Recruitment Registration Fee
 

Just wondering what different schools charge to participate in recruitment. How many schools charge a fee? How much is it? Is the cost warranted for what the PNM receives? Does your school have an increasing fee according to the date a girl registers ($xx before August 1, $xxx August 1 or after)?

When I went through in Spring 2004 (formal recruitment for my campus), we did not have a fee to go through (although we didn't get any goodies). The next spring (2005), a fee of $10 or $15 was instituted to help with retention and to help cover the fees that chapters need to pay Panhellenic for their new members. The fee last spring (2007) was $15. The PNMs get a t-shirt, a cute pen, stress ball, compact mirror, and some other stuff that I can't remember.

I'm not really sure why some Panhellenic Associations feel the need to charge $90 to register for recruitment when everyone is already on campus (Ole Miss I'm talking to you!). Of course, if you can't afford the registration fee, you can't afford to be in a sorority. However, if a girl is cut from all chapters, having wasted $90 is adding insult to injury. Do they refund your money if you are released from recruitment? Because they should.

My school doesn't charge anything, which is good because it seems like MOST of our PNMs go in thinking they won't join a chapter. If we charged, practically no one would go through.

We didn't have a fee to rush at my school, although we did debate instituting one when I was on Panhellenic but the fear was that it would drive away potential rushees. It was a fairly decent sized state school but not a competitive rush - the school was mostly filled with anti-establishment, anti-greek life types to begin with (Oregon). They may have started charging now though, I'm not sure. And the school where I used to be an advisor had a $25 fee.

I remember my college charging $60-65 for fees. There wasn't any sort of refund for girls who dropped out, or were released.

When I was in college the fee hovered btwn $10-15. We wanted to keep it low to have the most PNMs come through, but we did need to cover their shirt, refreshments, etc.

When I rushed at WIU, it was $5 (maybe $10, but I think it was $5)...that coved the bus rental, but we weren't given t-shirts, etc, and any "goodies" came from our individual RhoChis. This fall, it was $25, but the PNMs got t-shirts.

LSU –

A registration fee of $125.00—living off campus OR $230—living on campus must be received July 23, 2007 at 4:30 PM. Between July 24 and 30, 2007 an additional $100.00 late fee will be assessed. NO applications will be accepted after July 30, 2007 at 4:30 PM.

Refund Policy:
1. Full Refund of $230 or $125: If PNM withdraws before July 30, 2007--late fee will not be refunded.
2. Partial Refund of 50% of original registration payment: If PNM withdraws on July 30, 2007 through August 6, 2007 (so she can be removed from res life spreadsheet)
3. NO REFUND for withdrawals after August 6, 2007 (unless authorized by the VP of Rec.)
4. Registration Refund of $125: If PNM has a death in family, severe illness, or other extenuating circumstances reviewed by VP of Recruitment AT ANY TIME. (ends on Sat. morning, August 25, 2007)

The housing portion is added because recruitment takes place before the dorms officially open. PNMS also get a T-shirt. I assume that the higher registration costs are partially associated with renting a processing center nearer the sorority houses. Panhellenic used to rent air-conditioned buses to shuttle PNMs from the Student Union to the row plus tents and fans.

I can understand why people would want a refund if they didn’t get a bid. However, the PNM still utilized the services provided by the fee: administration costs associated with recruitment, bus service, if applicable, Greek Life handbooks and so on. It costs money to conduct recruitment from whatever the source.


Southeastern Louisiana University used to charge a $45 registration fee. They reduced it this year to a non-refundable $15 processing fee.

Wow - $125!!! But I can see why they'd need to charge that if so many women were going through and they had things like buses and tents. I think when I went through I paid $30 and that was mostly for the supplies our rho chi's had for us in their bags (breath mints, hand sanitizer, kleenex, hair spray, etc.) and for refreshments since the individual groups weren't supposed to provide much (they had limitations and no one could leave the room with anything as it might have been construed as a gift) and just for administration fees for all the paperwork, etc. We didn't get shirts but got bid day shirts once we got into our chapters.

USF charges $65 to register..but if a PNM registers after Aug.1, the fee goes up to $75. They get a t-shirt, a water bottle, a bag, a pen and a notebook. Also, lunch from nice places everyday.

They also get goodies from their Pi Chi's but Im not sure if the Pi Chi's pay for that stuff out of pocket or if they have a budget from PanHel

Ole Miss
$75.00 registration fee before the deadline.
$90.00 registration fee after the deadline.

My university did charge a fee for rushing. Now, that was 14 years ago, so I don't remember the exact dollar amount, not that it would matter anyway! All rushees (I'm using that word because it was the appropriate terminology of the time) were required to stay in one of the dorms used by Panhellenic for the week. Rush occurred a week prior to the beginning of school. We were not fed, but we had to pay for the use of the room for a week.

There is a significant fee (more than $100) to go through recruitment at Iowa State. The majority of this fee goes to the school to compensate for housing and meals as recruitment is held the week before school starts and PNMs are allowed to move in early and eat in their respective residence halls. I think there is a price break if you register before a certain date, but don't think it's more than $10-20.

That sounds really neat to stay on campus for the week prior to school starting for the sole purpose of FR! Staying with all those girls going through it together at the same time - I like that! And then when you move in - they can decorate your new dorm door! How exciting! :D

UA charged $75 this year for girls registered before August 1. August 1 and after girls had to pay $150. I think they did that to encourage girls to register early so the rush chairs would have some idea of the number of girl participating. (In 2006 nearly 300 girls registered in the last week, I believe.) The girls are allowed to move into the dorms a week early but that doesn't cost them any extra. The girls get two tshirts (because of 2 phil. days) and a rush book. The fee also covers the ICS program used for selections. I think that is all, but there could be more.

Wow...that's really a great value. Two shirts and free room and board! No one should be complaining!

Oh, we also got 10 dining hall meals.

At Bama most of the PNMs live in the dorm across the street from sorority row so it is very tough on them if they get dropped or if they drop out or don't get bids. It must be hard to be in that dorm on Bid Day which is quite the spectacle at Bama.

UGA charges a fee. I'm not sure of the amount, but it's more than a $100, I think. It goes up the later you register, I think. (That part of the recruitment page seems to be down, which makes sense because no one would need it right now and it probably gets updated from year to year. They do have recruitment info. which would be helpful for folks thinking about it generally.)

I think the biggest cost to panhellenic is probably the campus buses that they run just for rush since classes aren't in session. I suspect that the girls who live in dorms may pay extra for meal plan or housing, but I don't know how that goes because I think they handle it with dining services and housing, rather than recruitment. I lived off campus when I rushed, so I have no idea.

My school has debated this the past two years since we've been growing and are now having to pay for a space big enough for Panhellenic to gather the PNMs and register them/get them into their groups etc.. it's been voted down that it will turn people away, but I'm thinking pretty soon it's just going to be a necessity.

one compromise could be what New Mexico State does ... they have a panhellenic new member fee which you pay if you accept a bid and no charge
for going thru recruitment.

If any sororities told Panhellenic "NO" , we could go back to the houses providing refreshments, letting the rushees stay long enough to get to know the house, getting rid of the anonymity, and quit pretending it doesn't matter which house as long as you get a pin.

It really wouldn't work like that.

Okay, seriously. I know you think the way it was when you went through was the Best and Only Way to Join A Sorority, but colleges and universities AND the women entering them have changed immensely in the past 30-40 years (or so I'm guessing the length of time it's been since you've graduated.)

Give it a rest already. Practically every single post you've made has been commenting (either straightforward or obtusely) at how much better it was back then. Things aren't going to go back to the way it was and most likely will continue to evolve and change as the needs of universities, chapters and women change.

Actually, given your age and your interests (as provided in your profile) I'm extremely surprised you joined a sorority at all. After all, they aren't the first thing that comes to mind when you think of political activism and in the '70s were still probably seen as part of The Establishment.

Ok, so your profile says you were initiated in 1974 which means you are younger than my mom - when she was in college, recruitment did not allow for the rushees to stay at the house forever, they still were timed parties. What anonymity are you referring to? And, it does matter what house you join, but using GO GREEK enthusiasm rather than "RAHRAHMYSORORITYISTHEBESTERESTESTEVER!" means that more girls will be interested in recruitment as an idea, rather than recruitment to join one house and one house only. Nobody forces girls to stay in if they hate their invitations.

At Iowa State, all of the PNM's don't live in the same dorm. They move into their respective dorm rooms all over campus. On my floor, there were only 4 of us going through recruitment. It was great moving into my room ahead of time. It was a lot easier moving everything in!

Definitely! I think there were about 12 or so girls in my rush group (I rushed in 1997. I'm assuming by your username you did as well, or the year before).

My roommate dropped out after the second day, though, and I do wonder if it was kind of difficult for her to watch me get ready.

I have to say - I love what my school did and still does. All the Greeks help move the Freshman in and wear the Panhel recruitment t-shirt instead of letters so it's very "Go Greek." I had all my stuff in my dorm room in about 5 minutes between all the frat guys and sorority women helping me. It gives you a really positive image of Greek Life right from the beginning AND exposes you to Greeks in general. The Rho Gammas are lurking around of course to ensure no dirty rushing goes on ;) But the fraternities wear letters or their Rush shirts and are of course free to rush whomever they want. It's really a lot of fun on all sides I think - I was a Freshman, a Rho Gamma (had to be sneaky there) and a sister so I got to see all angles. What a great GMU tradition!

Nice idea. GMU=??

I thought most of them were in Riverside or Lakeside now....opposite side of campus.
Yes, it is hard...my daughter was in that situation...I think she went to the mall to get away.

George Mason University.

No, the majority of freshman girls still live in Tutwiler. Riverside is strictly an honors dorm, while Lakeside is honors and non-honors. I live in one of the new dorms, and while they were a good amount of girls from Riverside, Lakeside, Ridgecrest going through rush (we all had same Crimson Ride bus stop), it was nothing like the amount of girls at Tutwiler.

Ouch.

Haha, yeah, GMU, the school I went to, George Mason University. It's ok!

At my school they charge about $15 to rush. You get a T-shirt that everyone has to wear the first night.

Why "Ouch?"
I really didn't know...Georgia Macon University...Greenbriar Middlebury Univ...Greeneggsandha M Univ...HAHA!

You might have tried this.