Hi, all. Daughter is pledging and we just got the outline of dues and fees. I get the new member and badge fees and monthly dues. But what is a “parlor fee,” especially when this sorority doesn’t have a parlor (yet)? And why are there housing fees for a sorority without a house? Also, once they establish a house and girls move in, do they pay extra for food, etc., or is that part of housing? Seeking more experienced Greek life moms and dads who might be able to parse this for me. Thank you.
If they have a house the parlor fee is a usage fee for the house. If not, it goes toward the cost of the suite or rooms typically rented by the chapter.
Oh my gosh, bopper, when I read that article I thought it was satire, or The Onion or something. When the author kept telling her husband what he “had” to pay for next, I thought, “is this a joke?” I don’t know what was most unbelievable: the price tag, her daughter’s assumption that her mommy and daddy would pay it, or her mommy’s going along with it.
For my kids, the year they lived in the sorority was actually cheaper than on campus housing. When they didn’t live in their sorority, they did have housing and sorority dues, but they weren’t outrageous. They could eat at their sorority on Sun and other days when they had meetings there.
Our parlor fees were paid by members not living in the house for their share of the cost of running the house where we held our meetings and social events. They also ate ate the house on Monday and Wednesday nights, and we pretty much didn’t care if they ate there other times too. Living in the house you just paid r&b, living out you paid parlor fees (very small, maybe $50 per semester?)
My two daughters are in sororities now. One has housing off campus, she doesn’t live there, but pays a parlor fee. No food charge as the rooms are apartments and each girl does her own cooking. There is a meeting room and the sorority pays the university about $1000 for it, so that is covered in the parlor fees. There is some food at meetings and events and that is covered.
Other daughter lives in a house on campus. She pays room and board, but also a maintenance fee, dues, and about 3 other things. However,the entire amount is less than her room and board was in the dorm. The only negative would be if you were using a 529 plan to pay,you can’t pay the dues, maintenance fee, social fee, etc. from the 529 plan.
If your daughter is in the south, the sorority fees can be pretty hefty. There is often a large fee if they are trying to build a house. Yes, once they have a house you will pay room ànd board, or just for meals if she lives out of the house. When my daughter lived in the dorm last year, she ate at the house (required). It was cheaper than the dorms for more meals per week.
My sister was in a sorority until her Junior year of college, at which point she dropped out of the sorority. They charged her fines for every fraternity party that she didn’t attend, and all kinds of other fees. It didn’t matter what the reason was for missing the event – she got fined regardless. It became a burden for her in many ways, and although finances were not an issue in terms of affordability, the time commitment and fines for missed events were something she resented, so she left the sorority. This was a long time ago, so I don’t know if sororities still operate this way or not.
Thanks, everyone. She is not in the South. It looks to me from the info she sent me that if she lives in the chapter house (available beginning next year) that it will indeed be less expensive than the cost of her current dorm, which is lovely but pretty darned expensive. (She has a scholarship that requires her to live in that dorm, so it’s kind of a Catch-22.) I expect that if all goes well, she will live in the chapter house next year. Her long range plan calls for her to do senior year out of the country: what then? Do girls studying abroad have to pay for the fees, etc. when they are out of pocket studying abroad?
That sorority101 blog is for a daughter who went to Alabama. Entirely different life and much of that was for personal clothing and jewelry. It does cost a lot for the first year, although I believe Alabama does refund the meal plan for freshmen as they eat at the sorority house. I think the description for the older daughter is more typical - a few hundred for dues and social things, fees for room and board in line with the cost of dorms. Fall semester usually costs more because you are paying annual dues.
My freshman D joined a sorority. I’m not a fan, but she really wanted it. This year, the fees add up to about $1,750. That’s for dues, parlor fee, pledge fee, pin fee, and IDK what else. In addition, not stated on the official price sheet is a request for a couple of hundred for a “slush fund .” Needless to say, she is paying for all of this.