Greek life costs

Southlander
Tue, 28 Jun 2016 21:48:25 +0000

Holli518, there is no way to get a list of sororities and their costs ahead of bid day. The girls don’t get several bids and pick. They only get one.
Michthebeech, I can’t lie - it IS expensive. If you live in the house, which not everybody can do and is for upperclassmen, it’s more cost effective. I would suggest she wait until her sophomore year. It’s no big deal to pledge as a sophomore - all the houses take a few every year. She can get her feet on the ground, see where her priorities are, get a good handle on studying without the distraction of extra meetings and social events. Maybe she can even save up a little to help pay the extra new member costs.
Some things that can make it cheaper - don’t sign up to buy every T shirt and candid photo offered. There are lots of theme/costume parties - use your imagination to come up with a costume, don’t buy one. Some fraternities actually do NOT have houses. The houses, with the associated salaries, insurance, security, etc, are what drives up the price so much. The unhoused fraternities enjoy close brotherhoods, too. There are a few sororities that are unhoused. Alpha Delta Chi is a Christian sorority that is unhoused. Sigma Delta Tau rents a university-owned house close to the Campus Drive parking deck. They are an NPC sorority like those in the big houses, but they choose to recruit separately. There are also a few multicultural sororities and fraternities.
Go to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to check out other Greek groups. ofsl.sa.ua.edu

Greeks make up only one-third of the student body, overall. That means 2/3 of the student body is out there living a fine life without being Greek. They all seem to figure out how to host or find a party! There are lots of other activities to get involved in, too, to make friends. A week or so after classes start, they’ll have a big activity fair called “Get on Board Day.” All the organizations will table in the Ferguson area, I believe, and will be happy to talk about their group’s activities and how to get involved.