Beware of Hidden College Fees

Kantrowitz points out that once you know how much you are paying bill-to-bill in fees, it’s not likely to increase dramatically. Students may pay one or two more fees than upper classmen, such as a fee to fund their orientation activities, and seniors may have charges associated with graduation. However, the specific cost of a universal fee tends to be the same year to year. For example, freshmen don’t typically pay a higher Student Activity fee than seniors.

The other good news is that some fees may actually end up being worth it. Ilg, for example, doesn’t mind paying the $142 Recreation Activity Center fee, which allows her daughter to use Georgia Southern University’s state-of-the-art recreational center.

“It's one of the largest in the southeast, so it's well worth the money,” Ilg says.

To help incoming students understand what exactly they are paying for, MainStreet took a look of some college fees that commonly appear on tuition bill:

Technology fee: At the University of Georgia, students are charged a $108 tech fee each semester that funds computing equipment in the Student Learning Center, makes improvements to the university’s wireless network and provides Internet support to students living on campus. The fees are also used to address the specific technology needs of the university’s five campuses.

Student Activities Fee: Every semester at Southern New Hampshire University, students pay a $165 student activities fee to the Student Government Association. The money is used to support clubs, organizations, publications, the yearbook, social life, campus improvements and other SGA activities.