costs of sororities at university of alabama

[AuburnMom08]

AuburnMom08: look at the Greeklife.ua site, and you will see what I mean about the cost difference between highest and lowest in my post above. $7,350 per year is the difference!

Oh I know, my daughter was going to Bama if not AU so I'm familiar with all that.

But some did not give out cost sheets. I am afraid that their attitude was "If you have to ask, then you can't afford it.

That is probably a correct assessment lol.

[Zillini]

Originally Posted by margretlee

The problem is that not all the sororities gave out info sheets. They had little tables set up in a big room, and most of the girls were really nice, well spoken representatives of their organizations. But some did not give out cost sheets. I am afraid that their attitude was "If you have to ask, then you can't afford it." We have money allotted for this, so don't need a payment plan, but would love to stay within a certain range, as we have two other kids coming up right behind her! How can one ask someone to make a committment to join thier organization, but not tell them the cost? Do they wait until you get a bid before telling you what it cost, and then it's too late? She is afraid to ask, because she thinks that will be like an automatic cut.

Handing out the individual Chapter's cost sheets was a new thing this year. It's entirely possible that the reason some did not provide specific line by line breakdowns was because they didn't know others were and instead kept it general. While it's possible that some had an "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" attitude, I think it was more likely that because their Chapter didn't create a specific breakdown they simply didn't know that info to talk about.

Something to keep in mind, the Chapters were allowed to have X of members present at their table. Who was selected was often based on who is well spoken (best recruiters), knowledgeable about a lot of aspects of the sorority and campus life, not to mention who would be available for several hours on that weekend. Those folks aren't necessarily experts on Chapter finances. It's the Treasurer/Finance VP or whatever title a Chapter has for that position who knows this stuff inside and out. She might not have been one of the representatives there.

Let's face it, a lot of members have no clue about finances, even their own personal ones. For many members Mom & Dad pay their bills and they are clueless about how much their sorority dues are. Even if the know the total, they often don't know the breakdown of how much goes towards meals, house dues (aka parlor fees), chapter dues, etc. For some this breakdown sheet might have been news to them too -- even for those who are officers. So it is entirely possible that the attitude you felt was unintentional.

Just so you know, in past years Panhellenic simply provided a general range of the costs and an average for all the Chapters. As AnchorAlumna said, the range difference is not that big. Since this was new we all learned from it and will do a better job next year.

[AnchorAlumna]

I think the high-low difference is really and truly less than what is listed. What I found as chapter treasurer (albeit that was a LONG time ago) is that the higher ones list more actual costs than the lower ones. Yes, there will be differences, but not by that big of a range. The person who did the high one thought of more costs to include than the person who did the lower one.

I believe AuburnMom may be a little low...I would plan closer to $4,000 for the first semester. The first one is the most expensive, because there are extra pledge fees, house corporation fees, initiation fees, a badge, etc. that will not repeat.

And it bites MORE because they're not living in the house. It's MUCH more reasonable once they're in the house and your not paying high parlor fees along with dorm or apartment rent. You do realize daughter will be charged for ALL meals at the house? So be sure she eats there as often as possible! The university has some kind of arrangement for the dorm meal fees once a girl pledges.

After that first semester, the cost is much closer to the $3,500 that AuburnMom quoted.

Sororities with houses have the highest costs, obviously because they're running a house with a kitchen that has to meet health department standards (yes, they're inspected regularly), a staff, maintenance, etc etc. So for her siblings, encourage them to go to a school where sororities don't have houses! I always thought Auburn's sororities had the best deal: a beautifully decorated chapter room, chapter members in the dorm above, and no mortgage, salaries, and kitchen to pay for! Although their rent has gone up wickedly thanks to the new dorms, so I'd bet that $1,300 figure is no longer accurate.

Why don't the girls communicate the costs ahead of time? Well....they're 19 and 20 years old.

[Zillini]

Originally Posted by margretlee

AnchorAlumna: thank you for your reply. The Greek.ua webpage lists $6,185 as the high per semester, and $2,490 as the low per semester. That's in-house, and is a difference of $7,350 per year. That may not seem like a lot to you, but I have three girls, and multiply that out over the next decade or so, and it will add up. I realize she will not be in-house the first year, but hopefully within the next few years. The out-of-house difference in the high and low cost is $3,550, as well. That amount would is significant enough to cover tuition or housing for a semester. That may be pocket change to some, but in this economy, everyone seems to be tightening up some.

As for the comment that it's a little late to be worrying about it now, our home has been greatly affected by the economic situation, and the effects of that are more evident now than when she first signed up to rush. I think this is the right time to be wondering about the costs. I sort of assumed that the girls would be given something at convocatioin, but I guess not. Unfortunately, most of our family graduated from a different college, so we do nto know as much about the sororities at Bama.

Please provide a link to the site where you are getting the $6,185/semester as I can't find it.

Instead the following is directly quoted from the UA Panhellenic Website frequently asked questions about how much does it cost to belong to a sorority:

Total Average Fees (per semester):
Resident: $2,497.540
Non-Resident: $1,721.82

ETA: The primary reason why it is cheaper to belong to a sorority at Auburn is that they do not have physical houses.

[AuburnMom08]

Yes its true you'll have a lot of first semester fees and things you have to buy that you won't ever have to again.

Why don't the girls communicate the costs ahead of time? Well....they're 19 and 20 years old

lol exactly. I was just sitting here trying to think if my daughter even knew how much her dues were. I don't think she did. All she knows is what they specifically tell her and then I get a call or a text "Mom, I need to order a pin, it's about $100, can you put some extra money in my account?" and "Mom, I need some money in my account for a new member fee/little sister/fine I got for being late/etc".

My daughter got a speeding ticket at 6:00 one morning last week for trying to hurry and beat the "$50 fine per 5 minutes late" fine. Her sorority didn't fine her but the Auburn police dept did. She's been very jealous of the girls who live on the hall during all this - no hurrying around to be on time and no looking for a parking place and then walking a mile to the village!

[MSKKG]

One thing to consider is if the sorority assesses. The initial dues might look low, but then you will have to "pay as you go" for things. Kappa Kappa Gamma doesn't assess, so what is quoted is all that is required. This figure doesn't include T-shirts, pictures, or any other extras.

[MaggieXi]

What if your daughter gets a bid to the house of her dreams and its the most expensive of all the sororities? Do you tell her she can't because of budgeting?

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by margretlee

AnchorAlumna: thank you for your reply.
As for the comment that it's a little late to be worrying about it now, our home has been greatly affected by the economic situation, and the effects of that are more evident now than when she first signed up to rush. I think this is the right time to be wondering about the costs. I sort of assumed that the girls would be given something at convocatioin, but I guess not. Unfortunately, most of our family graduated from a different college, so we do nto know as much about the sororities at Bama.

I think what she meant was that since recruitment has already begun, it's a little late to say "Susie, don't fall in love with the AAAs as they are too expensive." The train, so to speak, has left the station and trying to change direction at this point is more than an impossible situation.

Since it's not possible to get each group to break things down in the same manner (some don't charge things the same way as others,some pay things annually, some monthly, some are one time), it can be troublesome to get a fair assessment. Keep in mind that some groups may have used the live in cost for a 4 girl room and others may have used the cost for a single. And there's no way you'll find that out at this point. And that's just one place where the $ can honestly differ.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by AuburnMom08

Yes its true you'll have a lot of first semester fees and things you have to buy that you won't ever have to again.



lol exactly. I was just sitting here trying to think if my daughter even knew how much her dues were. I don't think she did. All she knows is what they specifically tell her and then I get a call or a text "Mom, I need to order a pin, it's about $100, can you put some extra money in my account?" and "Mom, I need some money in my account for a new member fee/little sister/fine I got for being late/etc".

My daughter got a speeding ticket at 6:00 one morning last week for trying to hurry and beat the "$50 fine per 5 minutes late" fine. Her sorority didn't fine her but the Auburn police dept did. She's been very jealous of the girls who live on the hall during all this - no hurrying around to be on time and no looking for a parking place and then walking a mile to the village!

Holy Crap that's steep.

[FSUZeta]

but the girls know up front(for months ahead of time) when they are supposed to arrive, so there really is no excuse for not arriving on time. setting steep fines keep the stragglers to a minimum.

[margretlee]

Zillini:
I saw the prices you quoted some time ago, and we based our decision to proceed on them. Then there is this:
"
Financial Responsibility

Greek-letter organizations have been self-sufficient since their inception. Fraternities and sororities pay their own way, through dues, membership fees, and, often, one-time pledge/associate and initiation fees. IFC and Panhellenic chapters with houses charge room and board depending on whether members live in the house or not. In general, the cost of living independently or in a fraternity or sorority house are comparable, and often can be less expensive. The cost of membership in a Greek organization varies from group to group. The average cost per semester for a sorority member who lives in the sorority house is approximately $3,400.00 and $2,100.00 for a member who lives out of the sorority house. The approximate average cost of a fraternity member who lives in a fraternity house is $3,300.00 per semester and $2,300.00 for a member who does not live in the house. In addition to these costs, new members can expect to pay one-time fees during the first semester in the organization. These fees may include a pledge/new member fee, and an initiation fee. The average cost of these fees for a sorority member is approximately $250.00 and $175.00 for a fraternity member. Fees may vary from year to year, and the figures provided above are only rough estimates of what organizations may charge. The cost of membership in an NPHC fraternity or sorority is significantly less that those of the IFC and Panhellenic organizations. If your student is interested in joining an NPHC organization, he or she should attend an interest meeting at the individual chapters for information about financial obligations.
Many chapters have sinking funds of varying amounts that are used to pay for T-shirts, party favors, and party pictures. Although members are not required to purchase any of these, most member choose to do so.
Please note that when your son or daughter becomes a new member of a fraternity or sorority, he or she is affiliating with that organization, and should he or she decide to disaffiliate with that organization, he or she may be held responsible for some fees that can not be removed from his or her bills. " copied & pasted from here:
http://www.greeklife.ua.edu/parents.html#Financial%20Responsibility
So that is different than the amount that you posted, albeit not by much.

I will post the other link again as soon as I locate it.

MaggieXi: That is my point exactly!!! What if she likes one of the highest priced ones. We could come up with it, but do we want to do that with little sisters coming up??

[AuburnMom08]

Send her little sisters to Auburn.

[margretlee]

OK, here is the link showing the prices I quoted earlier:
http://greeklife.ua.edu/docs/Sorority%20Life%20at%20the%20Capstone%202009.ppt

If it does not work, go to the greeklife.ua website. On the right hand side there is the sorority recruitment guide that you can open in pdf form. As you can see, it is much higher than the highs and lows quoted on the front page of that same site, and also than the Panhellenic site that Zillini quoted. I just wish we had known the accurate information upfront.

I realize that all fees will vary. However, each house has an idea about a price range, and I think the UA site should be consistent, and not have different prices on different pages.

Yes, the train has left the station, but combine real estate depreciation, loss of money in three college funds, and less income from a straight commission job, and it is just information that we would appreciate having access to. My daughter is pragmatic enough to know that sometimes life requires compromise. But she has no idea which ones are outside of our budget.

BTW, I was not trying to find fault with any of the sorority representatives at the Panhellenic weekend. I do recognize that they are inexperienced young women who may not have access to all the financial data. I just thought it was odd, in view of the fact that the speakers told us to go to each table for financial information, that we found a table with none to give out. I am sure that this will improve in forthcoming years. From an audience standpoint, we had no idea that this was the first year this was offered. No young lady was rude to me personally, but one young, pretty, immaculately attired young woman was sitting on the table with her legs crossed and foot swinging as we approached. I guess it was the way she said that they do not give out prices to the mom in front of me that made me think that they did not want to divulge them.

I just think it would be a travesty if ANY girl (not just my daughter) went into this after convincing her parents to pay the "average" Approx. $1,700 per semester listed on the official Panhellenic web site that Zillini posted, only to fall in love with and receive a bid from a sorority that requires the $6K per semester listed in the rush packet instead, and perhaps not have the funds or desire to pay the higher amount. I wish there was a way to know which ones were in that category. There must be some sororities that do charge that much, or else that would not be stated in the packet.

I am not complaining, btw, just trying to make sure we do not commit to something that we will later regret. This is too important to my daughter for her not to get the opportunity to see it through. Does that make sense?

I am not saying that we would not have allowed the "train to leave the station" had we known about the potential high end, but the truth is we did consider the higher cost of the sororities when allowing her to go to UA rather than other colleges . . .

[margretlee]

haha, Auburnmom08! You know I would want them to stay together! Of course in reality I will only have one year with two in at a time, but maybe we should have spread them apart more.

[kiteflyersmom]

Originally Posted by AuburnMom08

Yes its true you'll have a lot of first semester fees and things you have to buy that you won't ever have to again.



lol exactly. I was just sitting here trying to think if my daughter even knew how much her dues were. I don't think she did. All she knows is what they specifically tell her and then I get a call or a text "Mom, I need to order a pin, it's about $100, can you put some extra money in my account?" and "Mom, I need some money in my account for a new member fee/little sister/fine I got for being late/etc".

My daughter got a speeding ticket at 6:00 one morning last week for trying to hurry and beat the "$50 fine per 5 minutes late" fine. Her sorority didn't fine her but the Auburn police dept did. She's been very jealous of the girls who live on the hall during all this - no hurrying around to be on time and no looking for a parking place and then walking a mile to the village!

Sounds like my daughter has an indentical twin at Auburn