<p>So I am still in the middle of college applications, financial aid, etc. It's not only very stressful and confusing ( I am an international applicant) but also quite expensive. I don't have a real question, I was just wondering if others felt the same. I have paid for application fees, SAT + Sat Subject test registration and score report fees, TOEFL registration fees(an amount of about 250$ and required only for international students), CSS profile fees, and tons of postage as my counselor chose to submit the school report offline. Is it just me or is applying to college in general quite expensive?</p>
<p>Applying to college can be quite expensive. You aren’t the only one who feels a bit overwhelmed by all of this.</p>
<p>it certainly is. that’s where CC can be helpful in pointing out to students the importance of ruling out applications to schools parents cannot afford, helping them with schools they cannot visit, etc. I think of CC as a big money-saver.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies. Sometimes it is just very overwhelming as senior year in Germany is also the most important one in high school. </p>
<p>I agree with you jkeil911, I should have done more research before applying. I ended up applying to 13 reach schools and no safety, so all my efforts may not pay off but so it is.</p>
<p>You could still apply to a safety school with rolling admissions…</p>
<p>I, or rather my parents, could not afford paying for college without financial aid and most schools do not offer it for international students. If I end up being rejected by all of them(which is what I am expecting at the moment), I will attend college in Germany which is for free.</p>
<p>Ok. That makes sense. I wasn’t aware of your situation.</p>
<p>How could you if I didn’t mention it. :)</p>
<p>You could do a lot worse than to attend u/g in Germany for free (and grad school in the u.s.?).</p>
<p>How would you rank the German universities, and how many of them are there?</p>
<p>I agree with you, attending school in Germany isn’t bad. It actually only takes three years to get a bachelor and I would graduate debt-free for sure. It just does not seem as much “fun” as American colleges. It’s a completely different experience. Students in Germany, for instance, never really talk to their professors and are pretty much left alone to do everything (which makes them more independent) but it’s not how I want my college experience to be. </p>
<p>My guess would be that there are around 50 public universities and 50 private ones. In my opinion, there are about 3-5 which might be known internationally but they definitely cannot compete with Ivy Leagues, Stanford, etc. (but then again, which schools can?) And to be honest, I haven’t really looked into any of them because the application process starts sometime in June or July.</p>
<p>Think of all the pilsners you can buy with the cost of an American education. Certainly you can find Americans teaching in German universities. Or you could seek out professors and generate a less formal relp with one or three of them. And what about the British tutorial system and EU tuition costs? Could going to university in UK be a compromise? The Brits aren’t Americans but they’re not Ewiggestrigen either. Did I get that right? Sticks in the mud? It’s been a long time.</p>
<p>You got that right which is quite impressive. I had to look the word up haha. </p>
<p>It is not like going to a German university will be torture but it just isn’t enough for me (not condescending in any way). A couple years back I was an exchange student and went to an American high school. I got a glimpse of the world’s diversity and now that I know how much more there is, Germany just isn’t enough. </p>
<p>UK is a great country but I don’t have a feeling about it as I have about the US (I kind of made the experience that people prefer one over the other haha). Plus I am not a German citizen, I am a Chinese citizen so I think I won’t be able to receive financial aid, etc.</p>
<p>ah, yes, the Americans are not alone in wanting their tax dollars spent on their citizens.</p>
<p>I’d imagine Chinese universities are not to be preferred in your estimation to American universities. I’m not asking you to answer that. Each nation seems to have a different idea about what high school and then college should do, what their missions are. In addition, America is much larger and more populous than Germany and has a certain kinds of diversity Germany does not.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could transfer after a year in Germany. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you. I really appreciate it. 
I will hope for the best. Maybe I will be admitted, maybe I won’t. No matter where, I will try to make the best of it. </p>
<p>And to Chinese universities, I love China but I don’t think I could live there. I want to spent a semester/summer there to improve my Chinese. From what I know, Chinese universities or schools in general require their students to study a lot. A lot as in spending the summer studying ( of course, I might be mistaken).</p>
<p>Yes, it’s expensive, but colleges want students who can pay full fare. Admissions fees help to separate those who can from those who can’t.</p>
<p>Does this not contradict colleges’ claims that they are affordable?</p>
<p>Affordable is relative.</p>
<p>Haha, Same boat here </p>
<p>I payed more than 1000 dollars total I suppose if you ad up all the application expenses. I started working in order to be able to afford the applications. The most ridiculous part is: now I am expected to contribute my income to my EFC, but I spent it all on testing and fees 
this is so ludicrous. But anyways. :)</p>
<p>@Mandalorian Yes, it sure is. Still, 1000 dollars or more is crazy… </p>
<p>@AmericanHopee I think I payed about the same amount though I qualified for application fee waivers. Sorry to hear! I totally understand this upsets you, I’d probably feel the same. Let’s just hope the money was a good investment. :)</p>