<p>Alright, I'm headed to a southern college and definitely want to join a sorority. However, I'm concerned that I won't be able to afford it. 2k a semester to live in a house?! yikes</p>
<p>Will financial aid/scholarships cover living in a sorority house as part of "room and board?" How do those college students who are less fortunate able to afford to join greek life? =(</p>
<p>Usually your house will arrange a payment plan in order to stagger the expense over a period of time. Financial aid doesn't usually cover it as it tends to be on a separate bill than the school's bill, but the room and board costs you would normally pay to your school disappear. So if you were paying $4K a semester for room and board to your school and decided to live in the house next year, that $4K would go away and be replaced by the new $2K bill.</p>
<p>Also, not all sororities live in their houses. At my school, the person who donated the money for the houses did it on the condition that sororities on campus would never live in houses. Thus, we only pay about $450 the first semester, and then $250 for every semester after that.</p>
<p>I don't know about down South, but here in Buffalo many sorority women live in the dorms/apartments on campus, while others live with friends, family, or their sorority sisters in off campus housing. But that's most likely because there's no greek housing on either one of UB's campuses. So my advice to you is when you go through Rush next year or whenever you'll be at college... ask the actives of each organization you visit if residing in the house while being an active sister, or even while pledging is required, and if it is, ask how much house fees are for sisters living in the house. I'm not a member of an NPC organization (umbrella organization for national social sororities), but I think during rush each sorority is required to tell rushees exactly how much dues and other expenses are.</p>
<p>well at UNC, the sisters live in the houses.</p>
<p>if i get a scholarship, lets say, that covered room and board, would it cover greek living? also, could i take out a loan?</p>
<p><em>even though it is half the cost of on campus room, it doesn't help when you can't afford that 2k, despite payment plans.</em></p>
<p>I think it depends on the school, but I'm pretty sure at my alma mater that "room and board" were covered by scholarships - unless the scholarships were exclusive to living in a specific dorm. They couldn't (or maybe didn't) take away the money you had rightfully earned, so since you won't be paying fees to University housing you can take the money and pay dues.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind. There are very few campuses where any freshman greeks live in the chapter house as freshman. There are even fewer where freshmen sorority members can live in. Typically, you'll have to live in the dorms, pay dues to the sorority on top of your housing costs and then reap the savings by living in the following three years. Wherever you are going next fall, you should call the Office of Greek Life/Affairs and the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and find out the exact details from them.</p>
<p>Finally, rare is a chapter going to keep you from joining since you can't afford it. They'll find someway to make it work.</p>
<p>There are also a lot of scholarships run through sororities, some for dues, and some for the college itself.</p>
<p>Think about $2000 to live-in vs. the cost of room and board of dorm life.</p>
<p>Any other thoughts?</p>
<p>Can you get loans to apply to sorority living?</p>
<p>It is my understanding from my daughter's friends that at UNC you do not have to live in the house for most sororities. The houses that ask you to live there, only do so for one year. Freshman do not live in the house as rushh does not beging until after classes have started. Some house will allow a freshman to live there second semester only if there is room; but this would be your choice. If you are on scholarship and can not afford to live in the house, no one is going to force you. When you get your rush information and attend the first meeting you can ask this question.</p>
<p>My DIL was in a sorority for a while (decided it wasn't for her) and it did not require them to live in house. This was at UNC. They did require them to pay a "dining" fee. Due to the inconvenience, she felt like she wasn't getting her money's worth out of that which was one of the reasons she dropped the sorority after soph. year.</p>
<p>interesting...</p>
<p>but what if i wanted to live in the house? it seems like fun...</p>
<p>You would have to talk to UNC and see about the expenses. I know at son's school the "fees" would be covered by scholarship, etc because all official Greek housing is in sections of dorms---so the billing is still through the University. I could very well be wrong, but I doubt if it would be covered if the house is run by the sorority and not by the college. At my D's school a friend was there on a sports scholarship, he wanted to move out of dorm housing and was told that he would just forfeit the money--they would not allow him to apply it elsewhere (this was not UNC).</p>
<p>if this is a national sorority, there is a chance that you could get financial aid from the organization itself. I know sorority rush is usually much more structured than fraternity rush, so i'll give my advice as though you were a guy, and you'll have to use it how and where it's applicable. Towards the end of rush or if you can get multiple bids, after you get your bids, inform the houses that have shown interest in you and that you are interested in that paying dues may be a bit of an issue and see what they say and go from there.</p>
<p><em>Disclaimer:I'm not in a sorority, but I'm at a highly greek school and several of my friends are in sororities.</em></p>
<p>At my school, you're only required and, in the case of some of the large sororities with small-ish houses, allowed to live in the house for a year. Supposedly the dues are cheaper if you live in the house, but you are required to buy extra shirts and do extra activities. Even thought I'm at a mid-sized school with low tuition, the dues are still well over $2000 a semester!</p>
<p>bumpping 10</p>