In your opinion, is joining a sorority worth the cost?
 

I just want to know everyone's personal opinions on it. Tell me why you feel it is worth it despite the cost,if you do feel it is worth it. If you don't explain why as well! I just want this discussion to be a friendly chat on everyone's experiences :)

I haven't seen a discussion on this, but feel free to tell me if there is one and i'll gladly go to it!

You are asking a bunch of women in sororities if they think it is worth the money to be in a sorority. This is dumb.

I really doubt women who hang out on a Greek message board are going to tell you it's not worth it.

Believe it or not i have met quite a few sorority women who although love being in a sorority say that if they had the option they wouldn't have joined due to financial problems. I also left for discussion the reasons why it IS worth it, so it wasn't one sided. For those who do feel it is worth it i just want to hear reasons why

They just mean that the women who post here tend to be women who really value their sisterhood or else they probably wouldn't be here posting.

Why is it worth the money?
My sorority membership has provided me more gifts and skills than I could ever have time to list here but they include: leadership skills- how to run an efficient meeting, how to feel comfortable with public speaking, how to make decisions for the greater good, how to coach instead of manage, how to communicate effectively to obtain desired results. financial assistance- in the form of a grant from our Foundation when I was having a medical issue that put me into an emergency financial quagmire (which actually was a larger grant than I ever paid in dues over my 28 years as a member, but now that I'm in a better financial place, I am determined to donate at least that much, and hopefully a lot more, back to our Foundation so they can continue helping other sisters). Networking opportunities- connections with alumnae sisters all over the country. But, more than anything, the sisterhood I have experienced is priceless. I have a support system and bonds with women from coast to coast and in Canada through my involvement over the last 28 years.

When I was a new member, my sister-mom (our version of big sister) told me "You get out of it what you put into it." She wasn't talking financially though. She was talking about effort, involvement. And she was spot on. All organizations need money to function and the treasurer of your chapter can give you a rundown of where your money is going. Girl Scouts, marching band, spanish club.. you pay dues to all of them. What you get out of them is really up to you!

That is true i didn't think about it like that. In that case I will change the question to "Why do you feel joining a sorority is worth the cost"

It sounds like you have a wonderful sisterhood. Hopefully everyone gets to experience that. Public speaking can be very hard so for a group of young women that are able to get you out of your comfort zone and teach you about the world seems like an incredible thing.

We are often asked "Why do you pay for your friends?" and we tend to get defensive about that question, because nobody asks that about Girl Scouts or school clubs with dues. Your question could be interpreted as a thinly veiled version of that same question, which is why some people will feel defensive about it. One comment made here in the past was "If my dues were paying for my friends, then I didn't pay nearly enough."

I don't think you asked the question in that spirit, but some may interpret it that way, because it gets asked a lot, usually by people who are anti-Greek.

Vitashort, Why do you want to know? Are you deciding on whether or not to rush? Are you researching a topic for a possible book? A paper?

Oh no! I don't see it that way at all! Like you said there are dues in just about every club! Yes, sororities are a bit more costly, but i guess that is because you usually live in a house with sorority women and have events. I don't see it as "paying for friends" because i'm sure it isn't an automatic friendship once you are in. I'm sure that takes time to build close bonds like with any starting friendship.So I hope nobody is offended by my post because that is not how I meant it to sound. However cost is usually a big deal breaker for people thinking about rushing a sorority when they already have tuition to worry about so that was the reason for my question.

Hi, yes I am considering rushing. Please let me know why you feel it is worth it and what being in a sorority has done for you in every way! You can even add what you did for your sorority if you'd like!

I second everything AGDee said! I also want to add that in my experience, the women who regret joining or don't feel like it was worth the added expense are usually the ones who joined a chapter for the social life/parties. If someone goes into it focused on the superficial like how many fraternity parties or dances/date parties a chapter has that individual isn't going to value the personal growth aspects or the alumnae aspects.

I agree with this and i like your view. That could very well be the reason why people regret joining because I do think you can learn a lot from being in an organization full of strong women. Parties only get you so far. I do feel that working on your social life and social skills is important though for networking purposes and just getting you outside of your comfort zone. I am sure there are pros and cons to it, but hopefully the pros outweigh those cons.

From a purely financial viewpoint, in some cases living in a sorority house (especially with a meal plan) to my knowledge from various campuses is actually more cost-effective than having to live in on/off campus housing. Definitely more competitive than private apartments in the school's neighbourhood.

This was the case for me. My first year live-out dues were in the range of $2,000, and my dorm costs were around $8,500 (apartment costs would be comparable). I lived in the house for three years and paid about $7,000 for combined dues/housing/meals which also included a small account for shirts and favors, and included all costs for social events.

From a purely financial viewpoint, I think many chapters with houses are very cost effective for members, if they live in. But that doesn't even begin to cover all the other wonderful things that you gain from sorority membership.

I know that for many, Greek life can be a little hard financially, but I consider it kind of like the general college investment - it will pay dividends down the road as long as you go into it with the right attitude!

Yes.

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Not being a member is always an option. It's always a personal choice. Some people find they can't justify the expense, and they therefore lose their membership. I was one of those people who worked 3 or 4 jobs a time during school to make sure I could pay my dues and other bills. (Pizza chef, server, babysitter, horse groom, computer lab monitor, etc...). I was always on a payment plan as well. Many groups offer this option. I couldn't pay the entire amount up front, so I made small payments throughout the quarter. Some groups offer even more financial aid options.

Do I feel joining a sorority is worth the finance? You Bechta! And I would do it all over again.
As a collegiate, I enjoyed living in the house and teaching me humility. As an only child, I went from not having any siblings to over 35 sisters. I learned to respect others and share everything from privacy to respecting others property. I can go on forever but I believe the prior post have made important points.
As an adult, I have become a great speaker. I am not afraid of job interviews and I am able to be the head speaker at work related meetings.
The biggest benefit I have endured is to find out your co-workers were part of a Greek organization and able to share the bonds of sisterhood.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I see why most people find that joining a sorority is well worth it. I guess I just needed some reassurance that I am making the right decision(If i even get a bid of course). If I do i hope that my experiences are just as great as everyone elses

We all know women in our chapters who withdrew for "financial" reasons, and while some of these truly were financial, most of them are usually people who felt their sorority experience wasn't worth what they were paying for dues. Those are the people who are only interested in the "fun" aspects of sorority membership, and not all in for the responsibilities.

You have to understand what you are committing yourself to, both the fun and not fun aspects of sorority membership. Only then can you decide whether you think it's worth it.

I believe my experience was worth what I paid for. I put a lot of effort into being part of every activity I could a part of. I learned to have more confident with myself and also with public speaking. I learned time management. I had to balance a full load from classes plus two jobs. Granted our house was not the most amazing, the memories that I have from late night talks, outings, or just hanging out was completely worth it.

One can gain a lot from being in a sorority. There are good times and bad times like everything in life but its what you want to get out of the experience that matters.

To do it again, the changes I would have made wouldn't be in not doing it, it would have been in doing MORE. I wish I had taken more advantage of all my collegiate years had to offer. I had a great time and learned a lot, academically, socially and what would become professionally (because leadershipally isn't a word), but I could have done so much more.

At my school it was mandated that living in the sorority houses had to be comparable in price to living in the dorms. But so not comparable when it came to quality of life! It can be expensive to be in a sorority, but relative to the ridiculous cost of education, is it actually that much more?

The one thing I would say is if you feel that your sorority isn't offering you leadership training, career counseling, lecture series on subjects valuable for your future, etc., then you should work to add that to your programs. If all you're getting out of your collegiate sorority life is parties, yeah, it's pretty expensive!

Is it worth it? Yes. I could never put a price tag on having 100+ sisters who will be there for me no matter what, whether I'm on campus with them, or 800 miles away and in a hospital bed on a morphine drip because I'm too sick to be in school for the year. I could NEVER pay enough for my sisterhood, for the experiences of being a Kappa Delta, or the life skills I've obtained through my membership.

However, I do have to agree with everyone who has already said that it IS a choice and that it isn't worth it for everyone, and that you do get what you put in to it (and that if you're talking to women on this board, they're more than likely completely in love with Greek life). It is a huge commitment, more than just financially, but in my opinion it is SO worth it.

Good luck with your decision to go through recruitment (and remember, committing to formal recruitment does not mean you have to commit to accepting a bid!), and I hope you can get as much as all of us have obtained through our experiences!