How to save money by applying to colleges

Фото: Depositphotos

Applicant Ash Parasa wanted to apply for a large number of different colleges, but he knew that it would be quite expensive.

At the same time, many school graduates do not fully understand what kind of amount they will have to pay for submitting documents to colleges until they begin the registration process, writes Time.

In addition to the filing fee, there are also fees for registering SAT or ACT points, as well as a fee for filing an additional application for financial assistance.

By applying to 20 colleges, with all the fees, Paras spent $ 1700 before he even became a student.

On average, American applicants apply to fewer colleges than Paras. According to the annual freshmen survey conducted by the Institute for Higher Education Studies, 8 of 10 students have applied for at least three colleges in the 2015 year. And 35% of applicants sent applications to 7 or more colleges.

Given this number of applications, each applicant pays for the applications themselves from several hundred to a thousand (or more) dollars, and this is not taking into account the cost of preparatory courses, books, etc. Therefore, many Americans cannot afford college not only because of the high cost of living. training itself, but also because of the high cost of applying.

On average, college filing fees range from 25 to 90 dollars, high-demand schools charge higher fees.

In addition to paying for the application, students must pay to send each SAT or ACT score to each college, which costs 12 or 13 dollars. If you are applying for financial aid for students (FAFSA), then you will have to pay at least 16 dollars for a similar application in one college.

All these payments together, multiplied by the number of colleges, result in hundreds of dollars.

But still there is an opportunity to save.

To do this, follow the five tips:

• Early filing: Many well-known colleges offer the right to apply for free for applicants who send their documents to the institution before a certain time limit (or if other conditions are met, such as attending a job fair or open day at the college). In addition, if you know which colleges you want to apply for when you take the SAT or ACT tests, you can save about 50 dollars using the opportunity to send free data about your points by specifying these colleges when you register for testing.
• Apply at the right time: application fee is often canceled during fairs or other events held by colleges to attract attention and applicants. For example, the North Carolina College Foundation annually organizes an application filing week, when many colleges waive an application fee. In North Carolina, this event usually takes place. in November.
• Organization: if you wait until the last minute to send your scores to colleges, you will pay an additional fee for expedited delivery. For the ACT it is $16,50 and for the SAT it is $31. Therefore, keep a calendar to fulfill all requirements on time and not overpay for rushing.
• Ask for help: If you understand that you cannot afford to pay for enrollment at a college, talk to a school counselor or college enrollment representative. There are several ways to get permission to not pay for registration at a college, based on the low income level of the applicants' family. In addition, an increasing number of colleges believe that the requirement to pay for an application limits equal access to education, and therefore they have canceled payment for applying for all applicants applying for financial assistance.
• Look for colleges offering free enrollment: There are dozens of colleges that do not charge for filing documents with them. Pay attention to them to see if these schools are suitable for you.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Where in the US get a free higher education

How to get higher education online

What benefits can you expect in the US

Top-20 colleges that nurture the most millionaires

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.