Applying to college is no small endeavor: writing supplements, requesting transcripts, scores and filling out the Common App are only part of the process, and these come with a financial cost. 

The costs start piling up at the beginning of junior year, as schools transition from their post-COVID policies and require the submission of standardized testing once more. These upcoming test requirements mean shelling out $68 to take the ACT, an extra $4 if a student wants to take the science section, and an additional $20 for the writing section. If a student wants to take the SAT instead, the registration fee is also $68; however, most Montgomery County schools do have one “SAT day” during the school year, which allows juniors to take the SAT free of charge. If a student chooses to participate in SAT/ACT prep at a tutoring company, the price can range, but usually falls within several thousand dollars, and purchasing textbooks is between $20-$30. 

Senior Ruth Bayou has felt the impact of these costs as she begins to send out her standardized test scores. “I have to pay $60-75 to apply to most schools, and just from sending scores, I’m dropping at least $120 total because each score is about $20,” Bayou said.

When the application season starts, requesting transcripts and scores is among the first steps. The cost to send an ACT score to each school is $20, and to send a SAT score costs $15 per report. According to CollegeVine, “Most students apply to between 8-12 colleges.” A student who applies to 10 colleges and has a good ACT score they want to submit has a total of $200 just to send out scores. 

If a student participated in Dual Enrollment at any point throughout high school, they will be required to send a separate transcript to most colleges, which costs $10 per school. This goes for most additional testing and educational reports; each report will cost an additional amount to send in to a certain number of schools.

The application fee per school is the biggest hit. Although costs range, most schools charge between $50-$80 per application. So, if a student decides to apply to the average number of colleges, the cost will range anywhere from $400 to $960. Senior Alina Parikh said, “It all adds up, sending transcripts, sending scores, and finally applying can cost into the thousands. It honestly seems unfair; many people are paying so much money just to get rejected while the college pockets the money with zero refund.”

As a record number of applicants apply to college every year, acceptance rates drop. This forces students to apply to additional schools due to stress, requiring more money to be spent on the application process.