<p>Sororities at my school are really expensive like $3000-$4000 a semester and my parents told me I would have to take out loans if I wanted to join a sorority, which I’ve always dreamed of doing, since there’s no way a part time job would cover my dues. My four years at university are all paid for and scholarships cover food and most of my books, would it be ridiculous to take out loans just to join a sorority? I’ve heard it’s a great investment and all of my friends in sororities (which is a lot) say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made </p>
<p>$3000-$4000 a SEMESTER in costs? Does that include housing? If that is just the cost of being a member, I say…that is mighty costly. If you do this for 6 semesters you will have $18,000 to $24,000 in loans. </p>
<p>Personally, I think there are better ways to spend your money…those loans will need to be repaid!</p>
<p>That’s got to include housing. My daughter’s sorority was nowhere near that cost. And my answer is no, it’s not worth the cost if it puts you into debt.</p>
<p>What will you gain from it? For $4000 a semester!? Thats insane, i would never pay that much to join a frat or a sorority. Dont do it, definitely wont be worth being in debt.</p>
<p>I’m sure that includes R&B as well as dues. If the sorority houses are on campus, sometimes the college considers them college housing and you pay through the university so you could use your scholarship funds. There will be some uncovered costs (due, party fees) that you’ll have to pay. My daughter’s college just added frat/sorority housing, it is away from campus but considered university housing; you pay through the finance office. It is more expensive as they are all suite style. There is no requirement that the members live there.</p>
<p>If not and you can only live on campus, see what the panhel says. There are members who live at home or are RAs and exceptions to the requirement to live in the house. It is up to the sorority and the school.</p>
<p>What you need to do is calculate your college room and board costs, then calculate the sorority room and board cost, then tell us and the difference.</p>
<p>Actually…the OP needs to tell us whether her school financial aid and scholarships cover any of her housing/board costs. If not, how is she paying her room/board costs? Or is she living at home? Or what?</p>
<p>Too many unanswered questions. </p>
<p>Agree with Thumper. It can truly depend. If my kids wanted to go Greek, it would have been on their tab, once they had tapped us out for what we said we’d pay. If they wanted to borrow Direct Loans to do so, that would be up to them. </p>
<p>But, then, as a family, the fact of the matter is that my kids have fall backs. We are able to help if push comes to shove. If I were on the financial edge and my kid were going to college and we were just making it work, I would not answer the same way. </p>
<p>My housing is all paid for for the first two years, and out of house dues are about $2,500</p>
<p>I’m not sure I would advocate taking a loan out for sorority costs. Will you need that loan to cover housing/board for the last two years of college anyway? Including the dues costs, is living in the sorority house less costly than other housing options at your school? </p>
<p>Is it worth it getting into debt for a sorority? No. Absolutely not.
Sure it’s fun, but it’s too expensive.
Your friends who say it’s so great either have a way to pay their due/housing without problem (parents who pay for them, jobs) or no financial sense.</p>
<p>First, I would consider working to make $2,500 a year - very doable and that would pay for dues out of pocket.
Second, If you were intent on living at the sorority house/dorm, you’d need to take about $1,00-2,000 in loans each of the two years, for a total that’s also manageable, but you’d need your parents to be willing to cosign for these.</p>
<p>Most sororities have scholarships available. You might need to ask to see what is involved. The food or room part of cost might be no more than paying otherwise but there are some intangibles. My D’s friend dropped her sorority in junior year - required to pay for lunch at house if you didn’t live there, but houses were hard to get to during lunch time frame. So total waste of money. But each school is different.</p>