The Official How-Much-I've-Spent-on-Standardized-Testing Thread

Test Preparation
1

<p>Gonna be a freshy in college this fall and thank God, I am DONE with standardized testing. For now, at least. I thought it'd be amusing to calculate exactly how much I've spent through standardized testing. I found this kind of difficult because College Board and ACT don't exactly log the amount you've spent in your account. And probably for good reason. So I did some searching through my emails, score reports (the ones online), and bank account statements and found that I've spent over $1000. Details below...</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning
Jan 2006 - $65.60 (includes Q/A service)
Jun 2006 - $51.50 (includes Student Answer Service)
Oct 2006 - $41.50</p>

<p>SAT Subject
Nov 2006 - $42.00 (three subject tests)
Dec 2006 - $42.00 (three subject tests)</p>

<p>SAT Additional Score Reports
Oct 2006 - $47.50 (5 reports)
Dec 2006 - $47.50 (5 reports)
^ I applied to 9 schools and used up the 4 included spots, hence the 5 additional reports</p>

<p>ACT
June 2006 - $44.50 (includes writing)
Oct 2006 - $44.50 (includes writing)</p>

<p>ACT Additional Score Reports
Nov 2006 - $40 (5 reports)</p>

<p>ACT Early Viewing Fees
Nov 2006 - $16 (I stupidly forgot to write down the scores after viewing them the first time – it costs $8 per view)</p>

<p>AP Exams
$498 (6 tests at $83 each)
$8 (early viewing)</p>

<p>Now these don't count as "standardized testing" per se, but I do think they were an expense:</p>

<p>Community College Transcript Fees
$45 (9 reports)</p>

<p>HS Extra Transcript Fees
Estimated $15</p>

<p>TOTAL $1048.60</p>

<p>This doesn’t take into account the amount I spent on SAT, AP, and ACT prep books. Although I have sold many of them on half and amazon to recoup some of the money, still. 0_0 <em>cries a little</em></p>

2

<p>SAT June : 42 dollars
Sat Subject May : 20</p>

3

<p>dont even want to think about it..lol</p>

4

<p>wow, i didnt even add in the amount spent on books and stuff along with 14 ap's by the end of graduation!!!</p>

5

<p>My AP exam fees already surpass $1,000:</p>

<p>14 x $82 = $1148.</p>

<p>Not including the 3 SAT 1s, 6 SAT 2s (and two retakes), 15 score reports....gah. </p>

<p>This is too depressing.</p>

6

<p>Books/Classes - $0
Test Fees (ACT taken once, SAT I taken once, 3 SAT IIs taken in one sitting) - ~$150 (no score report services used)
APs - $0 - 4 taken, none paid for (state of Indiana pays for math and science examinations - I would've taken more if they would've paid for other subject areas)
AP Report (sent to college to gain credit) - $15, I believe</p>

<p>Total: ~$165 - would've been less if I would have applied for a fee waiver due to my financial circumstances</p>

7

<p>Well, I just spent $57.50 sending my scores to colleges. And it takes five weeks. Other than that, CB has gotten from me: 2 SAT Reasoning, 1 SAT Subject, 1 AP (plus $16 for the grade, never got it in the mail).</p>

8

<p>By the end of my freshman year, I'll have spent 82 + 82 + 42 = $206.</p>

<p>FRESHMAN year.</p>

9

<p>How can these test truly be standardized when they have such high costs. That makes the playing field unequal before it even starts.</p>

10

<p>whoops i forgot to add in college application fees. +~$400. !@#$</p>

<p>sherm - you're right. they do have fee waivers and whatnot, but i think that the high prices of these tests turn off students before they find out about the waivers.</p>

11

<p>does an additional $1,300 prep course count too?</p>

12

<p>my school paid for all of our AP and IB exams!</p>

13

<p>i hate you....my school didn't even know i took them.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
How can these test truly be standardized when they have such high costs. That makes the playing field unequal before it even starts.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Two words: fee waiver.</p>

15

<p>Mellow, you're a looser.</p>

16

<p>when im older im gonna start a campaign to shut down the collegeboard</p>

17

<p>Wow, you guys pay for AP exams. My school pays for them if you take the class. I didn't know they were like $80 a piece, that's really expensive.</p>

18

<p>wat about the thousands that you guys spent on prep courses/?</p>