The costs listed below are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. Their could be additional expenses not listed here. This page is meant to be a guide to help with planning. The costs will vary greatly from country to country and many times from school to school. It is important to check the requirements, tuition and fees for each school directly from their website. That should be the most current information.
English Proficiency Exams: TOEFL: $220, IELTS $255, or Duolingo $49
ACT: $150 Mostly just for US; many students take more than once.
SAT: $100+ Mostly just for US. Cost depends on which test.
Application Fees: 0-$150 Each application submitted could have a fee. In the US, it could cost up to $100 per application. Most are around $50 each. In Canada, the applications could cost up to $150 each. In the UK, $30 for up to 5 applications.
Test Sending Fee: Universities usually require ACT, SAT, and TOEFL come directly from the testing company. Each time it is sent there is a fee: ACT $13, SAT $12, TOEFL $20
Housing Application: Up to $75 in addition to applying for the university, you might need to apply to live on campus. Some universities have limited housing so they recommend applying for housing even before the student is accepted. Usually, this does not need to happen until after the student is accepted.
When discussing what your university budget is, it is usually most helpful to consider what your "all in" budget is. It doesn't matter if you can afford tuition if you can't afford to live and eat there, unless you want to consider an online education (not usually an option). Universities will refer to the total of these of expenses as the "Cost of Attendance" or "Cost of Education"
Tuition: The cost of attending classes will need to be paid each term before the term starts.
Enrollment Deposit: The amount depends on the university, usually $500 up to one term's tuition. After the student is accepted and they have chosen which university they wish to attend, they will be required by some schools to pay an enrollment deposit to confirm their acceptance. In the US, that is by May 1. Students may only deposit to one US university.
Room & Board/Housing and Food:
Housing Deposit: After a student has accepted their enrollment, they might need to pay a housing deposit to hold a room for them.
Flights: Cost will vary greatly depending on when you travel, where you are going and even how
Visa Fees: US- SEVIS Fee $350 and application fee $160; At the time of the visa process, many if not most will require a personal bank statement showing enough money in the account to pay for one year's university expenses. Visa process could also require medical check-up and passport photos.
Health Insurance: Many countries will require university students to have health insurance. If the family has health insurance that covers the student internationally and provide proper documentation of it, this requirement could be waived.
Misc. Fees: In addition to tuition, room and board, and health insurance, universities will often have a list of other required fees which could include technology fee, student activities fee, orientation fee, wellness fee, etc. These fees are not optional and the university should include those in the total cost of attendance.
Books and supplies: The first term will be the most expensive until the student learns where the best resources are for their university's textbooks. Textbooks and supplies could be over $1000 per year.
Settling in expenses: Consider what will be needed to live at university. Clothes, linens, things to make it feel like home, electronics (phone, computer, etc), toiletries, etc. What will you bring from home and what is better to wait to get where you will be living? What is allowed in the housing? The university will most likely be able to provide you with a packing list.