Phi Kappa Psi - University of Texas

ALPHA AVALANCHE | TEXAS ALPHA | PHI KAPPA PSI | | SPRING EDITION 2019 TEXAS ALPHA 140 MEMBERS STRONG IMPROVEMENT IN ACADEMICS, PHILANTHROPY AND CAMPUS PRESENCE The Texas Alpha chapter has made several great strides the last few semesters. The chapter has grown from 37 members to 140. We rank in the top quartile among all IFC fraternities in chapter GPA. Our chapter has improved its intramural programs, as we are the reigning soccer champions in the Greek leagues. Texas Alpha has become the most improved chapter, but we refuse to become complacent. We are striving to improve our alumni relations, our philanthropy and our academics. Texas Alpha is blessed with several very involved alumni, but we still seek to involve more of our graduate brothers. It is our goal to ensure that alumni always feel welcomed, whether they are attending Founders Day weekend, enjoying tailgates or advising our active brothers throughout rush. If you do seek to get more involved, or have any internship opportunities for our younger brothers, please reach out to Casey Larkin '18 at larkincasey2@gmail.com. While the active brothers of Texas Alpha complete a required 10 hours of philanthropy per semester, we want to do more. Thus, we are committing to having more large philanthropy events every year. We recently wrapped up Distracted Driving Awareness Week, and we are partnering with Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Kappa Gamma for two more large events this semester. To improve our academic pursuits, we have pushed the scholarship chairman to have a more active role in the chapter. Any brother with a GPA below a 2.75 is barred from social functions until he shows progress in improving his grades, no exceptions. If no progress is shown, that brother is required to meet regularly with the scholarship chairman. To improve our professional pursuits, brothers have created organizations like Longhorn Investment Team and Texas Alpha Capital Group to prepare each other for interviews and teach solid financial practices. As we seek more ways to improve Texas Alpha, I encourage all of our alumni to reach out with advice, support or questions. And I invite all of you to come back to Austin and visit the house if you get the opportunity. Amici and Hook 'Em, William Ellis '17 | Chapter President contact info COST OF EDUCATION CONTINUES TO CLIMB What This Means for Texas Alpha's Collegians It's no secret that the cost of college continues to increase. Hundreds of headlines each year display the increased dollars students are facing. So what does that look like across the nation? According to fall 2016 enrollment data from College Board, the average tuition and fees at an in-state public college is $9,716 for the 2018-19 year, $21,629 for an out-of-state student, compared to $35,676 for a private university. 2018-19 TUITION AVERAGE $ 9,716 IN-STATE PUBLIC COLLEGE $ 21,629 OUT-OF-STATE PUBLIC COLLEGE $ 35,676 PRIVATE UNIVERSITY How does the University of Texas stack up to the national average? The University of Texas website outlines tuition and fees for 2019-20 as $10,314- $11,852 for in-state students. However, out-of-state students face a huge increase in tuition – $36,716 -$42,082. 2019-20 UT TUITION $ 10,314 - $ 11,852 IN-STATE $ 36,716 - $ 42,082 OUT-OF-STATE This is just the cost of tuition and enrollment fees each semester. Housing, books, transportation and general cost of living expenses add approximately $14,000 in expenses per student. ADDITIONAL EXPENSES $ 14,000 PER STUDENT As education costs remain on the rise, alumni support of Texas Alpha becomes vital. Scholarship resources and competitive housing costs make a huge difference for our undergraduate brothers. Reach out to our house corporation board to see how you can get involved in aiding the chapter. Through a fraternity-wide effort, our brothers provided 5,000 meals to those in need at the Central Texas Food Bank.

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