Graduate app fees too high
By Lisa Moreno
More than a half-million people take the Graduate Record Exam every year, intending to pursue graduate education. Whether you're planning to attend law school, medical school or a master's program, being considered for these programs comes at a serious cost.
And after the test is the actual program applications. I recently completed five applications to graduate school, and my out-of-pocket expense for applications alone is about $1,200.
Consider this: Each program has an application fee that ranges from approximately $50 to $200. Each institution you apply to requires two copies of transcripts from each college you attended. I have attended three schools and my transcript cost alone totaled $200.
Here at Santa Clara, the student records office charges $4 per transcript copy. Though $4 seems like a nominal fee, it does not seem fair to pay for grades that you have already earned through class work and the $28,899 and rising tuition.
The oft-mentioned Princeton University provides students with transcripts free of charge, proving that the clerical costs of printing and sending transcripts does not exceed the convenience and savings it affords students.
Other costs incurred through the application process are testing expenses. The GRE, which is the standard examination required for most programs, costs $115 per test session. The Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, for medical school is $200 per session, the LSAT for law school is $112, and the GMAT for graduate business programs costs a whopping $210 per session.
And the problem is only getting worse. Beginning in October, the GRE will be reformatting. This will be the first set of major changes in the test's 55-year history.
According to Dawn Piacentino, associate director of GRE client relations at the Educational Testing Service, one major change will be a higher cost. Though the amount of the hike is currently unknown, it will only exacerbate this already outrageous problem.
It seems that the costs of applying to graduate school are allowing institutions to screen students on a financial basis before their applications are even received. This is based on the fact that students can afford the process that leads to actually applying for graduate school. But what about the students who have the grades, the experience and the determination, but not the money?
Scholarships may be available for the actual program, but entry costs could prevent these students from even applying. This system needs to be reexamined. The price of pursuing higher education may be costing some people their dreams.
Lisa Moreno is a senior communication major.