Alabama Sorority Costs...Can anyone help?

[bamamom11]

As a new member we paid around $5200 for the year last year. This year living in the house, bill was $4700 for fall semester. Also put about $800 in purchase fund for tshirts and zaps last year, expect to spend about the same on purchase fund this year.

[FSUZeta]

Mom, my daughter recently got her masters degree from Bama and lived in a condo near campus. Her rent was $5000 per year-she was in a 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo. The $5000 did not include utilities, food or any money for fun things-movies, going out to eat, etc. My son will be in graduate housing at FSU in a week and his semester cost for his room is $3000. This does not include food. I hope these figures help make you to feel better about your daughter joining a sorority.

Most often it is less expensive to live in the sorority house. Sorority housing offers many more perks than dorm or apartment living.

[jll]

Some really good information here and I sincerely want to thank everyone for your help. I told my D to talk to her Rho Chi and see what she says.

Here is an example: Online Alphi Chi O lists their costs as $4200/$3500. That is first semester/second semester. DZ lists their costs as $2900/$2400. That is a big difference!

My D cannot work, due to her major, which I cannot mention here as it would probably make it easy to identify her. I am not looking at 'extras' like T's, zap's, etc. I am only looking at living out fee's that are listed by the sorority for first year members (if they list it).

yes living in the sorority will cut costs...but that is not until next year and maybe not ever since there are way more members than available rooms. So I am not considering that...only looking at first year fee's as listed online.

I found these costs by doing a search for the sorority, using alabama and then the word cost.

Why is there such a huge difference? I am telling my D to cut houses that she LOVES because we just cannot afford $8000 a year in fee's. UA website Greek Life says that the AVERAGE is 1/2 that. I have found that the amount that they call average is really the cost of the lowest house. No way to plan for this...We want to honor our commitment long term. My older D is in a house in the midwest and I know the advantages to greek life. Trust me you are all preaching to the choir. I WANT her to be in the house of her dreams, but $8000 is more than we are paying for tuition! I have to balance this with my other two kids who are in college too.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by jll

Why is there such a huge difference?

Not specifically about Bama, but reasons dues differ among chapters on the same campus:

Some chapters include things that others don't. For example, formal. In my chapter, if you went to formal, you paid for formal. If you didn't, you didn't. Other chapters on my campus just included it in dues. There are pros and cons to each approach.

Some chapters have more expensive houses to maintain. Some expect the live-outs to contribute more heavily than others.

Some simply spend more during the year.

[Greek_or_Geek?]

Originally Posted by jll

I am telling my D to cut houses that she LOVES because we just cannot afford $8000 a year in fee's.

Like I said before, this strategy will not work. The PNM does not "cut" houses. The sororities cut PNMs!

[33girl]

If you can't afford the most expensive chapter, and really don't know how to budget to do so, then tell your daughter to quit now. Sororority rush is not like going to the mall. You can't see the cute dress at Nordstrom and then run down to H & M and get a lookalike for the fraction of the price.

[IndianaSigKap]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If you can't afford the most expensive chapter, and really don't know how to budget to do so, then tell your daughter to quit now. Sororority rush is not like going to the mall. You can't see the cute dress at Nordstrom and then run down to H & M and get a lookalike for the fraction of the price.

Hands down best post of the day, maybe even week. I giggled

[bamaSDT]

to op I think your question is a perfectly valid one and i think a lot of other families probably need the same information. I hope the links under the chapter profiles on the ua panhellenic site are a help. Many of the brochures seem to have complete price break downs! Good luck to you and your daughter

[adpiucf]

You can't base a sorority decision on the cost of membership. One, you don't have the numbers despite what appear to be valiant efforts. Two, sorority membership is like buying a pair of pants. You want the pair that fits all your needs (including price). Your daughter can't drop sororities unless her schedule allows it, as you may recall from your other daughter's recruitment.

Sit tight. It's a week of events. Let her see it through to the end and try to get the best information about dues as she can. I am sort of puzzled that the chapters don't do a basic run down during their house tours day or one of the days of recruitment. That is done at every school where I have ever assisted with recruitment. And I've helped out at schools around the country. The girls get some type of fact sheet or explanation. I think your daughter is not being clear with you or she is giving you the run around because you're pestering her to drop sororities based on supposed costs that may or may not be accurate costs. I call BS. Sorry to sound like a jerk, but I would wager your daughter is not telling you everything. The PNMs are informed of these costs-- most of them ignore the information and a few drop out after Bid Day when they realize they can't afford it.

The first semester of pledging will always be the most $$$ with one time new member fees and a badge purchase. There will be some type of immediate down payment expected before new member initiation. There are also payment plans that members can work toward.

I get that your daughter is in a difficult major, but this doesn't mean she can't work during the school year. That's an excuse. If she wants this badly enough, she can find a way to work a few hours a week. She can also find a job during the summers to help pay for the things she wants to do. I'm not really understanding why you don't let her be the young adult she is and figure this out on her own. If you can help a bit, awesome. If she later realizes she bit off more than she can chew, it is a great life lesson. You stated in an earlier post "We want to honor our commitment long term." There's no "our" here. Your daughter is an adult now. And she's afraid of getting cut for asking how much sorority dues are? If she will later have to drop out because she can't afford it, she is in the same boat either way. She doesn't need the blinged out badge or $1K in tshirts and "zaps" every semester. She can learn to budget.

It's great that you want to help your daughter, but this "our" talk sounds like typical helicopter parenting. If she later can't afford it or doesn't want to make it work, she won't stay in her hypothetical sorority. That's life.

[gee_ess]

Don't know about other houses at bama, but whatever you have seen for kkg will be pretty accurate. It is against our bylaws to fine our girls or assess.. The semester price posted is what is billed. Now, I cannot help you with incidentals - t shirts, gifts for little sisters, etc.

[pam713]

I am probably opening up a huge can of worms here, but the mom of one of my rec girls has specifically said that her daughter could not pledge an "old row" sorority because of the cost difference. According to her "old row" costs twice as much as "new row." I don't know where she got her info but I do know that this mom really researched costs and talked to a lot of people before even allowing daughter to rush.

As far as which ones are "old row?" I have no idea, but I assume the ones that have been on campus longest. Also, would it make a difference if a chapter has a new house?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by pam713

As far as which ones are "old row?" I have no idea, but I assume the ones that have been on campus longest.

Not necessarily.

Originally Posted by pam713

Also, would it make a difference if a chapter has a new house?

Not necessarily.

[Titchou]

Moms (and dads) who do this are setting their children up for heartbreak and regret. Talk about a helicopter parent!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Moms (and dads) who do this are setting their children up for heartbreak and regret. Talk about a helicopter parent!

I think someone who wants their daughter to choose their lifelong friends based on costs would be more of a Yugo parent.

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I think someone who wants their daughter to choose their lifelong friends based on costs would be more of a Yugo parent.

Now that was a good wine I just spewed all over my laptop screen!