Many students have tuition, rent and other bills to pay. Adding the cost of a sorority or fraternity to these expenses is not realistic for most students. The financial cost of Greek organizations should be considered before students decide to join a sorority or fraternity.
Greek life is expensive for students who want to participate in activities and events at Kennesaw State without costly fees.
“Not everyone can pay for being in sorority or fraternity,” junior nursing major Rachel Francois said. “It is seen as a burden for some people because they can not pay as much or they are having to pay so much to be apart of that sorority or fraternity.”
New chapter members have to pay semester dues depending on the chapters’ council. Semester dues for new chapter members under the College Panhellenic Council range from $385 to $909, according to the coordinator of sorority and fraternity life Mallory Drake.
Semester dues for new chapter members under the National Panhellenic Council can also range from $700 to $2500, according to KSU’s coordinator of sorority and fraternity life Shawanda Brooks.
Students have to pay additional fees for their national membership. For example, a chapter member of Alpha Omicron Pi has to pay a monthly fee of $105, according to Fraternity and Sorority Life. The high cost forces members and interested students to save money to make payments — if they are able to afford the payments at all.
“Students are spending almost $1000 a semester to go to a few events, and they are definitely not worth it,” junior history major and previous Theta Chi member Max Peterson said. “Unless you put your all into it, you do not even make the professional connections everyone talks about. They are very fickle.”
Even though Greek life is popular, the cost excludes students who do not have the funds to join. Chapter dues limit the number of students who are able to participate in Greek life — while the intention of these organizations may not be exclusion, it inevitably happens to less privileged students who cannot afford them.
“I think it excludes a lot of students because I wanted to join a sorority, and I was looking at the prices and it is not worth the thousands of dollars,” freshman criminal justice major Kathleen Fernandez-Miller said. “Since you can not join a sorority or fraternity because of the cost, you might as well join an organization.”
Greek life is not the cheapest option for students that want to experience college opportunities. Students can experience college opportunities by joining organizations, honor societies and attending on-campus events at little to no cost.
Most honor societies require students to pay an application fee. For example, Alpha Kappa Delta honor society requires students to pay an application fee of $55, according to Owl Life. The cost for new members joining an honor society is cheaper than semester dues for Greek life organizations. This is just one example of other extracurricular activities available to KSU students — students can also join and volunteer with most other organizations for free.
While Greek life organizations are intended to provide students with personal and professional connections, the concept unfortunately often ends up excluding those that cannot afford to join them. Ultimately, Greek life is not worth the financial burden for KSU students who could experience college in a cheaper way.
