The Cost of College Admissions

Parents Forum
21

Well, we had twins applying. So between the 2 we paid for …

5 SATs
4 ACTs
9 Subject tests
15 APs (sort of related)
Sending scores to a total of 30 schools for all of the above
30 application fees - although at least 10 of them were free / waived
2 SAT Blue Books
2 ACT Red Books
3 or 4 misc. SAT prep books
6 SAT Subject Tests Books
Chung Math book
1 Fiske book
20 hours of private tutoring
1 SAT prep class (13 weeks)
2 Short (4 weeks) SAT prep at local library
4 joint “road trips” where we went to info sessions at multiple colleges w/ both kids
3 accepted students day (flying) trips for S
3 accepted students day (driving) trips for D
1 lost deposit after clearing wait list

I absolutely refuse to tally up how much all of this cost us, but you can imagine.

BEST Investments: The Fiske book, the 13 week SAT prep class (+200 pts), the Blue & Red study guides, all of the road trips & visits.

WORST Investments: The private tutoring (only plus was the timed practice tests they took - might not have otherwise), the “other” prep books, many of the Subject Test books which were NOT even cracked, the short SAT class at local library, some of the applications - With hindsight, I’d say we would have dropped at least 8 schools from app list - and possibly added 4.

I absolutely refuse to do a true tally - it was a lot of $$$. Luckily, we never have to do this again!

22

Since the question was also about what was worth it, I’ll play the game. But without number since they aren’t that new.
College Applications - they pared the list to 8 school (S1) and 7 (S2)
ACT tests and reports - didn’t take as it was obvious from PSAT scores that their SAT scores would be excellent
SAT tests and reports - S1 took SAT twice, 3 subject test one sitting, S2 took SAT twice and 3 subject tests twice (if he’d used his brain a little more he wouldn’t have taken math the first time, and wouldn’t have had to scramble for another test to take. I don’t think any college still requires 3 subjects tests, but they did then…)
Prep material -S1 discounted Kaplan course at the high school, just to practice essays. It was more than useless. S2 the cost of a couple of books.
Visits to 22 colleges: S1 trip to opposite coast to visit 4 colleges. We stayed with friends so airfare and meals were only cost. S2 visited colleges within driving distance and stayed with family or had daytrips. We waited to visit the one far away college. He saw a couple of colleges with friends. Cost of gas and meals only.
Final decision trips (after acceptance): S1 visited four colleges. Flew to Pittsburgh from NYC and I stayed in a hotel, he stayed with students. The rest we drove to and stayed with family. S2 also visited 4 colleges. We flew to Chicago from NYC. I stayed in a hotel he stayed with students. The others we stayed with family and he stayed with students when that was an option.

Best advice in hindsight. Best prep is the books the College Board puts out with real SAT tests. (Hopefully this will continue with the new SAT.) You don’t need to visit every college you might be interested in. We looked at a couple of nearby colleges for examples of small/large, rural/urban/suburban to get an idea of what they offered. S1 didn’t get into any college he visited officially. S2 liked visiting and did find it helpful for essays, but the most selective college he got into he hadn’t visited. Pare down your list. If you have two good safeties that your kid likes, you really don’t have to sweat all the reaches.

23

I think this is a case where we can turn some of our answers to OP’s specific situation. I don’t think she’s going to be flying around the country on her parents’ dime. And from her posts, she seems a smart and aware young woman.

Test prep was a waste for D1 so we skipped it for D2. If you look on the SAT/ACT test prep forum(s,) you can find recommendations for self study.

We were looking at mostly New England schools, live in this area, so did a lot of trips by car. (Easier here than in Texas.) Made for some long days, but we treated it as family time and the only expenses were lunch on the road and/or an occasional overnight/meals . She did one trip with a friend’s family. She and I visited two schools more distant (about a ten hour drive,) but that one was her tagging along with me, when I had reason to be in that area.

OP can see if her target colleges offer a free visit. Some will fly in kids when they see a possible match and the family can’t easily afford it. Or there are various types of weekend programs, at no cost.

There are various mentoring programs OP may find in TX, often staffed by volunteers, that will help with advice and mentoring, if needed. Some programs will fly kids to tour a few east coast colleges (I only know they come east, not whether other areas are visited.) You can look at Questbridge for the opportunities and here’s one examplehttps://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/college-prep-scholars.

Best wishes.

24

Here is what we paid for:

SAT (including subject tests) and ACT tests
Application Fees
Sending SAT/ACT results
CSS Profile fees

My kids were interested in school mostly within a reasonable driving distance so we spent very little on tours — just gas and the occasional lunch. The few that were further were part of a family vacation so I wouldn’t count those as college search costs. But obviously this will vary by student location and the location of the school.

My kids did not do any prep for SAT or ACT. We may have bought one book. They did take practice tests but those were mostly free or very inexpensive (about $15 each).

25

Not necessarily. The deadline for completing at least the initial part of the applications to the other schools on the student’s list (a stage that is usually associated with forking over the application fee) may be before the ED decision comes out.

26

Agree w Marian. My kids did ED, but we’d also spent the money on all the visits to help decide where they were going to ED.

27

@Pizzagirl brings up a good point.

I forgot that we had spent money on the visits to the other schools as well as on the application fees.

28

No visits, applied to one school (state flagship in our hometown $54), 2 ACT with writing, so under $200 total.

29

The overwhelming bulk of costs for us has been travel. We have flown from NC to Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Philly, and Portland. But except for Portland, all were family vacations. The colleges tours were fun and FREE. But the airfare and hotel costs were, well, like 4Gulls in post 25, I don’t want to add them up. Do you have to travel to demonstrate interest? Not at all. Get a similar effect by contacting the admissions offices.

We also have spent about $1000 for SAT prep by private tutor. It has made a big difference. Might have got the same results from study books, except these books would need to have been open and read. Yet considering we are prepared to spend $$$ for private college, the tutor was a relatively small investment.

For any applicant, there are minimal costs to pay. A couple of good guide books: I like the Princeton Guide and the Fiske. You can buy an edition a year or two old from Amazon for almost nothing. SAT and ACT prep books for the motivated. And the costs of the SAT/ACT tests. No matter the student’s academic record or finances, taking them multiple times is a must. For applications, an increasing number are free. Even at $40 or $50 or $60, that’s a tiny part of the entire college bill.

Considering nearly everybody has internet service, all the on-line info is free. Books and manual are under $100. 2 or 3 SATs, and/or 2 or 3 ACTs. Even applying to 5 or 8 schools, you can spend under $600.00 or $700.00 and have done a thorough search. (Not including accepted students visits). Considering the value of a 4 year degree, that’s the best investment any family can make.

What is far more important than money spent is parents and students doing this: putting in the hundreds of hours needed to really understand the admission process, rather than limiting student to a handful of options: flagship for the top, or choice of 2 or 3 directionals, or community college.

30

@hamlon Many colleges offer diversity weekends/visits where they will cover the costs for students to visit campuses. Take a look into those as a way to reduce some admissions related expenses.

31

We combined our college trips with family vacations…so I’m not sure how to count them. Even accepted student visits involved visiting family and friends.

Both kids did SAT prep about $600 each.

Kid one applied to 7 colleges and I am guessing applications cost about $200. A couple were free. But kid one also had to audition at each college…and that required an additional trip to each school.

Kid 2 applied to four schools. Two applications were free. So total was $100…maybe.

We had to send SAT scores and CSS Profle for both kids. Costs have changed so,what we paid isn’t as important as how much it costs now. Check the College Board website.

We also paid for each of our kids to take three AP exams. I have no idea what the current cost of those is.

32

AP exams cost nearly $100 each now. We paid for 6 or 7 for each kid, which was expensive, but a cheap way to buy a lot of useful college credit. I didn’t include that in application costs because my kids didn’t report their scores on their applications. We didn’t pay for any SAT2. I really balked at that. Too many overlapping tests and too much money for the Colege Board, and my kids didn’t apply to any colleges that actually required subject tests.

33

My first kid - more than $1000. He applied to about 10 schools. 2 x SAT I, 3 x SAT II, 1 x ACT and 7 x AP exam. An inexpensive SAT prep class. Drove to Cornell, got a traffic ticket and paid the fine. Flew to Chicago for a “scholarship weekend”

Other kids - less than $100

34

QUOTE: “For any applicant, there are minimal costs to pay. A couple of good guide books: I like the Princeton Guide and the Fiske. You can buy an edition a year or two old from Amazon for almost nothing. SAT and ACT prep books for the motivated. And the costs of the SAT/ACT tests. No matter the student’s academic record or finances, taking them multiple times is a must.”

Ehh, I disagree. Easy way to defray these costs, LIBRARY. I don’t know about other people, but I (c/o 2017) vehemently refuse to give CB and ACT anymore money than absolutely necessary. For prep, I only borrowed books from the library and would never spend a single cent on a tutor. (IMO a scam that literally just serves to force your kids to do prep, but if kid is motivated [or cheap like me lol], self study serves just as well.)
I took the ACT at school for free in Junior year spring, and no, nobody “needs” to take it more than one time. I got a 36, one and done. I knew I was ready and would get at least a 34 on that day. Taking a timed practice test is essentially like taking the real test, and it’s free. So you really don’t need to spend the money for multiple tests unless something goes awry on test day. That’s a myth perpetuated by overanxious students that only works to fuel the standardized testing business.

I do believe that spending the money for PSAT and SAT can be worth it for the top student from a National Merit perspective. To me, shelling out 20 for PSAT and then another 50 for SAT after knowing I’d likely make NMSF was an obvious decision for the financial safeties (provided advancement to NMF).

And I agree that students aiming for a top-tier will spend more money. Personally, even after I had the ACT completely for free, I had to pay out of pocket for the P/SAT and then also 2 SAT subject tests for the schools that required them. But once again, I checked out books from the library and paid only the actual cost of the test. (I also used my 4 free sends for every test.) Oh, side note: for taking SAT II Subjects, if you are taking 2 or 3, definitely take them on the same day-- if you don’t, you have to pay an extra $30 or something, because for subjects they charge a base fee $30 + $20 per test. (Estimates)

While I am still just a current senior, I know where I am applying etc. so I will state those preliminary costs for now. I have not visited any schools, simply because my financial situation does not allow me to make these expensive trips out of state. (But I am also not low enough income to receive fee waivers and the like.) As such my cost for visits will remain $0 until I go on accepted student visits. Many of the places I am applying do not track demonstrated interest, but for those that do I have done my best, even though Admissions offices would probably expect my income threshold to be able to afford a visit. As for getting to know the school, I have done that by fervently perusing school websites, CC, and student blogs for accounts of the school’s personality, and have gotten a feel for what the overall vibe is. I personally believe that is even better than visiting, because a short visit only provides a shallow glimpse into the campus and is easily influenced by factors as mutable as a tour guide’s shoes (See parent’s forum thread about College Visits!). But as stated, I will likely go on visits after I get accepted to places.

I do admit that I am spending a LOT on application fees and even the extra score-sends I need (as in, extra to the places that have received my free sends.) As a student who is “chasing merit”, an extra $90 in application fees could result in a scholarship that makes this school maybe 20k cheaper than a different school. Significant enough for me to even ignore fit to a certain degree, like if it was a minor difference between perfect dream school and other excellent school. As such, I am applying to what others would call an obscene amount of schools.
That being said, I have tried to get as many non-financial based fee waivers as possible. (As stated earlier, I do not qualify as low-income.) By using one of my free score sends to an OOS flagship where I am hoping to compete for a significant scholarship, I received a fee waiver. And by applying to fly-in programs at some top LACs, I have obtained a few other waivers. It is also nice that I’m applying to a couple of schools with free apps, like Wellesley and RHIT.

I guess I’m trying to say that there are expenses where you can easily scrimp on, at no harm. I have detailed how I did that in hopes that people do not feel the need to waste their money on these things, and for the benefit of families in situations similar to my own.

IF I weren’t applying to a bunch of super-competitive schools/scholarship programs, and I loved my safeties,

I would spend exactly $0 on the application process.

It is ONLY my motivation to find places I like better that has led to any extra expenses. I think this account is necessary to provide a nice contrast to the expensive process many families go through and show how entirely possible it is to save that money to actually pay tuition . :))

35

@PeregrineFlute I wish I were on an admissions committee so I could admit you to my school. You quoted me about the costs of guides and are absolutely correct about using the library for free. You prepared yourself and aced the ACT. More than that, you recognize the value of research by looking at school websites and using CC. It is so true that so many students who go on campus tours focus on such minor issues, such as the weather that day, or whether the guide was cute, or if a dorm looked a little worn. And the guidebooks (in print like ancient newspapers) do give a concise and complete overview, at least for parents like myself.

You are aware that spending on extra scores and app fees is totally worth it, in the grand scheme of how much you will save in the long run. And even with a 36 on the ACT, you are applying to RHIT and Wellesley, not assuming you will ‘certainly’ get into an Ivy or equivalent. Maybe you will. Good luck!

36

@Much2learn I’ve been here. It just didn’t seem necessary for me to spam this side of the forum with multiple comments just to bump my post up. I wanted to respect the fact that this is the parent’s forum and not the one for slightly anxious teenagers! I’ve been reading every single comment since I posted this question and many have been very helpful to me. :slight_smile: I’m really thankful for everyone who saw my post and genuinely wanted to respond! The personal experiences and tips have been really helpful!

37

BIGGEST COST
Travel expenses (air tix, hotel, rental car, restaurants) for touring campuses cost a lot more than all the rest of the application expenses combined.

BIGGEST SAVINGS
Our kids didn’t do SAT prep course/tutor. We bought them the College Board Official SAT Study Guide book, for 20 bucks. They outscored their classmates who had expensive prep courses/tutors. The advertising for these courses/tutors just prey on parents’ insecurities.

38

Visits outside of parents alma mater are a waste of time. All my children are private school lifers. Worth every penny. Other major expenses are summer programs and private tutoring.

39

If you’re involved with ECs that send you to conferences and such in other cities, you could carve out time to get in a quick college visit. You might even be able to add a leg to a RT plane, train, or bus ticket to add a college visit into your otherwise scheduled itinerary. Perhaps not a common opportunity, I know, but I did use that strategy myself back in the day.

This reminds me: Amtrak has discounted train tickets for a student (travelling a parent/guardian, I think) for college-visit trips.

40

Regarding colleges with 5 to 10% acceptance rates, we’re not wasting any time or effort on those lotteries. Even if we had a HYPSM-level kid we’d have a bevy of safeties and matches. One can show interest by communicating with colleges admissions depts. But if you have a few specific reaches, especially for ED1, it is crucial to visit before the application, to show interest but even more important, to make sure your kid has interest. And visits can help with safeties, so you don’t get rejected for yield protection.