WATCH | More than 9 million college students are in a fraternity or sorority, but the cost to go Greek has some members wondering: Is it worth it?
| Buying into Greek life
Isaiah Black, 20, worked several side jobs his freshman year to save $800 for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity membership fees at the University of Maryland, College Park.
"There were people who are already in the organization who were willing to pay like, if I did like different jobs for them," he said.
"Like maybe cutting their grass."
Black says $800 was a steep price, but "no amount of money can equate to the experience."
Fraternity and sorority membership at UMD makes up 17 percent of the undergraduate student population.
I kept fighting for a year to see where I can find something that can help me.
—Lianne Moreno, former Gamma Phi Beta member at USC
| The cost of going Greek
The average new fraternity member will pay $605 per semester and a sorority member will pay $1,280 per semester, according to USA TODAY.
Lianne Moreno, a former Gamma Phi Beta Sorority member at the University of Southern California, was paying $2,500 per semester before she dropped.
Greek life fees don't include the cost of tuition or housing (if you don't live in a house).
Moreno said her parents had to take out a loan in order to pay her dues. "My parents were able to give me extra leverage although I knew they really couldn’t do it," she said. She says she paid about $10,000 over two years.
I was really sad that I had to end up dropping. You don't go into an organization with the intention of leaving it.
—Ashley Wallis, former Zeta Tao Alpha member at UW
'I wish I had known upfront what the cost would have been'
Ashley Wallis, a former Zeta Tao Alpha Sorority member at the University of Washington, worked two jobs to pay for her sorority and tuition. She says she dropped her sorority to 'save' and 'make a living.'
Follow Kay Angrum on Twitter @kangrum.
