<p>I'm currently a student at Boston College's Carroll School of Management and am interested in transferring to USC Marshall this fall not for academics but for fit. BC is probably equivalent to USC in prestige/academics and differences between the two schools are more East Coast/West Coast reputation. </p>
<p>I'm interested in USC because I grew up in the Boston area and want to try something new, and because the Boston College nightlife/social scene isn't good. At Boston College you have students that want to party/have fun, but the way the school and administration are set up, it is not a school that is conducive to this. Often times, you have students of all classes, seniors to freshmen, who are just getting drunk for the sake of getting drunk. What draws me to USC is the different culture and also party atmosphere that surrounds the school. However I have heard that Greek life is extremely expensive at USC and very elitist, more so than at other schools. My friend who is in a fraternity said that the average dues for a fraternity are $2300 per semester, and that's just for average fraternities, top tier ones being even more than that. On top of those dues there are a bunch of more expenses such as retreats, get aways, etc. I've heard that 17% of students are in Greek life, but that the diversity of those 17% does not represent the diversity of the greater school, meaning much more wealthy and "elitist" people in the fraternities. Even though the nightlife may not be great at Boston College, I would much rather be able to do what other people are doing on the weekends and not feel left out because I cannot pay for it.</p>
<p>I don’t think money is a huge issue. Some top fraternities have some really wealthy kids and they like to drop fat cash, but obviously not everyone is like that. You don’t have to pay for the alcohol at parties or anything like that, and I think, on top of dues, you only spend around ~$600 on stuff like retreats and get aways. I have a on campus job and thats about it, and I don’t have a tough time with paying for a good time.</p>
<p>How much would you say the average dues are for every fraternity, and how much would you say they are for the top fraternities? Do you think houses will discriminate against you during rush if you’re not wealthy?</p>
<p>I am sure there are exceptions, but I would think Greek life would be expensive at SC, activities cost money in LA, just the way it is and these guys are always up to something. The sororities costs are obscenely expensive so be glad that’s not what you are looking for - so much “keeping up with the Joneses” in those. But more importantly why do you want to get into that now? Are you wanting this just cause they party? If not a freshman, isn’t it harder to get in/belong to a fraternity if you aren’t coming from a certain house already? Fraternities have styles/standards/codes (or not) etc., they live by, I would think you would want one that fits you based on those, not because you can afford it and drink there.</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on how much fraternity dues are at USC? At a lot of places they are $400 a semester and that seems a long shot away from what they are at USC. Can anyone here give me an estimate, also including those for top fraternities such as Lambda Chi?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Financial Aid can cover obviously tuition, as well as room and board. So although living in a fraternity house or off campus may be cheaper, financial aid does not cover that or dues. I’m pretty sure that student loans don’t cover it as well, so whereas living on campus may be more expensive, you can use loans and scholarships to cover the expenses and then pay off the loans when you graduate and have a real job. But in terms of dues and housing, that is all with your own money/part time jobs/savings.</p>
<p>Can someone gives us estimates for different fraternity costs?</p>
<p>There is a core group of very wealthy students at USC. I’m not speaking of greek life specifically - my child did not rush. For the first time in my life, however, I’ve recently heard my child, a highly social freshman who receives some financial aid, describe our family as “poor.” We live in an affluent east coast historic area where it’s difficult to tell who is and isn’t wealthy other than by the size and location of their home. There’s no flash. Boston College and USC will be different as night and day in that respect.</p>
<p>I’ll just add the observation that USC is a school where many students decide to have a car. In other words, SoCal has so-so public trans. It’s getting better, but those who can afford to have a car on campus often do–unlike some other urban private schools. There can be a sudden jolt to see a lot of expensive cars driven by your peers. Of course, many kids have older clunkers, but the new BMWs tend to stand out and that gives a new awareness of the affluence of some peers. But… this is by no means the majority of students at the school. With 12 months of sunshine, those cars can seem a lot flashier?</p>
<p>This strikes me as an odd question and a pretty poor reason to base transfering schools on but…</p>
<ol>
<li>You don’t have to join a frat to party.</li>
<li>Are you asking if the USC administration encourages and endorses student partying and drinking? The answer to that would be: No.</li>
<li>Is California a bit more relaxed about underage college drinking? I doubt there’s that much of a difference between the two places.</li>
<li>I think you’re placing way too much hope on the idea that SC will solve your partying concerns. Boston may the greatest college city on the planet, within 7 miles of Fenway Park there’s BU, BC, Emerson, Northeastern, MIT and Harvard to name just a few. If you can’t find the type of party crowd to run with given those opportunities I doubt SC is going to be the answer.</li>
</ol>
<p>Yes, the frats at USC harbor many kids from affluent families, and unless you drive a luxury car, have a monthly clothing allowance and cash and credit cards for all of the trips, dinners, bar tabs and other incidentals, then steer clear, at least from the top ones (e.g., Sigma Chi, SAE, BTP)…</p>
<p>That said, many of USC’s richest kids are not in frats, including foreigners…you’ll learn soon enough. And they are much more modest but generally drive luxury cars and wear nice clothes as well.</p>
<p>One way to have inexpensive fun on the weekends is to go to football games and also the beach! Also, pace yourself financially and spend play money only on the weekends. Above all, you’d be surprised at how many lower income and middle class students attend USC. You’ll find them too if you look. Befriend those like you so you won’t be pressured to keep up with apparent status.</p>
<p>But, find yourself at least one or two rich boys and girls to teach you social skills, such as how to eat and order food and dress properly. I’ve said this before but USC is a finishing school to a point…learn from these kids too and remember you are all Trojans and share more in common than you might believe. And don’t focus on apparent wealth or let it get to you. Believe me, once these kids with money graduate, often they are cut off financially by their parents and join the ranks of the hoi polloi in the real world. </p>
<p>P.S.: I’ve lived in Boston and it’s a great town. BC is similar to but far less ethnically diverse than USC. </p>
<p>I’ve gone to an elite, expensive, New England boarding school through all of high school on scholarship. I have been tremendously blessed. I’ve been around extremely wealthy kids for most of my teens, and most of them are my friends. Although I am middle class, I go to the cape houses, nantucket houses etc. I’ve been exposed to the extremely wealthy, and have learned more valuable lessons from these kid’s than I have from some of my classes!</p>
<p>What I am worried about however is that at boarding school, although I was at the bottom of the socio-economic totem pole, I never felt left out of anything, except maybe senior year spring break, because spending money during the year was not the culture. Money did not get in the way of our friendships, and it did not self segregate students into cliques. At Boston College it is more of the same to a lesser extent. Yes, there are perfectly nice kids who self segregate with other very wealthy students, but money isn’t really an issue here. You won’t find kids going on extravagant weekend getaways, except maybe snow jam if anyone here is familiar with the BC tradition, or throwing illustrious parties. You can’t really tell how much money a student has at BC.</p>
<p>Going to boarding school in high school, I yearned for a newfound freedom that might have required changing coasts and going away from home. I wanted to start from scratch and perhaps join a fraternity. I’ve never not been able to fit in with anyone because of socioeconomic status, and I truly fear this will happen at USC.</p>
<p>" I never felt left out of anything… At Boston College it is more of the same to a lesser extent…I’ve never not been able to fit in with anyone because of socioeconomic status, and I truly fear this will happen at USC."</p>
<p>Thanks to the poster that was able to give me an estimate of 2-3 thousand dollars per semester. So let’s say it’s about $5 grand for the year, does this include meals or strictly social dues? Now for an estimate to see how much it decreases after initiation, how much would you say it is total for a sophomore brother who lives in the house, eats in the house, plus the actual social dues? $10-12 thousand for the year? Because if that’s the case then it is actually understandable and similar to USC room and board without being in a fraternity. Someone please help! I’d love your feedback.</p>
<p>I’d say add $5k to what you would normally pay for room and board because you cannot live in the house right away. Honestly, if you have to worry so much about strict budgeting, do not join a fraternity or sorority. It is definitely a discretionary expenditure. And your parents should be involved because you may need to approach them for incidental costs.</p>