Advice for PNM

[tigergirl14]

Hey y'all I will be rushing for sorority in about a month and had some questions about it that you guys can hopefully answer. Okay to start out, my biggest concern about joining a sorority is the financial part. My parents have refused to pay for greek life for me which means I have to come up with the money on my own. Fortunately, I have an on campus job next year working as a desk assistant. I have enough money to handle my new member dues but not enough to pay my first semester expenses. So my question is, is it financially possible for me? I have no other bills to pay, that would be my only bill. Also, they say that the first year is around $2400-2700 and the following years are $1500. Literally everything, from tuition to housing, is fully paid for me for my 4 years so I really don't have any other bills, plus my dad is paying me an allowance every month for whatever that I would need. SO with that being said, do y'all think it's financially possible for me? I'll be raking in about $400-$500 a month from my campus job. I look forward to hearing from y'all! Geaux Tigers!

[LAblondeGPhi]

Hi there,

I'm sure others will say this soon, so I'll mention it here - try using the search function on GreekChat to dig up some threads on LSU, paying for dues, etc. There are a ton of threads that will likely answer many of your questions.

Protip: when you are logged in, go to "Advanced Search", and you'll be able to search for terms specifically in Titles or Messages, and will be able to narrow your search results by discussion category. If you're having trouble finding appropriate threads, using the Advanced Search should help immensely.

Using my sharp math skills, I see that $400/mo x 7 months = $2,800, which should theoretically cover your costs. I don't know about LSU, but many chapters at most schools offer payment plans (monthly, quarterly, etc). Many students who pay for Greek life on their own also work over the summer to help cover costs.

Others who are more familiar with LSU might chime in, but you may also find some of the answers to your questions before then. Good luck.

[tigergirl14]

Thank you so much for the tip! I will be sure to use that from now on! And yes, most chapters at LSU do offer monthly payment plans as I was told by a assistant greek director! Again thank you so much!

[Titchou]

I don't know about other groups but mine does not allow New Members to be on a payment plan. In other words, until you are initiated, you have to pay for everything when it is due. This means that all your new member fees, initiation fees, dues for the first two months must be paid before you can be initiated. And my group is at LSU. In fact, we use the Bursar's system there (I think many of the groups do) and so the chapter bill for first semester is on your University bill and you have to pay them by a certain date.

[Missouri Ivy]

I would suggest having a plan for what to do if you get a bid from an organization that doesn't offer payment plans. Would your parents be willing to loan you the money to pay up front, with the understanding that you would pay them back on a set schedule?

[SoCalGirl]

Is it possible? Very much so, but it depends on the chapter policies about payments.

Are you working now? In the time you have left before school starts you should be stashing away money. Incidental expenses add up in college life even when you're not in a sorority. If you can't land a "regular job", can you babysit or do extra chores around the house for payment? Maybe do odd jobs for family friends or neighbors.

Good luck.

[DubaiSis]

Also, something to be aware of is your optional expenses. It is EASY to spend several hundred dollars on t-shirts and other swag. You will accumulate sooooo many of them over the years that if you can restrain yourself in the first semester, you'll never know the difference a year or two later. I have lived life on a dime more than once in my life. You'll be surprised at how far you can make a tight budget go if you're willing to forego Starbucks for the free coffee likely available to you somewhere, doing your own workouts instead of paying for the gym, shopping thrift stores, or dare I say it tolerating the clothes you already own, etc.

Here's a method to work up a budget. For the next, oh, week (but a month would be better) write down every single thing you buy. You stick a penny in a gumball machine, write it down. It doesn't matter if it's coin or paper or plastic, if you spent it, write it down. After a period of time you'll figure out what you're spending your money on. Typical culprits are sodas (bad for you) and coffee (ridiculously expensive) and both of those are things you CAN eliminate from your life if you really want to make sorority fit into your life.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Oh, good call on the favors. Also, in some chapters, it's expensive to take a little or a senior buddy, things like that.

[tigergirl14]

Originally Posted by Titchou

I don't know about other groups but mine does not allow New Members to be on a payment plan. In other words, until you are initiated, you have to pay for everything when it is due. This means that all your new member fees, initiation fees, dues for the first two months must be paid before you can be initiated. And my group is at LSU. In fact, we use the Bursar's system there (I think many of the groups do) and so the chapter bill for first semester is on your University bill and you have to pay them by a certain date.

Okay thank you! I have enough for my new member dues, just not the first two months of dues! Do you happen to know when that university bill has to be paid?

[tigergirl14]

Originally Posted by Missouri Ivy

I would suggest having a plan for what to do if you get a bid from an organization that doesn't offer payment plans. Would your parents be willing to loan you the money to pay up front, with the understanding that you would pay them back on a set schedule?

Oh gosh I wish! They don't really support it since my dad dropped college because his greek life got too out of hand. If anything, I have a ton of Lilly Pulitzer that I can sell I'm sure to pay for those expenses lol.

[AZTheta]

Sweet one, those are excellent questions - I hope that your greek life office can help. I imagine every sorority has its own policies. Our new members are not eligible for a payment plan until after initiation.

I paid for my membership myself, and am glad that I stuck it out although I didn't always have the $ for extras that others did. I still immensely enjoyed my college years and my alumnae years have been awesome.

Good luck! Go Greek! Excited for you - come back and tell us how it went, if you're so inclined.

[SoCalGirl]

Your recruitment materials, or during recruitment, should have more financial details. These questions would be best addressed to Panhel, Rho Chis, and/or chapters on your campus.

[pinksequins]

These are all good suggestions. Another one, before the excitement and stress of recruitment begins, is to run some of the budgetary numbers now. You don't want to be stressing about numbers during recruitment. Instead, if you do as much budgetary homework now (and earmark a dues fund for your savings), you can present your best possible self during recruitment. Since the dues structures can vary (extras included/extras paid separately), it can be a bit of comparing apples and oranges. LSU's Greek Life Office can be one of your best resources for fee information. We won't have it for LSU specifically.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by tigergirl14

Oh gosh I wish! They don't really support it since my dad dropped college because his greek life got too out of hand. If anything, I have a ton of Lilly Pulitzer that I can sell I'm sure to pay for those expenses lol.

You can try to reassure him that 1) girls are different than boys and 2) things are MUCH more uptight than they were back in his day. Unless of course by out of hand, you mean he bought too many letter shirts.

[LAblondeGPhi]

This is a pretty good, and very recent, thread about sorority financials:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ight=financial

It explains some of the nuances and differences in sorority dues. Remember that many chapters that look cheaper on paper are omitting payments for favors, some formals or photos. Chapters that look more expensive often include a small fund for favors, and cover the costs of most/all activities. Don't try to base your rankings during recruitment on costs - it'd probably be futile, anyway.