Some schools require that we use it, and it is 16$ per applications. Does it not seem a bit count-intuitive to make students, who presumably are not the most well endowed, pay for requesting funds in college?
Of course, I, or rather, my poor parents, will pay the fee, but it’s rather annoying that we have there is an Application fee, an arts supplement fee, a fee to take and send the SAT and now THIS. The total amount that has been spent on me just trying to get INTO college has really become ridiculous.
Anyhow, I have vented my frustrations and now feel refreshed. Respond to this as you may.
The ultimate aim of every business (colleges, College Board, Apple, Gucci, etc.) is to make money. They do this however they best see fit, even if it disadvantages some of their customers in favor of those who are willing to put up with their business practices. Sad truth of life.
@hopefulperson As a designated economics major, I understand this very well. But from an idealistic standpoint, I think it’s fair to argue that education should not be a business, or at least not charge students to a certain extent.
@rhandco I just noticed that Harvard does actually allow me to send in a paper application for free, so that is nice. I am an international student, so that doesn’t really apply to me, though I think it is nice that they do. The CC, for all of the flak it gets, isn’t THAT bad, except when it comes to international students. They charge us a lot.
A lot? I guess if you factor in that you can take exams all over the world that are identical to everyone else on the planet taking them, and most countries do not have the infrastructure of the US and other developed countries, maybe it is not a lot.
It is very clear to me however that there are only two ways to go to college in the US if you are an international: either have a boatload of dough, or have significant connections within the US or in your own country with someone who has US connections. Then again, if you are a US citizen, it helps to have a boatload of dough or connections too.
@rhandco That’ not necessarily true. LACs treat internationals quite nicely and so do the better private schools. An international that is seeking aid needs to have the test scores, grades, ECs, there are no miracle admissions, and would need to apply to a lot of schools, but it’s far from impossible. I only applied to a safety EA and was already granted a full ride merit scholarship. You just have to know what you’re doing.
Thank goodness for the internet. And free internet where it is available.
But to be honest, if you aren’t well-off and/or in a developed country, the chance of you actually having grades and test scores and grades without connections is significantly less. The connections perhaps can be free schooling or free internet access, but not everyone has that.
I didn’t necessarily mean connections like child of a diplomat or politicians, just enough to get someone cognizant of what is out there, via free internet or special programs. There are areas of the US where kids don’t even know what opportunities they have after HS. The US is pushing to get free internet in cities, but kids in rural areas of the US are at a disadvantage.
Everything in the US that can be a money-making venture (such as college board and college itself) is a money-making venture. If the College Board can make money off of financial aid applications, they’ll do so, regardless of whether it’s ethical or not. Welcome to America.
Of course, before any enterprise, including the College Board, accrues a profit, it has to cover its expenses. FA applications aren’t processed without costs, are they @Esat936? Moreover, as noted earlier, the College Board voluntarily provides millions of dollars of fee waivers annually, to assist financially disadvantages applicants. The College Board is not statutorily required to do so; rather, it does so only to help poorer students This obviously exacerbates their aggregate expense and overhead amortization. Who is supposed to offset the College Board’s expenses, if not the applicants who benefit from their services (especially since essentially all American universities are non-profit enterprises)? Many American institutions underwrite some college costs (application and other) for foreign students that, after all, could be used to help equally worthy American applicants; one might reasonably anticipate a modicum of gratitude, instead of complaint.