Telling the 'rents...

[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 Munchkin03

Really? There's no way my parents would have signed that agreement. Like I mentioned earlier, they aren't against Greek life, but they made it very clear to me and my sister that we were on our own as far as dues were concerned. Most of the women in my chapter paid their own dues from working an on-campus job or summer savings--granted, they were only about $350/semester. What about people whose parents didn't even pay for their tuition?

The fraternity dues at UT run around $5,000 a year (plus social fees), so unless the kid is either independently wealthy, or has a DAMN good summer job, they'll probably need some help from the good old "Bank of Mom & Dad" to help pay the costs.

I would guess if the kids are paying their own tuitions, then fraternity life might be out.

Aren't dues at UT, A&M, and Tech well over $1000?

Ummmh, yeah, see above

[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.

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by srmom

The fraternity dues at UT run around $5,000 a year (plus social fees), so unless the kid is either independently wealthy, or has a DAMN good summer job, they'll probably need some help from the good old "Bank of Mom & Dad" to help pay the costs.

I would guess if the kids are paying their own tuitions, then fraternity life might be out.

Ummmh, yeah, see above

Yeahhhh that's what I thought... and add housing fees on top of all of that.. I'm happy with my $500 a year.

[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.