From the Atlantic:
For SUNY Binghamton, for example, in state tuition is $6,470 and mandatory fees are $2,801. Which makes fees ** 30% ** of the total cost!!!
It’s smoke and mirrors.
There was a lengthy thread on this forum about “surprise” charges families had.
The only thing that bothered me was mandatory fees for things my kids didn’t ever do…never attended a sporting event…still had to pay the fee.
I fully expected to pay for graduation and many of the other fees listed.
Do colleges REALLY itemize out a maintenance fee?
@STEM2017 SUNY is nothing. Take a look out our schools here in MA. Just check out UMASS Amherst. I have not looked around but I would imagine MA has the lowest tuition rates in the USA. Not the lowest fees but probably the lowest tuition rates in the nation.
But as the OP pointed out there are many many items over and above this that are a surprise. These are just the published fees.
Just look at our college bill. There are about 30 different fees which represent 25% of the total bill for tuition/fees. However, it was no surprise since it was fully disclosed in the COA published by the school. The surprise was that the school made the attempt to be transparent and disclose where the fee go. Most pay for things my student does not benefit from. However some goes to programs that greatly benefit my student but not others. Sort of balances out.
No fees ever on our bill from S’s college. One comprehensive COA that everyone is charged minus whatever FA one receives.
^ Mostly publics that charge fees.
Privates already have an exorbitant sticker price.
But you know exactly what it is going to cost. No surprises.
Any fees are usually clearly stated on the website or in the viewbook. They are only “surprises” for people who do not read these sources.
On the prior thread that talked about surprise costs, some were the fee for classes and labs (in D’s case, $25 per theater or dance class), the costs of books, the costs of insurance. You don’t think about them until you see them itemized on your bill