sorority question

softskate31

My sorority just bought a typical sorority house for 70 people. They used to just hog an apartment complex because it was only founded in 1984. Dues/rent are now $4000 a semester so $8000 total. They used to be $300 and rent was on your own. Is this new number within reason? I couldn't have afforded that (edited: at all. No way with out of state tuition and already taking loans). They just kicked 3 girls out because they couldn't pay the new number. I'm pissed but also don't have all the details. Edited...8000 not 4000 a year...even worse.

Agentmysterycat@hotmail.com

Sororities are a foreign concept for me.

I didnt go to a university, and if I had, I would not have joined.

A house tht is big enough to hold 70 people I am sure costs a pretty penny. 70 x $4K is only 280,000 a year. Thats a pretty low number...But like I said, I have no clue about any of this.

ariajean

When I was at UCLA ten years ago, you had to pay about $2000 a year and you didn't get to live in the house until your junior or senior year.  (There were also a lot of additional expenses, like all the special outfits and big sister/little sister gifts.) 

$4000 sounds about par for the course these days.

I couldn't afford to be in a sorority back then, so I was GDI.

kdonedizzle

Some of the larger sororities here at LSU are twice that much.  I guess its "normal".

softskate31

We'd been saving since 1984 for the down payment and they have a mortgage on it now... (It is a social sorority fow women in engineering and technology majors...its a house full of smarties...but not rich-rich girls at all).

cmk1108

Wow...just wow.  My senior year (2003) we got mad because they raised the dues to $850.  $8000 is more than my tuition.

KatieTaylor77

My friend's parents are paying about that much for her sorority, and they don't even have a house!  Wowzers.  I can't imagine that . . . I never joined a sorority because it was beyond my financial means even at 1k a year.

kimmyalc

Sounds like it depends on school and location. When I was in school o think we paid $800 for dues but we didn't have a house. Also I was to a state school and tuition was only $8000 a year. I guess of you're paying $30,000 a year for school $8,000 doesn't seem like a lot for dies and housing.

lovepat08

When I was in college ('02-'06), my sorority was about $5,500 per year.  $500 was for dues, and $5000 was room and board.  Currently I believe dues are $540 and room and board is $6000 per year.  I know other chapters on my campus were both higher and lower than this, we happend to be lower than the majority b/c our house was built in the 1920's and long since paid off.  I believe my sorority had an in house capacity of 70 people as well.  I don't know if the new charges at your sorority are reasonable or not, kinda depends on the structure, if they're having to install sprinklers (which is becoming mandatory for all greek houses and is WAY expensive) and a lot of other little details.  It does suck majorly that they kicked out a few people b/c of their inability to pay.  As alumni hopefully they'll grant you the courtesy of further explaining this purchase and the details.

 

TeamRivera08

I'm late to this...I think my dues came out to $400-600 plus whatever else (shirts, socials, sisterhood events, etc). Of course, I went to a small school, so while we had 'houses', they were more like duplexes, and there was only two large living areas, a kitchen, bathroom, and closet. I think if I went to a big college, I probably wouldn't have joined just b/c it costs so much more.

 

Ditto pp on the suckiness of kicking people out b/c they can't pay - I would hope they'd be more flexible in working with girls on payment plans. I also hope they explain the changes with details to you and all other alumni.