Can students on financial aid/scholarship afford a sorority?

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by SmartBlondeGPhB

Please don't quote dollar amounts on things you may not know anything about.

Mine weren't anywhere near $1000 because we didn't have a house and those chapters that don't have houses will be much cheaper.

On the flip side, at other schools, like SEC schools, they can be WAAAAY above what AlwaysSAI quoted, and there can be a big range among chapters at the same school.

SophieA, we have no idea where you are thinking of attending school, so no one can really give you dollar amounts. Ask the daughter of your family friend about the finances, but remember, that is what her sorority at her school charges right now.

Knowing these 3 amounts should help you plan and see if you think you can afford it:

1. Cost during your new member semester(dues + parlor fee + national fees + badge)
2. Cost for a member to live in the house (dues + room and board)
3. Cost for a member to live out of house (dues + parlor fee)

*Keep in mind, some chapters' dues will be all inclusive (flat fee, nothing else asked), some will be semi-inclusive, and some will only cover the basics, meaning that socials, t-shitrts, etc are NOT included. Also, I haven't heard of a chapter anywhere that doesn't allow members to pay on a payment plan, but I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by SophieA

When we toured with the sorority house, we did get a lot of great info from the chapter member, but it wasn't at all appropriate to ask any financial questions. Thanks!

I wonder why you thought it wasn't appropriate to ask financial questions. It's definitely an appropriate question to ask during recruitment, so when your time comes, don't be shy.

[OleMissGlitter]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

On the flip side, at other schools, like SEC schools, they can be WAAAAY above what AlwaysSAI quoted.

I think the average per month I would say is $450 at Ole Miss (based on what I know AOII pays and a couple of other sororities pay). Then if you live in the house it's around $1650 or more a semester because you are living there. Your first semester can be rather high. I think all of the sororities on campus have a Building Fund that new members pay. It is usually broken down over your new member period. There are plenty of sorority members at Ole Miss who work to pay their dues. It's all about communicating with your Financial Advisor/Officer and seeing if they can set up a payment plan. Also, if you contact your Greek Life office they might have some average amounts of what it costs. But just remember the first semester is usually the most expensive. Also, some sororities have "senior plans" for seniors who are doing internships/student teaching, etc so they will reduce your food bill portion since you might not be eating at the house as much or your social portion since you cannot attend as many socials. Oh and I have even heard about members working all summer and saving their money to pay for their sorority dues.

ETA: Please remember at Ole Miss all of the sororities serve 3 meals a day M-Th, and then on Friday 2 meals a day. They also have very large houses to maintain so the fees will be higher. Furthermore, most sororities include the social fees in the dues since most members attend socials. Some chapters do include t-shirt fees and recruitment fees for clothes in their bills. So it just depends on the chapter. I know this year AOII assessed a fee for one of their socials to help offset the costs, so it does vary. I know also with AOII we have a “technology fee” to help maintain the computers and pay for the wireless in the house.