Telling the 'rents...

[mkose1]

Oh I completely understand that, and I have a way to make things work out. I know that my parents will be sending me money monthly and are telling me to work a budget for it, I'll just budget money monthly to cover dues and other expenses. I can work with money.

[DLanoliN]

It really depends on the sitution you have with your parents. I did not tell my parents until I was innitiated. My parents came to pick me up at the end of the semester, and I had my letters on. I didn't tell them to save them worry and disapproval. It worked well in my situation to say "Hey look, I did this, I am fine, and it was a good choice for all these reasons.. etc". It ended up being a good decision for me.

However, I support myself through college. Not only did I recieve nothing from my parents to pay for my Sorority experience, I also recieved nothing to contribute to college in general. I think parents should know if they will be expected to contribute to the cost of your choice. You're an adult though, and joining the experience of Greek life is a choice you deserve to make.

[FSUZeta]

legally being considered an adult is one thing, so is being declared financially independent of your parents. being financially dependent of your parents and not including them in plans which will impact them financially is another thing. you know best your family situation and should use your own judgement in deciding whether to let them know ahead of time that you are going to participate in fraternity recruitment. however, if your parents are going to be expected to foot the bill, i think that you should discuss your intentions(as well as costs) with them. it sounds like you have done so with your mom, but you might be putting her in an uncomfortable position by not including your dad.

texas is one of the schools where greek life is pretty pricey, and some of the initial expenses of fraternity membership might be upfront: new member fee, initiation fee, badge fee, etc., so that even the best budgeting might not work in the beginning of your membership-unless your parents are generously giving you a couple of thousand dollars of discretionary income every month. if they are, would they adopt me?

after the first semester, fees become more predictable. also be aware that there will be t-shirts(yes, even for guys), weekends,spring break trips, formals etc. that may or may not be included in the dues.

[srmom]

Originally Posted by mkose1

Oh I completely understand that, and I have a way to make things work out. I know that my parents will be sending me money monthly and are telling me to work a budget for it, I'll just budget money monthly to cover dues and other expenses. I can work with money.

mkose, I don't know about all the houses, but the ones I do know about expect payment in large installments starting immediately after you pledge. I recieved a bill for thousands of dollars due immediately 2 years ago, so plan ahead. I had hoped for some type of monthly installment plan, but that doesn not seem to be the way they work. Some will split it into fall/spring payments, some want it all in the fall. My son's fraternity has just signed up this year with a collections company (Omega ?) who is sending out the billing. It looks like, from what I've already had to pay, and what my next bill is, that the entire amount ($4500 since he's a junior, it goes down a bit each year) will be paid by October.

[AznSAE]

Originally Posted by mkose1

Oh I completely understand that, and I have a way to make things work out. I know that my parents will be sending me money monthly and are telling me to work a budget for it, I'll just budget money monthly to cover dues and other expenses. I can work with money.

it must be nice having money sent to you on a monthly basis. i could have used that back when i was in school. my parents knew because they got things in the mail all the time in regards to the fraternity, but they never questioned me about it.