Harvard ;).

[QUOTE][Ok, I’m gonna ask the question… and my intention isn’t for this to sound mean, so don’t take it that way, but… how many people have had their parents pay their dues, without knowing how much they are? I don't know about other people, but I think my son has an idea of what they are, but doesn't know the exact amount.Don’t you discuss these things in your meetings? I don't know if they discuss regular dues in meetings, but what they do discuss are the "social dues" and he will call and ask for the money to be deposited.And how do your parents find out how much your dues are? They send the bill to the parents, it isn't addressed to him. It has a letter with it that talks about how great their year is going to be and how wonderful it is to be a part of the fraternity - I guess it's to soften the blow of the bill.Don’t you have to tell them in order to ask for the money?
/QUOTE]

Another thing, we don't pay by the semester. It's around $5000 due in the fall. I say "around" because the cost goes down a bit each year you are active, so this year his bill was $4800.00, next year it will be $4600 I think. But when you add in the extra social dues that come up over the year, it can run $5000 or more.

This is very common at UT, I think all the big fraternities run about the same cost. What's posted on Greek Life is somewhat false advertising;). I think the sorority dues are very expensive too. UT greek orgs have a major problem with taxation - huge houses on large lots in a highly taxed area.

I'm still amazed at the fact that it's close to $5000 if you don't live in the house. I know that there are reasons for it, but there's no way I would have ever been Greek if that was the case (which is kind of sad, because I'm sure that's what happens to a lot of students).

And I think it's funny that you actually get a bill. For us, the budget is established the semester prior to when dues are to be paid, and the Treasurer says at the first meeting of the semester, "ok, dues are to be in 2 weeks from now." lol

I was in a sorority back in the 80's and I have no idea what the dues were, as my parents were billed for them. So I was used to this system, in fact, I honestly would have been surprised if it were done by billing the kids.

I guess it's all what you're accustomed to.

As to the high cost and its precluding many of joining the Greek system- it is a shame, and I am sure that many do not participate because of the expense (and many more who just want no part of it), but UT is a huge school with many opportunities for involvement beyond Greek life. My son has a friend from high school who couldn't join a fraternity, so he instead got involved with an "ultimate frisbee" team, and it has been great for him. As long as you can find something to get involved in that makes the school not seem so huge, there's no reason to not have a wonderful experience there.

Where I went to college, over 75% of the people were Greek, so even though it was in a big city, it seemed as if you had to be Greek to have anything to do. So, to not be in a fraternity or sorority was a much bigger deal.

Wow. My sister is in a sorority in downtown Chicago and her dues are maybe..2K/semester? And this includes rent in the house AND all meals, for which they [of course] had a personal chef!

Mine tend to run about $275 per semester. This is all inclusive - all t-shirts, recruitment stuff, socials, formals, date parties, parlor fees, etc.

I know my dues are about $2500 a semester, I look at the bills, but don't memorize them or anything. And dad pays them because my chapter used Omega Financial and the bill went straight to my home address. If you didn't get your bills paid the treasurer would come hunt you down and make you give him a check, but the vast majority of people were having the bills sent home and their parents would either mail in a check or pay online with a CC. And yeah, the only thing we really discuss in our meetings are our social budget and whether rent is going to go up for the next year.

Same for us. Each sorority gives out a detailed expenses sheet during recruitment. The sheets had to include:

*dues
*NM/Initiation/badge fees
*room & meal costs
*whether the chapter assessed fines
*whether costs for social events were included in dues

I personally liked this, because PNMs could see everything in print and determine whether they (or their parents) could realistically afford a sorority on the first day of recruitment. It cut down on girls continuing with recruitment, getting a bid, then depledging because they "couldn't afford it."

^^ We basically do the same thing. Along with explaining what the purpose of dues are (National dues help the organization run effectively, local dues can pay for everything from Formal decorations to stamps for the secretary, blah blah blah). That way, girls could know what they needed to pay, and what they were paying for. And they weren’t blindsided after they accepted their bid.

I don't think fraternity dues could be that low in this day and age, because of the insurance that national fraternities have to take out. If memory serves, my undergrad chapter currently pays about 2/3 of your semesterly dues per member to headquarters just for risk assessment.

I have a good idea of what it is, but not sure.

And talking to parents about money matters is always off limits.

The bill comes to their house, and it's paid and I don't ask questions.

^^ Again, it just strikes me as odd that a bill goes to your parents. Because we don't have bills, and even if we did, if my mom received it, she'd send it right back to me. I don't know of any girls in my chapter that have their parents pay their dues. In fact, I don't know of any of my friends in Delta Chi who have their parents pay their dues, either. And I know they also don't send bills to their parent's house. It's just different than what I'm used to.

I don't know exactly how my sorority does it, but I know my parents get the bill. I've never seen it. I don't want to know. Basically, my parents and I talked it over, and they said that since they're paying for my sister's grad school (and I'm not going to grad school) they'd pay for my sorority instead. I think it's a couple thou. All T-Shirts, formal dues, alcohol, etc comes out of my own budget though.

There are no sorority houses in downtown Chicago. There are no sorority houses in all of Chicago, actually.

I don't think this is true. I'm pretty sure that ASA had the first sorority house in Chicago some years back. As to whether there are others, I'm not sure.

I guess that's true, I just didn't consider IIT b/c its not in downtown Chicago. I know for a fact that there have never been any other sorority houses. Does your sister go to IIT?

One of my BFFs is an AST at UIC- she's where I get my Chicago knowledge! :)

Membership dues for the chapter I advise for also runs in the neighborhood of $300 per semester for active members. Housing (sorority dorm) and meals (at student union) are billed separately through the university and any extras (t-shirts, favors, fines, etc.) are billed in addition to these regular semester dues. The bill is sent to the member for payment so whatever arrangement they work out with their parents is their own business.

I think that you're thinking of fantASTic who said that her sister is in Chicago. :)

That's who that was directed at...sorry I suck at message boards!! I'll fix it!

I can just imagine what my parents would have said if they got a bill from my chapter Treasurer. They had and still have no clue about what my dues were. I probably would have gotten forwarded the bill as well.

Yep she sure does :) And they DO INDEED have a house!

I'm not from Chicago...so maybe it just seems downtown to me?? ;)

I don't even know if my mom knew that there were dues to pay! :p