Every fall, sorority girls at UNC Wilmington and around the country pull on their bright letter shirts, drag themselves to weekly meetings in their church attire, smile for the flashing cameras and pay their required dues. 

To an outsider, it is difficult to grasp what those costly dues pay for and whether the four pillars to Greek life; scholarship, service, leadership and friendship are worth it. 

There are nine social sororities on campus governed by the Panhellenic Council.  The PHC offers interfraternity relationships to female students at UNCW.

Girls joining a sorority chapter will pay the most amount of money their first semester, between 500 and 700 dollars according to the fall 2012 Formal Sorority Recruitment booklet. Regular members pay between 250 to 320 dollars each semester. 

Lauren Ferrier, sophomore, joined Alpha Gamma Delta this fall and recalled that she was well informed on what her payments were being used for. 

“It includes most of the social events, like the mixers and formals that the sorority will go to throughout the semester,” said Ferrier.    

Ferrier admits that the costly dues were something she took into serious consideration when she decided to rush. 

“In the end though, you are really not paying that much per event. It just adds up,” said Ferrier.

In addition to semester dues, there are also fines for missing certain events.

According to Kathryn Ascenzi, senior and a member of Delta Zeta, there are no fines for missing events such as formals or mixers because those are not considered mandatory events. 

“There is a fine if you miss chapter or recruitment and you do not send in a valid excuse within 24 hours of missing it,” said Ascenzi.

Perhaps the most tangible aspect of sorority life at UNCW, as well as every other Greek organization around the country, is the social aspect. Sorority girls can be seen eating together, living together and socializing together but the most important events are the mixers and formals. 

Ferrier describes mixers to be themed parties usually thrown with a UNCW fraternity. 

“We just had a mixer the other day…there were lots of pictures,” said Ferrier, laughing. 

For some girls, the sororities provide a social outlet that they would otherwise never pursue due to their reserved demeanor. 

“It’s a really good way to be thrown into opportunities to volunteer, attend social events and meet a whole bunch of people,” said Ascenzi. 

However, Kristen Palmer, sophomore, has never considered joining a sorority. With a desire to be independent, Palmer believed joining a sorority would cause her to disappear into the indistinguishable bright t-shirts of Greek life. 

“I just did not want an arranged group of friends that I was subjected to hang out with.  I wanted to live more freely in college,” said Palmer. 

The hundreds of dollars in sorority dues each semester piled on top of tuition fees and personal living costs may make an aspiring sorority girl wary but there are other aspects of sorority life that some do not take into account. 

Within each sorority chapter at UNCW there is a minimum grade point average that each member must keep each semester. These minimums range from 2.5 to 2.75. 

According to Ascenzi, there are consequences for bad grades.  For example, if a member falls below the minimum GPA set up by that sorority then they are placed on academic probation.

“They don’t let you go to the social stuff because the philosophy is that if you cannot get your grades up then you cannot go to the socials and mixers,” said Ascenzi. 

There are also a certain number of study hours a new member or those placed on academic probation have to complete each week.

The emphasis that each chapter at UNCW puts on education is recognized in academic reports from Fall of 2011 and Spring of 2012. In both semesters, not one sorority chapter fell below an average GPA or 3.0. With an average GPA of 3.45, Phi Mu displayed the highest average of all the sororities last year. 

There is also an emphasis on giving back that requires members to go to at least two other chapter’s philanthropy event-philanthropy being a non-profit organization that each chapter invests in. 

Members also have to complete 25 hours of community service each semester and attend their own philanthropy event.