Should I join a fraternity

College Life
1

Hello,

I am a sophomore in college right now studying petroleum engineering. I’ve been involved with a few clubs at school. However, I always wanted to join a fraternity ever since I started going on college tours. The more I heard about it, the more I thought to myself that it would be a great way to have connections with a lot of people. The only thing that prevented me from joining was the membership costs that come with it. I come from a lower middle income family, so I don’t have a lot of money compared to the students whose parents make 100K+ /year. I was worried that if I did join one, I would have to spend more time working to pay off my membership fees than actually spending time with the people in my chapter. So is it worth it for a lower income student to join a fraternity, or is better off to just join a different non-Greek organization? Thank you.

2

The fees are crazy and it feels like there is always another one that pops up. I’m a parent. I am annoyed that my son ended up joining a fraternity and really didn’t have all the info on ALL the (hidden) costs. The money he was earring from his job was going to help pay for his books, spending money etc. Now, it seems he needs this to help pay for this activity. We are full pay parents and we were hoping his earnings could help with our current costs.

The cost of joining is something to consider.

3

@PERplexD that’s unfortunate. So would you say that it is not worth to join one, especially for lower income students?

4

Depends on the school. It’s cheaper to live in a fraternity house than on-campus at my school. Rush and talk to some of the brothers if you get a bid.

5

@Vctory which school do you go to

6

@bonehead180 UMD

7

@Vctory I don’t live in Maryland. I guess I’ll just have to give up on this idea of joining a frat and look elsewhere for stuff to do.

8

So much depends on the campus. Some are more expensive than others. The dues for my son are about 50 a month…not really all that bad all things considered.

9

@stanatedj where does your son go to school

10

Never hurts to rush and ask some brothers

11

@bonehead180 - He attends Lindenwood University. Fraternities stay in sections of the dorms there, so there are no house fees…just regular room and board and I think dues are about 50 a month if I’m not mistaken. I’m sure he spends more going out than he would have if he weren’t in a fraternity, but in his case, this is a good thing…We wanted him involved.

12

That’s how it is at Brown too. Way better system in my opinion. More Us should adopt it.

13

@stanatedj wow that’s really cheap compared to what I hear from other people. I guess it does very for each college

14

*vary

15

Personally, I like fraternities, but I was only in an honorary one in college and not a true social fraternity. That said, they are not for everyone and the only way you know is to go through Rush and see what you think…be honest with yourself as you do so and it will all work out.