TKE is a social fraternity that was founded in the year 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University. It is an international men’s social fraternity with chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
The primary requisite for membership is the individual’s personal worth and character and not the wealth he possesses, the honors or titles he holds or the rank he maintains on the social ladder.
Symbols And Traditions
Apollo is the mythological ideal or patron of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Its official badge is made of gold and adorned with three white pearls. The flower of fraternity is the red carnation. The primary symbol is the equilateral triangle. The horseshoe is also an adopted symbol. The TKE flag features five voided triangles in cherry red colour on a grey bend surmounting a cherry field. TKE has three different Sweetheart Songs.
Requirements to Join
The minimum standard to join TKE is a 2.3 GPA for incoming first-year students, 2.25 for men with college grades. Chapters maintain a 2.5 GPA for an active chapter.
How to Join
TKE has two basic principles that guide the fraternity. First, no discrimination on the basis of race, religion or socio-economic status and culture and second, individualism is the key. An individual can bid to join the TKE, or an already existing member can also recommend an individual by filling the form available on TKE’s website.
How Much it Costs
Tau Kappa Epsilon’s fee structure for the year 2021-2022 is as below:
- Candidate Fee- $75 per man
It is a non-refundable fee to be paid by all candidates. The candidate fee becomes due within fifteen days of bid acceptance.
- Initiation Fee- $225 per man or One-time Initiation Fee- $750 per man
Each candidate is required to pay an Initiation Fee of $225 per man ($300 including Candidate Fee). The One-time Initiation Fee is $750 per man ($825 including Candidate Fee). The candidates who pay the One-time Initiation fee are not required to pay Annual Membership Fees for the remaining collegiate life. Initiation fee must be submitted within 15 days of Initiation, and any delay in it attracts a penalty. The penalty is equal to 40% of the Initiation Fee.
- Annual Membership Fees- $175 per man for the year
The Annual Membership Fee can be paid in full for an entire year or in installments. If you opt for the base rate/split option, then you have to pay $105 per man in two installments.
- Founders Housing Fund Fee- $10 per man per semester
The Grand Council charges a fee of $10 per man per semester (that is twice a year in October and March) towards the Founders Housing Fund.
- Risk Management Fee- $210 per man yearly
It is assessed once every year on the basis of the roster submitted by chapter leadership. If the chapter pays fees in full by the early-bird deadline, which is October 1, they receive a 10% credit on the statement. If the chapter misses the early-bird deadline, then they must pay half the invoice amount by October 15 and the remaining amount by March 15.
- Chapter Assessment Fee- $500 single payment or $390 in two installments ($780) per chapter
It is the fee paid by each chapter to support the TKE Nation. It can either be paid in a single payment of $500, and the due date for a single payment is October 31 or can be paid in two installments of $390 each, and the due dates are October 31 and March 31.
- Conclave Savings Plan- $250 per semester
Conclave Savings Plan offsets the cost of sending a delegate from each chapter to the 2022 Conclave.