From the Collegian article linked by exlurker:
Some of the changes include lowering the cost of recruitment and arranging for women to move into their residence halls only once.
The main reason for the changes was to cut the cost of recruitment, said Ellen Burke, director of recruitment for PHC.
Burke said sorority recruitment used to be incredibly expensive compared to other Big 12 Conference schools.
“The past two or three years now, the cost was over $200 to do sorority recruitment, and now it is down $65,” Burke said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zillini
Clarification question: What does Ms. Burke mean by "to do" sorority recruitment? Is that the PNM registration fee or the amount the chapters are allowed to spend on Recruitment or what?
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The cost of $200 refers to the fee that was paid by the girls to go through recruitment. Most of it went to the university to pay for room and board in the dorms. The girls used to go down on Saturday and stay an entire week. It was basically the cost of going to camp for a week; when my daughter went through in 2007 the cost was $262. If memory serves (and that is getting questionable!), there was about $60 or so that was refundable if you didn't pledge. That must have been some kind of a new member/panhellenic fee rolled in to the total.
Now they have lopped off a day or two, itemized out that fee which will be paid after recruitment if you do pledge, and somehow taken the cost paid to the university down to $65.
http://www.k-state.edu/greek/recruit...thedetails.htm
I am not sure how dropping a day or two in the dorms saved over $100, but that's what has been done.
I certainly don't want the cost of recruitment to be a barrier to girls wanting to go through, but here is my big concern: Lots of girls can find an extra $65 and go through rush, quite oblivious to the financial obligations that will follow if they join a house. Yes, the sororities present the financial costs one day during rush, but how many 18-year-old girls dressed up for a party have a clue what those poster boards and hand-outs are talking about? I am increasingly seeing expense as a reason for girls to deactivate. If you don't live in the house (and so many upperclassmen don't these days), it is much harder to justfiy all the out-of-house fees when you are struggling to pay tuition.
Greek Affairs "says" that going greek is less expensive than living in the dorm. Well, if you just compare live-in costs to the dorm, that's true. But the first year, sorority costs for my daughter were almost $2000 in addition to the dorm bill. That included her initiation fee, out-of-house fees etc. This year, living in, the cost was comparable, but that didn't include initiation gifts for her little, party favors, T-shirts, and on and on and on. It is really disingenuous to tout Greek living as less expensive, at least from my perspective. And K-State on average isn't nearly as, how shall I put this, "high maintenance" as some campuses!
I encouraged my daughters to go through recruitment, so I obviously feel it is a worthwhile investment. But just dropping the fee for recruitment so "more girls can participate" is kind of like advertising a new car for "no money down." If you are not mature/savvy/informed enough to look at the payments ahead and make sure that you can afford them, it will only lead to difficult choices and possible heartbreak.
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