Spring Recruitment at UF?

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

That would have sucked if they were all-inclusive and she didn't know it. I've read many times here that on certain campuses, the costs of living in a dorm and on a meal plan are less than living in-house with a house meal plan.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

That was definitely true of my school.

Also, 5 bids is alot of bids to turn down. That's 5 sororities she might not have a chance at come fall.

And to be honest, the ones who WEREN'T doing spring recruitment aren't typically going to be chapters who would take a chance on an upperclassman. They also aren't going to be much different price-wise than those she saw in spring...

My school is one where it is often less expensive to go Greek than live on campus. The comparison of a shared room in a residence hall will run 4,019-4650, before meal plan, which runs about $1500 a semester. That's about $6,000 a year, which is the average cost of joining a sorority, and the fraternity average is $5,200. The fraternity and sorority costs go beyond food and a room, but dues and other events, so it really is a great deal. I can imagine this fall we'll have more people going Greek as living on campus for freshman is required, and Greek houses count.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Is that in actual dues? Or because you get over the OMGIMASISTER phase and stop buying every piece of paraphernalia under the sun? I think I'd be kind of pissed if a senior was paying less than me and still had access to all the same events.

I feel like it might be this. You realize that you don't need the shirt, favors and the party pics from EVERY event you go to.

[blessyourheart]

Actually, the OP is correct. My daughter is in a sorority at UF and lives out of the house. Between the meal plan, dues, and parlor fees, it averages 1700-1800 a semester. That doesn't include gifts, favors, pictures. UF sororities are incredibly expensive.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by blessyourheart

Actually, the OP is correct. My daughter is in a sorority at UF and lives out of the house. Between the meal plan, dues, and parlor fees, it averages 1700-1800 a semester. That doesn't include gifts, favors, pictures. UF sororities are incredibly expensive.

I'm not questioning the amount at all, I'm questioning the "it decreases every semester" part.

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by kat3iseret

There is of course a drop off of about 200-400 dollars after the first semester, but the individuals I spoke with said it continues to go down, not as dramatically as after the first semester, till it essentially plateaus for your final two semesters as a senior.
UF is extremely expensive, I think it may only be behind Alabama and Georgia when it comes to dues. I really don't know why it is so expensive since almost all other Florida schools are 500-1000 a semester. Who knows

Even if it does actually decrease eventually, you do understand that if you were to join in the fall, the dues would likely be in the range that you found unacceptable this spring, right? Dues wouldn't decrease for you between spring and fall because you didn't join. As others have pointed out, dues may actually be more expensive next fall because of normal "cost of living" increases and depending on fall activities.

[Barbie's_Rush]

Don't the UF sororities have live-in requirements too? So it will actually get more expensive because you will have no other choice but to live in the house for a year or two?

Although I respect that people have different budgets, I don't think the $1700 - 1800 per semester is out of line when you have a large house to support. The live-out fees at my school are more than twice that amount.

[kappagator]

By your 3rd or 4th semester the dues level out. Eventually everyone's will, not just girls who pledge the 1st semester of their freshman year.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by kappagator

By your 3rd or 4th semester the dues level out. Eventually everyone's will, not just girls who pledge the 1st semester of their freshman year.

I still don't understand how this works. If sophomores, juniors and seniors are all participating in the same activities and living in the same house, why should the seniors have lower dues???????????

[ggforever]

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.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ggforever

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.

That makes a lot more sense. Thanks!! (Previous posters: was that so hard?)

[Barbie's_Rush]

So if one were to join as a junior, they'd still have to pay the housing corp fee in the two years they are a member, right? So it's not a matter of freshman year is most expensive, then sophomore is less, and it levels out for junior and senior. The higher fees are always going to be paid, the when they are paid depends on your class year when you join.

I'm still amazed how chapters with such big houses can not have a live-in requirement. What happens if one semester or year too many members want to live out and there are vacant spots in the house?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Barbie's_Rush

I'm still amazed how chapters with such big houses can not have a live-in requirement. What happens if one semester or year too many members want to live out and there are vacant spots in the house?

I have had friends at bigger schools whose chapters had no live-in requirements, but they said that their chapter has a point system to fill vacancies if too many poeple are trying to live out. The # of points you have, determines whether you have earned the right to live out.

Ex: Julie Junior gets points for having already lived-in for a year, being an officer, serving on x number of chairs/committees and having 100% attendance for 3 years.

In contrast, Suzie Sophomore has not lived-in yet, has never been an officer, and has only held one chair position. She also has 70% attendance for 2 years. She ranks lower on the points list.

When it comes time to fill any vacancies, they go to the list. Those who are lowest on the points list are required to live-in.
Someone like Julie Junior ranks high, so she is passed over and gets to live-out for senior year. In contrast, someone like Suzie Sophomore could possibly be pulled in depending on how many spots needs to be filled and how other girls rank.

Ex: if there are 5 openings, the lowest 5 are required to move in. They either move in or resign their memberships.