So,How Much Does It Cost? Adding ALL Of The Figures

I have discussed the requirements through one of my earlier posts. Now,to discuss an issue that surprised me during the application:the stunning cost of the whole process. When you are all about the hype about going abroad and studying for exams,you don’t really consider how much it will cost to actually apply. Especially because the initial cost of SAT,books or a course isn’t such a big deal. These application fees are inevitable,and if you do get a scholarship in the end they were certainly worth paying. An utterly practical advice would be to forget about free waivers of any kind,because it is yet another pile of paperwork which some of the colleges may not accept,because we are not Americans. These figures are very important to know so your family can organize accordingly,since it’s quite a sum.

Let’s assume we have an Average Joe,who is applying to 8 colleges,for the sake of the calculation. Typically,applicants choose 6-10. Although I know somebody who applied to sixteen colleges,but I doubt she is sincerely interested in most of them. I will write about choosing the colleges that suit you,in another post. Typically,you will find six to ten communities you can really imagine yourself fitting in.

The first expense is ordering of the books. It is great to study in the IAC because there’s plenty of material,but you can’t spend every day of the week there. I did spend quite a lot time there,and I tell you,it is most inconvenient to combine it with other activities. You do need something to work on while you are at home. Typically,you need 3 books,one for SAT Reasoning and two for SAT Subject Tests. You may also need a CD for TOEFL,it was very useful to me,because TOEFL is all about practice. As far as I’m concerned,a TOEFL book can’t teach you how to get a good score because of the “four skills”needed;everybody needs a tutor in order to prepare even if they are really comfortable with English. The great thing is books are somewhat cheaper than in Serbia. I ordered through Amazon during the summer,when they had a discount on SAT books.

SAT reasoning$30
SAT subject 1$20
SAT subject 2$20
TOEFL CD + book$35
Shipment$65
Books total$170.00

The second would be paying for a preparatory course,if you think you need it. I kind of worked the technique for the SAT Reasoning all by myself,but if you are not really comfortable with English (you can’t understand newspaper texts,have a small vocabulary or write lousy essays),you may need it. I did invest in a TOEFL course because I was really afraid of the Speaking portion,and I’m still petrified when I remember it. I know it’s silly because I’m a good speaker;I even debated in English once. But I simply couldn’t get myself used to answering stupid personal questions in 45 seconds. I don’t know the exact prices;the range was really big when I looked at my options. Studying groups go from 4 (in my case) to 20 students,and the prices are inversely proportional. Find yourself a course that fits. I assume you will choose one or the other,SAT or TOEFL,and not both. I would recommend TOEFL,because when you get around TOEFL essays you can write a pretty good SAT essay,and really good admission essays.

TOEFL preparatory course$200
SAT preparatory course$200
Course of choice$200.00

Also,if you are hopelessly bad with understanding and speaking English,don’t try applying. I will be really honest. Not only you would have bad test results,but you can also end up in a college that is academically-wise not good enough for you. And to make it worse,you will be stuck with not understanding any of the studying materials and lectures. Really,if you didn’t learn English up until you are 18,the chances are tiny that you can perfect it in a couple of months.

Next is paying for your exams. If you get well organized and decide to do SAT1 and SAT2 twice that would be ideal for getting good results.

TOEFL$155
SAT I$68x2
SAT II with 2 subjects$64x2
Standardized testing$419.00

As you see,we have some really big figures coming up. And our Average Joe hasn’t even sent his papers yet. The next expense would be paying college application fees. Every college you may choose has a fee of $50-75 for processing of your application. I will list fees for my colleges. The figures listed are exact.

College 1$50
College 2$60
College 3$60
College 4$65
College 5$70
College 6$70
College 7$70
College 8$75
(College 9no fees)
Application fees$500.00

Feeling dizzy when you look at the figures? Well,that’s how it goes. The system is pretty insensitive to the fact that we are a poor country,and thus our students are not really loaded with money. I mean,my parents earn a lot more than the average payroll in Serbia,and we are poor in comparison to the average American,and especially in comparison with an average top-college applicant’s family. Because of this,it is only natural that you are planning for a big scholarship. But before you get any of it,you have to pay these fees,and it’s no small deal.

Next step is to send in the exam scores to the Colleges. You have to do this via collegeboard.com for SAT tests and via ets.org for TOEFL scores. Of course,you need a valid and stable credit card,make sure you have a fully reliable one before paying anything. And another very important notice:do not submit payments using Internet Explorer,other browsers are far more secure,such as Firefox,Opera and Safari,and any other for that matter.

Sending SATs$9.5x8
Sending TOEFL$17.5x8
Score reports$216.00

Then you have to handle the rest of the needed paperwork. It is obligatory that you take your report cards,acquire the verified copies and get them translated by a professional. To verify the copies,you need to go to your Opština to get them certified as exactly the same as original. However,the verification itself costs up to $200,because there are three forms (for three grades) and a lot of photocopies to check,but you can bypass that by going to another Opština (Savski Venac) where they do it for free,in just a day. The translation is obligatory,and is to be done by a translator bound by the court. You cannot translate the forms yourself,they won’t be accepted.

Translation$16x3
Verification$60x3
If you’re smart$48.00

Now it is necessary to send all of your papers. The most common requirements are the Common Application with the supplements,additional essays,competition certificates,verified translations and photocopies,teachers’recommendations and school transcript. The thing is,you have to send it through a professional carrier service,such as FedEx or DHL. In Serbia,FedEx is most convenient and the cheapest. It is important that you have the ability to track your documents. They are usually delivered within 3-5 days. With ordinary post there are multiple problems. The first would be that the Serbian mail is disastrous by default and letters get lost frequently,before they get to the border. Other is,even if they do get to USA somehow,you don’t know when they did because you don’t have a tracking option. Since it’s crucial that the papers are delivered to colleges briefly,I urge you to send everything through FedEx,even if you are in a financial distress to do so.

Another reason why is that several (5) colleges contacted me and said that they still haven’t received any of my papers yet,and I was confident enough to reply “According to my FedEx tracking service,they were delivered on January 05,2009,at 11:15AM,and signed for by your employee Jane Doe.”. The confidence that they must have received my papers meant a whole lot to me;it really gave me peace of mind.

You will also have to send your financial aid applications through FedEx,so I will double the sending fees in the calculation.

FedEx envelope <250g$49x16
Document shipment$784.00

There are also some miscellaneous fees I wouldn’t really bring up right now as relevant. If you are interested in the total cost,just add the figures up,I feel terrible enough already blowing up all that money. I suppose I did scare you,and maybe made you give up. But really,you can find the money,and it will redeem once you get the scholarship,not to mention getting a great college’s diploma.

I made a ton of mistakes in the payment process. First off,I sent my SAT and TOEFL scores to several institutions I didn’t apply to at all. I wrote admission essays for schools I gave up on. I ordered more books than I needed. I also paid several application fees for those colleges I didn’t apply to in the end. From 12 colleges I narrowed my choice to 8,but paid all of the fees for every school. I mentioned before,I made many mistakes in the process,but I really had no one to tell me for certain how these things are done. I think that’s why I’m writing the blog,I know it would have been easier for me to read about someone else’s mistakes and know ones I will avoid.

My next post will be,at last,about getting around the infamous SAT Reasoning test. I will describe my own routine and mention a few hints,just to get you started. Don’t be suspicious of my competence –you can take my advice or not,I am just a student like you are and not an SAT/TOEFL tutor. I learned about the test the hard way,and in my opinion,I did quite well.

Sincerely,

Milica Stankovic

Matemati?ka Gimnazija,Beograd