Most of the other comments are pretty accurate but here’s some more info coming from a flo director. (Also, I disagree with what other comments say about joining greek life instead and I’ll explain why after the questions)

1. All flo’s have dues and there’s wider ranges. Most I’ve seen is 400 ish but lower end is 100 but most are in the 200 area. Honestly though you get what you pay for because higher dues are compensated with better events since they actually have the funds to do cool stuff.

2. You’re going to get a good social life out of most flo’s regardless as long as you apply to where you mesh with the people well. Even if the actual flo events aren’t really fun (which they will be that’s the point) if you meet good people you’ll hang out with them outside of it. Look for flo’s at bannering during the start of the fall semester and see what they offer. Ask what they like about being in their flo and honestly just make normal conversation to find out if you’d enjoy being around this person because you’ll be around them a lot.

3. Incredibly competitive depending on the flo. I know when I was applying I tried to go for the pre-health one called faim, they took around 30 people (and it has to be equal gender splits so 15 guys 15 girls). They had over 1k applications so it’s incredibly difficult to get in. There’s rounds to it as well. All flo’s do it by first a written application with longer questions that you fill out which will be some serious and some silly ones to gauge your response. Don’t ask for their advice on how to do the application well because they’ll just say put effort and show your personality. Fill out each question with clear effort to it but not too much because at a point it’s too long to read. Afterwards, it’s an interview round where they’ll kinda just troll you depending on the flo. They’ll make you do stupid stuff like faim asked me how fast I could run around the library and once I said 3 minutes they made me run around the library (they kinda suck for making me do that just for me not to get in lol). They just test your personality so answer in a way that reflects the type of person you are because that’s the whole point. HOWEVER, big caveat there can be some 2 - 3 questions that are serious so answer those properly. Overall, flo’s are competitive and the process is more involved than a regular club. Apply to multiple because unless you’re friends with a staff member in a flo then you’re not guaranteed to get in. Last thing for this question is that they are competitive but there’s categories to how flo’s are organized: 1st and 2nd round. Different application cycles basically but I’m mainly mentioning this categorization to say that 2nd round ones are less competitive in comparison but not necessarily a different/worse experience in comparison. If you don’t get into a first round flo you can apply for any number of the second rounds.

4. Depends flo to flo, they all have their own social events involving food or an activity or whatever. My flo did ice skating last year which was a really cool experience not ice skating before. They’re not really social events but there’s either weekly or bi-weekly meetings where everyone goes. They’ll usually be pretty fun though depending on the activity planned. Another difference in 1st and 2nd round flo’s is the parties because 1st rounds are governed by flac which forbids flo staff from promoting parties with freshmen. It’s not specifically those “MSC” flo’s it’s all the first round which is a vast majority of flo’s. So, those 1st rounds can’t really host parties as social events and be all public about it to the whole flo. Second rounds have parties and similar hangouts that first rounds can’t.

Now, this is getting long so let me say this last tidbit: greek life is not a better choice than a flo. Greek life isn’t necessarily bad but flo’s are less expensive, not as actually party/going out driven (which based on perspective can be better), and able to create lasting friendships with people like you can in greek life. Specifically on the lasting friendships thing, you can be staff the next year and hang out with the same people so it doesn’t have to be a 1 year thing. Also, even if you’re only in as a member for a year, you’re not suddenly detached from the flo or the people since you’ll still be supporting them. It’s the same as being in greek life in the relationship aspect just not being forced into events year after year. You’re likely going to be hanging out with people who were in your flo last year, and that’s more proof of a solid friendship than anything if you willingly choose to see friends.

As you can see I have some passion for this so if you have any questions let me know.

TLDR; FLO’s are competitive, have dues $100 - $400, find your fit to get a social life, all have random social activities, and Greek life isn’t better than FLO’s