costs of sororities at university of alabama

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Why is it a poor comparison?

Here's what I'm hearing on this thread: On pref night, a student might have two options. Either one would be OK, but ultimately, she has to choose which one to rank first. Lots of pros and cons might enter into this decision, but relative cost cannot be one of them.

Similarly, a student might have two college acceptances. Either college would serve her needs adequately, but ultimately, she needs to decide which one is her first choice. Lots of pros and cons might enter into this decision, and relative cost should be part of the calculation.

Why? How come pragmatic considerations don't belong in one decision process, but they do in the other?

Because she only gets to rank; she doesn't really get to really choose. In the college situation, she has much more control of the whole situation.

I have no problem requiring groups to disclose costs, but it still doesn't allow the girl to really shape her recruitment based on that information. If the less expensive groups drop her, she's going to go back to parties at the more expensive chapters.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Why is it a poor comparison?

Here's what I'm hearing on this thread: On pref night, a student might have two options. Either one would be OK, but ultimately, she has to choose which one to rank first. Lots of pros and cons might enter into this decision, but relative cost cannot be one of them.

Similarly, a student might have two college acceptances. Either college would serve her needs adequately, but ultimately, she needs to decide which one is her first choice. Lots of pros and cons might enter into this decision, and relative cost should be part of the calculation.

Why? How come pragmatic considerations don't belong in one decision process, but they do in the other?

Are you in a sorority?

[UGAalum94]

Low C, you realize that her ranking doesn't solely determine which group she gets right? And you also know that the costs are variable from year to year?

I'm not making the case that financial information is therefore useless to PNMs, but sorority recruitment doesn't work enough like college acceptance for the analogy to work that well although it might be a great analogy for fraternities since guys can get more than one bid.

[Low C Sharp]

The system is designed to yield one bid to each girl.

So what? We all read stories here about PNMs who are totally torn on pref night, loving two houses. If they're very similar, and one costs $7000/year less than the other, why not rank the cheaper one first? Maybe, like the OP, she could afford either one, but it'd be really nice to save that $28,000 (over four years) if she can.

And at many campuses -- like Bama -- a girl's one and only shot at rush is freshman year. If she has to drop before initiation, that's probably the end of the Greek line. Why deny her the opportunity to take cost into consideration earlier in the process? It increases the odds that she ends up in a house she can afford.
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[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

So what? We all read stories here about PNMs who are totally torn on pref night, loving two houses. If they're very similar, and one costs $7000/year less than the other, why not rank the cheaper one first? Maybe, like the OP, she could afford either one, but it'd be really nice to save that $28,000 (over four years) if she can.

And at many campuses -- like Bama -- a girl's one and only shot at rush is freshman year. If she has to drop before initiation, that's probably the end of the Greek line. Why deny her the opportunity to take cost into consideration earlier in the process? It increases the odds that she ends up in a house she can afford.

I don't have any interest in denying her the information. It still doesn't give her much more control.


ETA: and I think Bama has an upperclassmen quota, but I still understand your point. Re-rushing for a cheaper house isn't going to be a big success.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

So what? We all read stories here about PNMs who are totally torn on pref night, loving two houses. If they're very similar, and one costs $7000/year less than the other, why not rank the cheaper one first? Maybe, like the OP, she could afford either one, but it'd be really nice to save that $28,000 (over four years) if she can.

I can't wait till someone comes on here "totally torn" about which man to marry and she says one is partner in a law firm and the other works at McDonald's. That will be a good time to bust out this response.

FWIW, my group was one of the cheaper ones on campus, and that did attract some women - however, I don't think anyone pledged solely because of the money issue. National dues factored in, and had we had a different type of women, dues probably would have cost more, if that makes any sense.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I can't wait till someone comes on here "totally torn" about which man to marry and she says one is partner in a law firm and the other works at McDonald's. That will be a good time to bust out this response.

FWIW, my group was one of the cheaper ones on campus, and that did attract some women - however, I don't think anyone pledged solely because of the money issue. National dues factored in, and had we had a different type of women, dues probably would have cost more, if that makes any sense.

The spouse analogy doesn't really work either, in fairness to Low C, especially if you are talking about a recruitment that occurs mainly for freshmen before school even starts.

Low C Sharp's point would be a great one for COB or for a system that allowed a girl to get more than one bid.

But since I feel that most PNMs don't control their recruitment experience as much as they react to cuts (or at least that's my impression based on being most familiar with a system where everyone's top few tend to be the same after round one; most don't end up there), I don't think know that sharing the information really gives the PNM much more control over the situation. They can know it and consider it, but it's not like weighing two places where you know you've been accepted.

But I wouldn't overly romanticize the recruitment process. You aren't choosing a soul mate. You're getting matched to a group that has the potential to do great things for your and with you. Many of us even believe we could have been happy and successful in other groups had the one we joined not worked out.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

The spouse analogy doesn't really work either, in fairness to Low C, especially if you are talking about a recruitment that occurs mainly for freshmen before school even starts.

Low C Sharp's point would be a great one for COB or for a system that allowed a girl to get more than one bid.

FWIW, I don't think Low C is Greek. So I don't think he understands how things work.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

FWIW, I don't think Low C is Greek. So I don't think he understands how things work.

I don't think so either although I thought LCS was a woman. (Isn't that kind of strange that we'd both have attached genders to the user?)

I sort of feel like LCS is a university/ college admissions person but I don't know why I made that up.

I think what he or she suggests seems very reasonable, except that it suggest more PNM control over where she ends up than I think they really have.

I do think that it would be wonderful for panhellenics to not only give ranges or averages, but to actually make detailed information available on materials sent to PNMs through panhellenic. Not just of what's required, but of average other expenses too. How much is formal? How many t-shirts are sold in a given year? Sophomore year, how much would it could to have a little sister, etc?

I realize these numbers could vary, but just giving info on dues underestimates what one will actually spend, and again, I think it would be helpful to groups to see how what they are spending compares to other groups, in addition to helping the PNMS.

I also think that telling people up front what the estimated four year costs will be might help get rid of some people's perception that it's just a club you can quit at any time.

[Low C Sharp]

I've been around GC since 2001, and I understand the process perfectly well. If I need to pass a Green Book quiz before I can contribute to the thread, I'm happy to take it.

If my potential spouse was going to charge me a lot of money, I'd sure as hell want to know how much it would be before I accepted a ring. Especially if, as at Bama, it's probably the only ring I'll ever get. Furthermore, if I wanted to discuss our financial future together during courtship, and he wouldn't discuss it and held it against me that I asked...I'd think that was deeply unfair of him.

A woman DOES always have a choice...she can decide not to list a sorority she can't afford on her pref card. If she gets a less-expensive option, then great, and if she doesn't, no one will ever know why she dropped from recruitment. In contrast, if she shows up at Bid Day, her name is in the paper as a new member of XYZ, and she has to drop when she finds out the cost, that happens in public. Not to mention that it would be much more disappointing to discover that the sorority is unaffordable after enjoyig the Bid Day fun versus knowing from the get-go that XYZ is just not an option.

Yes, given Bama's system, the best advice is not to rush unless you can afford the top of the stated range. But it would really be nice if students who can't quite afford the most expensive chapter had the opportunity to shoot for an affordable chapter.

Yes, costs can change from year to year. But a multi-thousand-dollar shift is unlikely absent house acquisition or some other major development, and that kind of change is generally well publicized.

But I wouldn't overly romanticize the recruitment process. You aren't choosing a soul mate. You're getting matched to a group that has the potential to do great things for your and with you. Many of us even believe we could have been happy and successful in other groups had the one we joined not worked out.

This. Especially with the 200-woman chapters at Bama. No one who makes a good faith effort can fail to make friends in a group that size.
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[NancyT6061]

I am trying to find out what time Bid Day is at Alabama on Sunday. We called it Squeal Day in my time but I am considering driving over. The panhellenic web site does not have it posted. Thanks!

Nancy

[AuburnMom08]

It's at noon, Nancy.

[Munchkin03]

I wonder how margretlee's daughter's Rush went!

[margretlee]

My daughter had an amazingly wonderful time at rush. She took off two old row sororities due to unknown cost estimates, and they invited her back anyway, haha. She took them off her list a second time, and they dropped her. So whoever thinks that the PNM has no control over rush is mistaken, If you truly don't want to get invited back, you can make that happen by just not acting interested. These two were not her top choices, anyway.

During final round she got selected to her top choice of her three Preference Day parties. So she is very happy and very excited. Along the way she got cut by a couple that she was interested in, and pursued by a couple that she was not interested in, but at the end of the day she thinks that she has found a really good fit!

I had decided not to post here again, but changed my mind for a couple of reasons. Not everyone on here is rude (I guess that's a subjective term, but assuming that my daughter would be cut, calling her the "Salesman's daughter", saying my comments were "tacky". "snobby", etc. is considered rude where I come from), as I had several private messages to me apologizing for the rudeness shown. (Incidentally, my husband is a stock broker. I do not think that there is any shame in that.) But the main reason I am following up with this update is that I read on another forum where a young lady, unrelated to us, had similar questions. People were giving her the same advice: drop out. My advice to her, if it's not too late, is don't drop out! My daughter has been having the time of her life bonding with her new sorority sisters, and I am so glad we did not listen to that advice!

I hope that the Greek system at Bama and elsewhere will do a better job of informing PNM of the costs. Would not that be better upfront? Then they might not lose so many members in the future due to financial reasons. Incidentally, my daughter received NOTHING regarding costs from ANY sorority at Bama during the entire rush process, including the one with which she pledged. She had to rely on the sheets given out at Panhellenic weekend (and the ones NOT given out.) I hope that the Panhellenic there will do a better job, as these sororities may be missing out on some really top notch, classy girls with good reputations and great grades if they don't make the info. available in the future. BTW, to the poster who suggested we email or call Panhellenic if it was such a big deal, I did send an email to them prior to ever joining this board. Unfortunately, it went unanswered. I guess cost is a forbidden topic at Bama rush, because my daughter did not feel comfortable asking at any time.

Many, many thanks for the words of encouragement from the 7 people who sent me private messages. Thank you for taking the time to write to me. "All's well that ends well."

[33girl]

Originally Posted by margretlee

Then they might not lose so many members in the future due to financial reasons.

Is this honestly why members drop out? I've never heard that before - I thought it was more due to burnout. Unless the poster means rushees instead of members.

The only reason I suggested that your daughter drop out is because you apparently wanted her to choose a sorority based on price, rather than how she felt about the chapter. That's unfair to her and a horrible position to put her in. I sincerely hope that she ends up ok with the group she is in, rather than wishing a few years down the road that she had been able to look at the old row (barf, I can't believe I'm even typing that) groups she cut. Or should I say - that you pretty much forced her to cut.