Preparing for the Cost of College Admissions

Everyone is well aware of the skyrocketing costs of college tuition.

To send a student to a top-ranked state university could cost a family nearly $100,000, after accounting for tuition, room and board, books, transportation and other expenses. And a good private school costs nearly twice as much. 

Given these eye-popping numbers, it is little wonder that the initial costs associated with college admission often get overlooked. Many families are often unprepared to meet the substantial out-of-pocket expenses that come with applying to college and then getting to school, once their child has been accepted.

As a result many students, especially those coming from economically challenging circumstances, often wait too late to complete their applications and find that much of the funding that could have been available to assist them with the cost of attending school has been given to applicants who applied early. 

Additionally, even students who have been fortunate enough to earn full scholarships for their superior academic or athletic performance face steep costs related to deposit payments and relocation.

Here are a few of the most expensive items that you may encounter during the college application process:

1.     Application Fees – This is probably the biggest racket that schools have going.  Before they determine whether or not a student will be accepted, they are asked to shell out hefty “application and processing fees.” Depending on the school, these fees can range anywhere from $30 - $100 per school.  If your student is applying to at least 5 schools, you could be looking at a $500 price tag just for applications alone.

Although some schools offer fee waivers to economically disadvantaged students, these are often in limited supply. For example, the City University of New York (CUNY) allows 10 fee waivers per high school. The remaining students must come up with the $65 application fee. 

2.     Exam Fees – Admission to almost all competitive four-year colleges require that students submit SAT, SAT II or ACT scores.  If your child is shooting for a really top-tier school, then they will also have to have Advanced Placement course exams.  To have a decent shot at doing well on these tests students must engage in some form a preparation.  It could be as little as purchasing an exam preparation book for about $30 or taking a prep course with Kaplan or Princeton Review for $600 - $1600, depending on the number of hours and size of the class.

Then there is the cost of the exams themselves.  The fees for the SAT will run about $47.  The ACT costs $35 for basic registration and $49.50 for the ACT Plus Writing.  AP exams run about $87 for each subject. 

3.     Campus Visits – If your child is seriously interested in attending a school, you must visit it.  After all, we are talking about where your child will be living for the next four years.  If you are looking at schools that are not local, you must plan for the cost of food, transportation and overnight accommodations. Some schools have visitation programs that include a free overnight stay in the dorm rooms. Check with the admissions office for availability.

4.     Deposits – Once your student has been accepted to the school of their choice you must pay a registration deposit to reserve their space.  If they are staying on campus, then there is also a room deposit that must be paid up front to reserve their room. For these fees, you could be looking at a price tag between $100 and $1000, depending on the school. 

5.     Moving – If your child is going away for school, then they have to get there.  And it’s not just the cost of loading up the car with a couple of suitcases and boxes. Often students need a whole lot of things just to get started.  Towels and bed linen, laptops, mini-fridge, desk lamps are just a few.  If they are relocating to a suburban or rural location, they may even require a reliable used car for basic transportation. 

These are just of few of the major expenses that parents will face while helping their child secure an advanced education. Because these costs also come at the same time that families are faced with expenses associated with the senior year of high school (prom, trip, dues, etc.), careful planning and disciplined saving around this time are critical.