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Maybe I can help a little. In the first year you have new member fees and initiation fees. Many sororities also have house corporation fees that are paid over a two year period. This is a fee paid by all initiated members for future maintenance and remodels. This fund will grow and be used for new furniture, painting, and remodeling in the future. Let's say house ABC has a house corp fee of $500. It might be spread over a year or two so that in the first and second year a woman is active she will pay $125 a semester ($500 divided by the first four semesters). By the time she is a junior, her obligation will be paid and her bill will go down by $125. Everyone will pay the same over the time they are active.
As to the expense, I also found it much less expensive to be in a sorority and live in the house than when I move into an apartment my senior year. I did not realize just how expensive and quickly power, cable, internet, etc add up.
I think houses do a disservice to themselves and the pnm by not being totally honest about all the fees for each house. Giving an "average" cost to a pnm rather than a specific cost for each house can lead to nm dropping because she is hit with expenses she is not expecting. If fees are thoroughly explained and the women understand the first couple of years are more expensive AND the total cost of living in the house vs off campus or even in a dorm, most will see that being in a sorority can very cost effective as well as building life long relationships.
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