What is BAMA like?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>The high schoolers that you know that are NOW calling themselves “rushees” are just calling themselves that. The registration for Rush isn’t even up yet. They may have received some kind of informal statement that “we want you” from Facebook interactions or such, but those aren’t formal bids. Bids for frats aren’t given while still in high school. The earliest frat bids can be given is in the summer before classes start, but those aren’t official until Sept of freshman year. The second way is to get a bid around Labor Day.</p>

<p>What happens in the late spring/early summer during senior year of HS is an informal recruitment - not rush. Pledging only lasts 8 weeks and begins in Sept (for frats). Ask these high school friends if they are official pledges now (with pledge pins)?</p>

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<p>What is a typical week like for someone is a fraternity? What are some of the things they do? And are they involved with sororities also?</p>

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<p>Others can correct me if I’m wrong…</p>

<p>I’m not sure what all the frat pledges are required to do, but I believe that they have to eat at least 1 or 2 meals a day at their frat house (their meal plan is changed to accomodate this.) I’m not sure if they all have their weekly meetings on the same night, but I think some have theirs on Wednesday nights.</p>

<p>The frats host parties (sometimes with themes) and have “swaps” with sororities. They also have some formal events.</p>

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<p>What’s the average cost of attendance for an out of state student?</p>

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<p>The COA for an OOS student at UA is…</p>

<p>Alabama COA Non-Resident (per semester)</p>

<p>Tuition… $ 9,600.00</p>

<p>College/Course Fees… 350.00 (approx - my kids fees have been about 200)</p>

<p>Dining Dollars Account… 300.00 (refundable at the end of year if not spent)</p>

<p>Meal Plan… 1,247.00 (can vary by choice of meal plan)</p>

<p>Residence Hall Room… 3,475.00 (for the Super Suites - less expensive options available)</p>

<p>Car Parking Decal…220.00 (this is an annual fee - not a semester fee)</p>

<p>Books and Supplies… 550.00 (approx.)</p>

<p>Totals… $15,742.00</p>

<p>So, the annual COA for an OOS students in the pricier Super Suites housing is about $32k</p>

<p>Did you qualify for a scholarship? Forgive me if you’ve already mentioned that earlier.</p>

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<p>So you are telling me the cost would be around $16,000 for an out of state student? That’s with everything tacked on?</p>

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<p>16,000 per semester??? So $32,000 for a year?</p>

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<p>Without scholarship, yeah, that sounds about right. It’s not cheap to go to a state school anywhere really if you’re out of state.</p>

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<p>nebjohn…</p>

<p>What are your stats? Did you apply for a scholarship? What is your major? Do you know of any scholarships that you’d likely get?</p>

<p>Also, some students are able to cut costs by choosing a standard double dorm (saves about 2500/yr). Then to save even more money, after the first year, some move off campus. Some insist that living in a frat house is cheaper, but I’ve never compared the numbers.</p>

<p>And, as I think SEA_Tide has mentioned, some don’t spend much/any of their Dining Dollars and get a refund at the end of the year, so another savings.</p>

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<p>^^^I did mention that. When a cost is variable, it can be brought down below the university-assessed amount. It takes a lot for an OOS public to be cheaper than an IS one, but it is possible. With a 0 EFC, it’s even more difficult. Note that frats are around 6k a year, give or take a thousand. If that includes housing and meals, along with all the benefits of being in a frat, it may be cheaper. I highly discourage choosing one college over another based on cost when the difference is small enough that it can be overcome.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>I don’t know how much frats cost. All I’ve heard from a friend with a son in a UA frat is that if one lives in the frat house (and of course eats there) that the price isn’t that much, since then there’s no dorm costs or meal plan needed after the first year. And during the first year when a UA meal plan is required, then the meal plan is greatly reduced for those who pledge and must eat at their houses for several meals a week.</p>

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<p>Found this on the website…</p>

<p>Financial Responsibility
Greek-letter organizations have been self-sufficient since their inception. Fraternities and sororities pay their own way, through dues, membership fees, and, often, one-time pledge/associate and initiation fees. IFC and Panhellenic chapters with houses charge room and board depending on whether members live in the house or not. In general, the cost of living independently or in a fraternity or sorority house are comparable, and often can be less expensive. The cost of membership in a Greek organization varies from group to group. The average cost per semester for a sorority member who lives in the sorority house is approximately $3,400.00 and $2,100.00 for a member who lives out of the sorority house. </p>

<p>**The approximate average cost of a fraternity member who lives in a fraternity house is $3,300.00 per semester and $2,300.00 for a member who does not live in the house. **In addition to these costs, new members can expect to pay one-time fees during the first semester in the organization. These fees may include a pledge/new member fee, and an initiation fee. The average cost of these fees for a sorority member is approximately $250.00 and $175.00 for a fraternity member. Fees may vary from year to year, and the figures provided above are only rough estimates of what organizations may charge. </p>

<p>So, you can see, it is much cheaper if you live in your frat or sorority house, since you’re not also having to pay dorm costs. If a Greek can live in his/her house, belonging to a Greek is rather low cost.</p>

33

<p>So, let’s say with the regular, double dorms…it would be about $29,500 for OOS. Would I add on the cost of transportation, ie; flights? Okay, so let’s say I add $1,500 for transportation and $1,000 for living expenses (misc.) bringing the total back to $32,000. When I subtract the $12,800 scholarship, the total would then be $19,200? Now that’s actually less than our state colleges in the CSU (tuition plus expenses). The UCs are higher.</p>

<p>But, there’s still something about my daughter going clear across the U.S. :frowning: The inconvenience of moving her out there with all her clothes and having to buy her dorm stuff there. Just not being able to come home on occasional weekends or even at Thanksgiving. If she wants to see her old h.s. friends, she won’t be able to. She won’t have her car. (She wouldn’t if she were in-state for the first year or two, either.) If there was an emergency or any of her grandparents became seriously ill, it wouldn’t be convenient just to come home at the spur of the moment. </p>

<p>I know! I know! I’m thinking of all the negatives and obstacles. :slight_smile: But you can’t blame me! I suppose if my daughter was going off to grad school it would be totally different. She would be a full-fledged adult having already experienced 4 years of college.</p>

<p>Well, if UA was a lot closer and we could just hop in the car to visit, I would in a heart beat! In the meantime, she’s got her acceptance and she has awhile to decide. Is it May 1? Y’all sure are friendly here! :)</p>

<hr>

<p>Mom wrote:</p>

<p>The COA for an OOS student at UA is…</p>

<p>Alabama COA Non-Resident (per semester)</p>

<p>Tuition… $ 9,600.00</p>

<p>College/Course Fees… 350.00 (approx - my kids fees have been about 200)</p>

<p>Dining Dollars Account… 300.00 (refundable at the end of year if not spent)</p>

<p>Meal Plan… 1,247.00 (can vary by choice of meal plan)</p>

<p>Residence Hall Room… 3,475.00 (for the Super Suites - less expensive options available)</p>

<p>Car Parking Decal…220.00 (this is an annual fee - not a semester fee)</p>

<p>Books and Supplies… 550.00 (approx.)</p>

<p>Totals… $15,742.00</p>

<p>So, the annual COA for an OOS students in the pricier Super Suites housing is about $32k</p>

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<p>Heisman!..</p>

<p><a href=“Jason Robertson hat trick powers Stars past Oilers in Game 3 - ESPN”>http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4737524&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>2leashes: i had all those same concerns when my oldest went to nyc for college, so can totally relate to your thoughts. however, here’s the actual result:
we sent alot of his things by fed ex GROUND, which is very reasonable cost wise, i went with him for the first few days and we went and bought linens, tv etc there. I was worried he wouldnt come home on holidays, but he did, booking tickets ahead (ie knowing the school schedule) kept the cost down. he saw his hs friends more the first time home than any other, (they all seem to drift apart, different schools, different schedules etc) and it became less important. He didnt have a car either.
best of luck with whatever decision you make,</p>

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<p>I know several families that use FED EX ground for their students (or UPS). It can be cheaper than having extra paid luggage on flights, although if a family member flies out with the student, some student things can be in the extra person’s luggage. </p>

<p>he saw his hs friends more the first time home than any other, (they all seem to drift apart, different schools, different schedules etc) and it became less important.</p>

<p>Yes, that’s can be true. Altho some kids try to meet up with their friends at Christmas and some regular times in the summer. And, of course there’s always Facebook that kids use to keep in touch!</p>

<p>*Just not being able to come home on occasional weekends or even at Thanksgiving. *</p>

<p>I don’t know how much you expect your D to earn over the summer or what that should pay for, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to ask that she pay for one or two trips home (or at least contribute something towards those **extra **trips.). She will want to come home at Thanksgiving. It is a 5 day break. I know that in our day, many kids didn’t come home for Thanksgiving, but kids do these days.</p>

<p>At some point, I would not be surprised if UA doesn’t adopt Vandy’s and other school’s Thanksgiving schedule and take the whole Thanksgiving week off. Only going to school for those 2 days (Mon and Tues) is a bit of a waste.</p>

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<p>But, there’s still something about my daughter going clear across the U.S. The inconvenience of moving her out there with all her clothes and having to buy her dorm stuff there. Just not being able to come home on occasional weekends or even at Thanksgiving. If she wants to see her old h.s. friends, she won’t be able to. She won’t have her car. (She wouldn’t if she were in-state for the first year or two, either.) If there was an emergency or any of her grandparents became seriously ill, it wouldn’t be convenient just to come home at the spur of the moment.</p>

<p>Fear not. We live in Hawaii (the very, very deep south, lol) and sent our daughter to SMU in Dallas two years ago. Buying dorm stuff on the Mainland with her turned out to be a wonderful bonding experience, not an inconvenience. She made friends who had cars and Thanksgiving invitations in hand. And she kept in daily, nearly instantaneous touch with her h.s. friends via all the usual electronic means. </p>

<p>As for emergency visits home, what if you set aside, say, $1,200 per year for such a purpose. Wouldn’t you still be ahead financially if you took the Alabama scholarship over the rapidly inflating California tuitions? Your daughter could be home in less than a day in an emergency and if you don’t use the fund for emergencies you could use it (and the interest it accrues) for something else. Just a thought.</p>

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<p>

I’ll do my best to explain, but can only do so for sororities as I know very little about fraternity rush. First off, Quota only applies to sororities and not fraternities. Quota in regards to Recruitment has a different definition than most people usually think with that particual word. It is not a number that must be met, but rather it is the maximum number of new members a sorority chapter can take. (I will not confuse y’all by getting into Quota Additions.) Chapters are strongly encouraged by their Inter/National orgs to pledge Quota in order to remain as strong as possible numbers-wise.</p>

<p>Quota is determined by Panhellenic after the last round of Formal Recruitment, aka Preference. While there’s a bit more to it, it is basically the number of potential new members who sign a Bid Card divided by the number of sororities. This is one of the few campuses where sororities have a separate Upperclassmen Quota. Upperclassmen in this case means anything other than a Freshmen. It was specifically designed to lessen the bias that non-Freshmen can suffer on a competitive Recruitment campus.</p>

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<p>Don’t forget that the price posted on the greek website also includes your “dining dollars”.
At my Ds sorority house you are expected to eat all meals in house and that is included in the sorority dues. This is also expected all four years FYI. D will be living off campus next year but with sorority sisters, but plans on scheduling classes in a block so she can hang at the sorority house between classes/meals etc…</p>

<p>If you can’t make a meal you can get a to go box. Or she said you can go and make a sandwich in the off hours…</p>

<p>I was told during Bama Bound that most of the Frat Houses are open and incoming freshman are welcome to come see what its all about. My D thought that the frat Rush experience was pretty laid back…FYI</p>