When Seniors start applying to colleges, a lot of them learn that it is unreasonable to apply to too many places because of how expensive the application fees are. Many application fees are around 30 to 50 dollars just to apply. Then, if you get in, you have to pay college tuition, living fees and for food.
Most colleges consider themselves a business and that is why they require a student to pay before applying. In order to continue to make a substantial amount of money, colleges require students to pay application fees just to apply. Colleges have to pay people to review applications and because of this, they have to charge the students submitting the applications. Most colleges claim that the cost of the application goes directly and solely towards paying the people that review said applications.
The application fee also helps to weed out any students who aren’t serious about applying to their school. If a person is unwilling to pay a “small” amount of money, then they aren’t a right fit for that college. Many universities believe that it forces students to put more thought into where they really want to go.
Some colleges do allow for application fee waivers, but that is solely for people who cannot afford the application fees or are given when a school really wants that specific student to apply. Although these waivers are helpful for certain students, most students do not qualify.
Even though the application fee can be helpful to colleges to help weed out uncommitted or undedicated applicants, the overall cost to students is too high. When a student has to go to college, they already are swimming in debt by their first semester. Adding more onto that before a student even gets into college doesn’t seem fair.
Colleges need to make money. That is a fact. However, most of the money already comes from students and donors. When submitting an application, colleges should not require a fee. More unnecessary burdens should not be added to the students when they will already have to pay more once they get accepted.
Taylor Snow // Editor-in-Chief