<p>Hi! I'm an incoming freshman for this fall, and I just wanted to find out more about rushing/pledging and what that would cost, especially since my parents and I are on a pretty tight budget.</p>
<p>Would anyone be able to give me a rough estimate of the cost per semester to be part of a sorority (both in freshman year and in soph/junior/senior years when I may be living in the sorority house)? Also, if possible, what are the varying costs for each sorority, especially ADPi or Alpha Phi?</p>
<p>Lastly, are there any financial aid or scholarships that could help pay for the costs?</p>
<p>Thanks so much & fight on!</p>
<p>You probably won’t get any specific info here, as revealing your own cost will reveal your sorority and most people don’t know the specific costs of others. I can give you a range, though. First semester Freshman year will be anywhere from 2-3 thousand, possibly more for some (new member costs are a lot because you get a lot of freebies). Active non-live in will probably be from the mid thousands to upper 2 thousands. Active live ins will be from the upper 2 thousands to upper 4 thousands. Again, these are rough estimates, but something to work with. And yes there are scholarships for every sorority from their nationals and local alumnae groups.</p>
<p>I know for my house once you live in, dues get lumped in with housing. I don’t know how it works for other houses.</p>
<p>Also, Panhellenic offers a new member scholarship to one new member of each sorority for $500. There are 11 of them, so one girl from every house is guaranteed to get it. There was also an active member scholarship (for non new-members or those who joined in the spring semester), though I don’t know if they’ll offer that again this year. It depends on how much money they get from recruitment.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys!</p>
<p>Yeah, I didn’t know that most houses don’t know each others’ costs, but thanks so much for the info you could give me. I’m kinda stressing out though since my parents practically flipped when someone mentioned about $1500 as an estimate so I don’t really know how they’ll take this. I keep trying to convince them of the benefits though (like how housing will be cheaper than living in the dorms in future years & all the friendships I’d make), are there any other pros anyone thinks would be worth mentioning?</p>
<p>I mean, I love all of the women in my sorority, and USC is such a big school that I probably wouldn’t have met them if not for joining a house. I’ve made a bunch of awesome friends and I’m so glad I decided to go greek. Also, being in a sorority is a completely unique experience, especially at USC, so take advantage of it if you can.</p>
<p>Also, I know at least in my house, girls & their families can work one on one with our VP Finance to find a way to make it work. I’m guessing the other houses to the same.</p>
<p>The registration form for 2010 Panhellenic recruitment is still on the Panhellenic website. It clearly states the costs range for the freshmen year from $2600 to $3800. That was last year, so I would expect that to rise. Recruitment fee has been in the range of $70. It has not been posted what the fee will be for 2011.</p>
<p>The freshmen year is the most expensive as it includes initiation fees, national dues, jeweled pin, national magazine, local dues, Monday night dinners, many other meals, new member retreat with adult advisors, leadership seminars (this may differ by chapter) and any miscellaneous costs such as T-shirts. </p>
<p>There are some scholarships, but I do not know of any higher than $1,000.</p>
<p>On the NPC Panhellenic site the officers and assistant officers were all listed. Also noted were the women’s majors and minors. Since there are stereotypes about sorority women here are the majors of these women. All NPC chapters at SC have representatives in Panhellenic.</p>
<p>Majors and Minors Listed</p>
<p>Business/International Relations Combined Major
Minor in neuroscience</p>
<p>Gender Studies and Public Relations Double Major</p>
<p>Business Administration and Film Production Double Major</p>
<p>Business Administration and Accounting Double Major
Minor in musical theatre</p>
<p>Neuroscience and Art History Double Major</p>
<p>International Relations Major
Theatre and consumer behavior double minor</p>
<p>Theatre Major
Cinematic Arts minor</p>
<p>Psychology and Business Administration Double Major</p>
<p>Business/Cinematic Arts Combined Major
Music Industry minor</p>
<p>Political Science Major
ROTC Air Force Cadet</p>
<p>Journalism Major</p>
<p>Health Promotion Disease Prevention Major
Psychology and health communications double minor</p>
<p>I do remember them saying that the registration fee will be higher this year. I don’t remember/know how much higher, though.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for all the info everyone!</p>
<p>Georgia Girl - do you know if that $2600-3800 estimate was for a semester or the entire year?</p>
<p>Also, do women involved in a sorority still have time for other activities that require a lot of time commitment like the marching band?</p>
<p>that should be for the entire year.</p>
<p>I do believe most houses have a few girls who are in marching band, and the sororities obviously encourage their members to be involved in the USC community.</p>
<p>You can spend as much, or as little time as you want in sorority activities. However, most members are involved in other activities including, but not limited to sports, part time work and student government.</p>
<p>As was stated above, cost of living is LESS expensive all-in in Soph thru Senior years for those that “live in” the sorority or fraternity house. I haven’t run the math, but I think that’s still true, or at break even when you calculate freshman year costs (amortized over all 4 years). The dorms are really quite expensive with meal plans. One caveat, many houses don’t have unlimited live-in space. Therefore they allow sophs to move in on a point system for GPA and activities. So you can’t just be a member in name only, and expect to live in.</p>