<p>I'm pledging an unhoused frat and I'm still very unsure about if its worth the cost... Any pros/cons (from experience) of "paying for friends"?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>There is no reason to pay for friends. Of course all the rabid frat boys and sorority girls will come in here and give me all these bs reasons to do it or how I “just don’t understand” Greek life.</p>
<p>you just don’t understand greek life</p>
<p>gawl</p>
<p>these are life long friendships and connections and good times and other stuff…</p>
<p>My dues cover:</p>
<p>insurance
my room
chef
house food
cable/gas/electric/heating/water bills
social
membership (endowment fund, newsletter, copy of our “…”, money for networking/educational events such as leadership conferences and etc…)</p>
<p>^ and all of this is less expensive than off campus housing. </p>
<p>You aren’t paying for friends because if you join any club there is a fee to be active in that club. A Fraternity dues is the exact same way. </p>
<p>I don’t have any experience with unhoused Greek organizations. If I was going through Rush and received a bid from one I would most likely decline it if I wasn’t close with any of the Brothers. What is the reason that this Fraternity doesn’t have a house?</p>
<p>If you think you aren’t already paying for friends, you need to take an honest look at your finances. Remember to add in the cost of transportation when hanging out, that of eating out when you wouldn’t have done so without friends, etc. You’ll quickly find that they’re similar to fraternity or sorority dues.</p>
<p>I’m in a sorority that doesn’t have a house (apparently we lost it back in the 90s and we vote every year on whether we want to get it back, but everyone always says no…it’s just how we are) and the dues for me are a little steep ($600/mo, much cheaper than any other sorority though), so I may or may not drop after this semester.</p>
<p>My opinion is that if you think you’re paying for friends, don’t do it.</p>
<p>Almost everyone I know who joined a fraternity is better off then those who didnt.</p>
<p>It forces you to meet new people. This allows you to grow both socially and as a person in general. Those who are worse off are the ones that just stick with their high school friends throughout college and really dont change at all.</p>
<p>Being in a fraternity provides opportunities for leadership, philanthropy, networking and quite frankly a social life that is impossible to obtain by not joining. </p>
<p>If you can afford it then you should join. Best case is you have new friends for life, experience leading others, and giving back to the community all while having a few good college stories to tell over the summer. Worst case is you don’t like it and just quit</p>
<p>Yes joining a fraternity isnt for everybody. But if you think it could be for you then it probably is</p>
<p>If you think all you’re doing is paying for friends, then no, don’t do it.</p>
<p>If you’re only going into it because ‘everyone else is doing it’ and because you feel like you need to pay for friends, then don’t do it. Join a club or something.</p>
<p>What are the average costs for frats w/ houses?</p>
<p>As a former incredibly socially awkward (think of the stereotypical CC’er) math nerd, joining a fraternity was the best choice I’ve made my entire life.</p>
<p>I actually happen to be in the football frat at a D1 school - the dues are around $500 per semester, but we have scholarships from an alumni foundation/endowment. Pretty much everyone who applies gets one, and the average award is between $1,000 to $1,500, which is actually more than our dues.</p>
<p>And I never had to change who I was at all. I’m still the idiot nerd who talks about math and philosophy at ragers and gets into drunk arguments about math vs physics, except I tear **** up now.</p>
<p>PS - calling a fraternity a frat is like calling your country a cunt.</p>
<p>Guru, it varies so much between schools that it’s impossible to give you an estimate. Here the average cost would be around $800/semester, though that is a lot more than many schools.</p>