Paying and fees

[DawnM]

My son's CC is "you pay by this date or you are dropped.  The end."

 

But now that we are looking at 4 year colleges, we are seeing varying payment options.  I guess I thought you could just set up a payment plan and be done. 

 

How do you pay?  Not as in "does your kid get scholarships or a job" type of question.....but when/how do you pay?

 

I see:

 

send a check by the deadline (penalty fee if late)

wire money order and pay fees

pay online and pay 3% extra (for credit and debit)

use a CC and pay the 3% extra plus whatever your credit card charges

 

But those seem to be the only options.

 

Are yours the same for your child?

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Each college was different, so we did the math and picked the option that was best for our finances.

 

The biggest hassle was freshman year when the health insurance waiver didn't go thru...took a while to get my refund.

[RootAnn]

Not there yet with my kids, but two nieces have attended two different (state) colleges and a CC. They all required full payment by a certain date (plus late fee or "payment plan fee" for past a certain date). You could pay in installments at one, but still subject to fees. The one this year (St Cloud St, MN) wants at least half by a certain date (charges payment plan fee) and rest by another date. If you still have a balance, you don't get to register for the following semester. That has been true at two of the three. (Not sure on the third because niece was only there one semester.)

 

ETA: Tuition was paid by check.

Edited October 14, 2017 by RootAnn

[DawnM]

It looks like payment plans are an added fee too, even by check.

 

 

[teachermom2834]

My oldest goes to a small private school. He has to pay before classes start to avoid a late fee. Payment plans and card payments incur a fee. He has paid by echeck to avoid fees. He also gets a gift card to the bookstore if he pays early ($200!) so he tries to do that.

 

Second ds does de at local private university. Payment is not due until Oct 31 for the current fall semester. He cannot take final exams without a permit from the bursar saying he is paid. But apparently he could go all semester without being dropped? I just paid his bill with a debit card and there was no fee.

[MysteryJen]

For us, the fee is pretty small compared to the convenience of monthly payments. So for ds1, monthly payments taken directly out of the bank account. For dd2, usually her bill is pretty small, so we pay that before classes start and help with rent monthly.

[Guest]

It looks like payment plans are an added fee too, even by check.

Yes, but that's true of everything. Auto insurance for example. Its more work to process multiple payments than just one a year.

[Pawz4me]

Electronic check sent whenever semester payment is due.

[GoodGrief]

One college separated housing and tuition. For tuition, you could pay with an electronic check or credit card (and presumably a paper check though we did not do that). There was a fee for using the credit card (a percentage, cannot recall) and a late fee if applicable. Housing could be paid by electronic check or credit card, but no additional fee for using a credit card, and no late fee.

 

Current college student's school only accepts electronic checks or paper checks. The whole bill is bundled together. No late fees.

[G5052]

DD's community college doesn't charge for credit cards, so I pay it by credit card and get the points. Then I go home and pay the credit card bill. The deadline is a full month before classes start, which seems long to me.

 

DS's college doesn't charge for an echeck, but charges 5% for credit/debit cards. I pay his with an echeck. Their deadline is a week before classes start for echeck and debit/credit card. If you pay by paper check, it's two weeks before.

 

[Pegasus]

DD's community college doesn't charge for credit cards, so I pay it by credit card and get the points. Then I go home and pay the credit card bill. The deadline is a full month before classes start, which seems long to me.

 

DS's college doesn't charge for an echeck, but charges 5% for credit/debit cards. I pay his with an echeck. Their deadline is a week before classes start for echeck and debit/credit card. If you pay by paper check, it's two weeks before.

 

Very similar situation here:

 

CC - I pay by credit card for the cash back, no extra fee tacked on

 

University - pay by e-check which doesn't have an extra fee, sometimes use the payment plan which adds a small flat fee (not percentage) depending on our cash flow situation; they do have an extra fee to pay be credit card because they use an outside processor and the fee goes to the outside entity, the university stresses that they do not get any extra in this transaction

 

Other expenses, including textbooks, supplies, and parking pass are all charged to credit card for the cash back.

[MerryAtHope]

No fee for using a CC at our CC either :-).

 

 

Yes, but that's true of everything. Auto insurance for example. Its more work to process multiple payments than just one a year.

 

Our Auto Insurance used to be that way, but earlier this year I noticed that wasn't true any more. I'm not sure when they changed, and I triple-checked because I couldn't believe they changed--then I gladly switched to monthly auto-withdrawls. 

[plansrme]

As best as I can tell, the online paying system intuits how much money is in my bank account and then asks for that amount.  Plus 3% if I don't pay during the twelve-minute window I am given to do so.

[8filltheheart]

E-check.

[Hoggirl]

Also e-check before each quarter begins. We do receive a monthly bill (also paid by e-check) for copies and other incidentals. Usually quite small. We are thankful to only have two more "big ones" to go!

[regentrude]

e-check each quarter/semester. Sadly, neither school takes CC without an additional fee.

[SparklyUnicorn]

The CC college we go to does offer payment plans.  There is a $25 fee.  Otherwise basically it is pay when it's due type of thing.  I use a credit card (no additional fee for using one).  I don't recall seeing any sort of e-check option.  Maybe they take regular checks, but I'm not sure. 

 

 

 

 

[DawnM]

Yeah, Community College is easier to pay, as I can use a credit card.....but the 4 year school seems to do things much differently.