Registration for Florida State 2013 Fall Recruitment Announced

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

I would not assume that a new colony would have lower dues. They may have a meal plan. Even without a house, they want colony members to bond and may have meals at a dorm or other location. You would not be paying room and board as you would if you were living in a chapter house, but would still pay parlor fees (just like a new member or out of house member of any other chapter.)

You also should NOT think that getting into a colony will be easier, or that they won't care about your GPA.

[greekdee]

I know it's disappointing to find out that the expenses are too much, but you're wise to be investigating it now. Too many go full steam into recruitment, pledge a chapter, love it and then realize they can't continue because of the financial obligations. They then have to drop from a chapter they've come to care about.

[FSUZeta]

Some sororities do offer scholarships and/or financial assistance (for emergency situations), but some don't and you would really have no way of finding out which ones did offer them. I would imagine a brand new member would not be eligible for those right away, anyway. As with most scholarships/financial assistance, etc., it would not be automatically granted for the next year, so making a long term commitment based on short term resources might not be advisable.

There are sorority members who work in order to pay for their dues. Would that be an option for you? If so, you would need to be mindful of how flexible your time would be. You need to allow time to study, as well as time to enjoy your sorority membership. Could you work this summer and save that money to use toward your first semester dues?

I would imagine that most sororities do offer payment plans so that dues/room/board are stretched out over the whole semester. You have learned that the most expensive part of your membership will be the first semester, when one time new member fees, initiation fee and badge purchase are assessed.

More than your class standing, your GPA will probably be a detriment to your recruitment, but different chapters will have different GPA requirements. Many of the chapters used to (like in the past couple of years) mention the minimum GPA they were looking for on their chapter websites. You might see if they still do.

Realize that some things are stacked against you, and do what you can to make up for that. You have 2 recs. and that is good, but you really, really, really do need recs. to all the houses. That is something you can control-so do whatever if takes to find the recs. you need.

[Low C Sharp]

I agree with greekdee. To me, it looks as though the additional expense is not realistic for you. You should not go 4+ figures further into debt to have a sorority experience. You are smart to focus on your GPA and on completing college with the lowest debt possible. Getting involved with a new intramural sports team, religious group, musical group, or community service organization will be a less expensive way to make college memories and lifelong friends.