Comments on: The True Costs of Going Greek

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 21:14:55 +0000

Love it! And agreed – can be a helluva great opportunity for sure. And even more so when the costs are down :) Thanks for chiming in… Haven’t seen this post in quite a number of years since we last published it!

By: thekingdomofike

thekingdomofike — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 01:22:44 +0000

Maybe I’m still too close to the situation, but I’m about to become an alumni of my fraternity in a couple months (I rushed Junior year), and it has been an amazing expeirience for me. I’d been in uni for two years and had a lot of time to get to know classmates, fellow academic- and interest-based club members, faculty, athletes, coworkers, etc., so I was surprised at the crazy amount of diversity in my fraternity. We’re social, but very service-centered (each semester we partner with as many other Greek organizations as we can to provide bodies/representation at their projects and organize four or five of our own off-campus service projects/fundraisers). Our monthly dues ($25 a month) cover the bulk of the intake period (so called because “pledge season” has a stigma we don’t want to associate with) expenses for the PNMs (Potential New Members— again, “pledge” has that stigma). It also covers recruitment, alumni galas, and a new shirt for active Brother every semester (so each PNM class could have a unique style shirt when they got in).

Anyway, costs aside, I think the best thing to come from Greek Life for me is getting to know graphic design majors, chemistry majors, religion majors, theater arts majors, social work majors, criminal justice majors, interior design majors, etc. super well (bond of brotherhood)! I’m a project management major, so I was tight to a whole different set of majors than what my (now) Brothers are in. It’s a serious horizon-broadener, but I’ve also gotten very involved with a couple of the organizations we’ve volunteering for and got an internship oportunity out of it.

There is plenty of party life on campus so my fraternity fills the gap for philanthropy at my uni. Maybe my experience isn’t very representative, but I’m so glad I rushed! Also, I’d like to hear from anyone else who is part of a less-than-stereotypical fraternity. I don’t feel like mine is the only one to be non-traditional.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 02:14:31 +0000

In reply to Emily. Thanks for sharing Emily!

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:12:42 +0000

In reply to J. Money. I'm guessing what I spend in my sorority in Northern California is similar to the prices listed in this article, around $65 a month for dues(not during the summer though), but we are always spending money supporting other chapters philanthropies and puting in money to put on our events(which in my opinion, is really just Greeks donating to other Greeks, not raising money any moreso than we could if we all just donated what we would donate to other houses to our own philanthropy). Our shirts are $10-15 for social events, which we are required to buy if we want to go to the event(events are about once a month). We get charged for missing mandatory events(prices range from $40-100), but are only allowed to be excused if we have class, if you miss because of work you still have to pay.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:43:52 +0000

In reply to Elsia.

That would be an interesting study indeed. My guess would be the northern ones are more expensive, but I have no idea… never being in a sorority myself, of course ;) (I’m a guy)

Maybe others here will chime in as time goes on?

By: Elsia

Elsia — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 05:47:54 +0000

Hi, I’m trying to see if there are spending differences between northern and southern sororities. Can you guys help me? How much on average does a northern sorority member spend on clothes/accessories/gifts compared with a southern sorority member? What about for fraternities?

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:24:22 +0000

In reply to G. I can't tell if you mean that as a compliment or not ;)

By: G

Fri, 03 May 2013 07:00:45 +0000

Sororities and frats are there to make you connect with those on your financial level; good way to meet a significant other from your class as well. It’s just very much a class thing. I’m not a liberal hipster, but that’s the reality of the situation. I don’t blame them; it’s a good way to pick out the bad apples on your campus, so to speak…

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:55:34 +0000

Haha, I would probably pay double myself too – wouldn’t change it for the world :) Glad you got so much out of it! I’m sure you will going forward for the rest of your life too.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:37:39 +0000

I was at a small state university with 2 fraternities and 2 sororities. Our dues were $42/month and it was well worth it. I gained so much resume experience (organized a ton of charity events which included dealing with local and state officials), met my best friends, and had fun. It was really expensive after it was all said and done but I got a job (from what my boss said) primarily because of my fraternity experience listed on my resume. I think our fraternity was a little weird though. We weren’t your “animal house” type of fraternity. We partied but had strict rules on drinking (no underagers allowed to drink at any function). I would pay double to do it all again.