Cost for shirts, formals, etc.?
 

I'm going through sorority recruitment in just a few weeks, and my parents have generously offered to pay for the dues for whichever chapter I become a member of. To make things a little easier on them, I have decided that I want to personally pay for my badge as well as any extras (t-shirts, formals, etc.).

So, I'm just wondering approximately how much I should expect to spend on these things. I know it's impossible to know for sure until I'm actually a member since costs vary from chapter to chapter, but I'm hoping some of you could give me a rough idea of how much these things cost for you all so I can get a rough idea of what to expect.

The school I attend does not have a huge Greek life scene, and I've been told that being Greek at my school is quite affordable compared to at other schools in the state.

P.S. I know some chapters include the cost of formals and other events in the cost of dues, but I want to be prepared should I join a chapter that does not.

Phi Mu does not allow collegians to buy jeweled badges; are there any others that have this policy? I think mine was $35, but it's probably gone up by now.

I did not know that. Very interesting. KKG has a variety to choose from ranging from about $50 to $200.

OP- Figure a t-shirt to cost $15 - 20. The number you need/want can vary greatly from school to school but you can probably plan for at least 4 per semester all the way up to 10. You may need to pick and choose.

4-10/semester? This would have been A LOT for my chapter. We might have ordered one, maybe two, all year as a chapter.

OP - without knowing your school, it's very difficult to tell you how much you'll spend on these items.

But keep in mind that there are other additional costs as well. If you eventually have a little, you'll find yourself buying gifts for her. My chapter also participated in a 'Secret Sister' activity, and everyone would make/buy gifts for their Secret Sisters all year long.

Formal also includes additional costs... of course you'll need a dress! .. and shoes! And at some schools, transportation to and from the event could be extra.. or hotel rooms are booked.

There are so many different things to factor in on top of the obvious/expected. Again, it's difficult to tell you what to expect.

(But please don't reveal your school if you're not comfortable doing so!)

A whole lot of these things really vary by school.

The number of tee shirts per semester varies a lot depending on your social calendar, too.

A date party every month of the semester, homecoming, dad's weekend, songfest, philanthropy event, and semi-formal (seems to be average for a chapter I work with) can easily put you at 10 tees.

Also, NMs are typically very excited about being Greek. So you're all OMG BUY ALL THE LETTERS!!!!! NMs like to get together and go get lettered shirts. I remember getting letters made like 3 times in my first semester because omg ALL Sigma everything. Consider the potential costs of that. I wouldn't just say "I'm not buying any letters" because you'll probably want to if you get a bid. Just be aware of your budget if you know it's not feasible for you to get a new lettered shirt every other week.

Budget for maybe one or two trips to buy lettered shirts, and remember that if you get a bid, you'll likely receive some letters from your Big Sis and some other items. You don't need to have every single ABC item you see.

I went to a school with a small Greek system and we easily did 10-12 shirts per year. Had to have one for homecoming, family weekend, philanthropy events, fall and spring formals, crush parties, greek week, fundraisers, founders day etc. They were between 15-20 dollars each. Stitch shirts are better bought in bulk, but you may want to get specific print for your family line (big, little, etc). Expect to spend between $100-200 on a little. Badge information is usually provided by the chapter but I've seen between $50 and $150 on my campus (we only had 3 sororities however).

Formals and semi-formals range depending on how big the chapter is willing to go. If it's a milestone for the chapter, they may want to do a huge event at a country club or hotel. Our formal events were around $30 but we didn't get hotel rooms or anything like that.

Also remember that there will be opportunities to buy composite pictures and the individual photos you take in those sessions. You only do those once a year though and that's between $20-30.

It varies per campus. I'd expect to spend $500 at least per semester on incidentals, with fewer as you age. You are definitely going to pay more your first semester. I'd pick and choose between shirts however because they add up fast and you can figure you'd have at least 50 sorority shirts by the time you graduate. (on the low end, that means you have spent $750 on shirts alone!)

I don't know what my badge cost, but our formals and similar events ranged from $20-$50.

A fun alternative to buying lettered shirts is making them. Get 1/8 yard of printed fabric, another 1/8 yd of backing fabric, iron-on adhesive, puffy paint, and a plain T-shirt. SUPER cheap alternative to buying them!

T-Shirt: $5 or less at craft stores each, or you can get more flattering ones at stores like H&M, Forever 21, etc.
1/8 yard fabric: under a dollar, and it'll get you multiple sets of letters
Iron-on adhesive: mine was between $8-$12 and it gets you multiple sets of letters
Puffy paint: $1-$2
(Make sure you have an iron and ironing board for the backing, but you can always borrow those!)

Just make stencils out of cardstock (I used old flexible binders for mine) of your Greek letters... you can make multiple fonts too! It's super easy and I find it relaxing to cut out letters when I'm stressed. :)

If you're good with sewing, you can also stitch the letters on instead of using puffy paint to outline them.

You could easily spend more than that. Most girls get crafty and cut down on the costs of some things. I made my little a reversible throw with her letters and initiation number embroidered on it. If I had paid for an official throw it would have cost 30 dollars more than what I spent on it, plus hers is personalized.

Of course crafting leads to wanting to make something for yourself....and soon your room looks like it got hit by a hurricane following your craftgasm.

I always thought it was a good tradition for your big to buy your first stitch shirt, but obviously some groups don't do big/lil until it gets close to initiation. I had puffy painted shirts for a few months before I actually got my stitch. And when I figured out that my mom had an embroidery machine, I was able to make my own stitch shirts with $4 shirts and $10 hoodies from walmart.

Here is what incidentals have been in my experience:
Formal, $35. Semi-formal, $25. T-shirts, $60-70/year. Hayride, $20. Taking a little, $100-$300. It seems like my school/chapter seems to be on the cheaper side of things but it's at a school where Greek Life isn't a huge thing.

It will vary greatly depending on school/what you personally choose on things. Personally heres about what I spend:

$300 badge (I chose to get a blinged out one with a chapter guard)
$10-15 per shirt... probably 3-5 per year that aren't included in dues.
Formal was included in my dues.

buuuuut that's just me. :) good luck!

CRAFTGASM???
 

I've never heard of this term!
Do explain!