Arrowhead seniors have begun the process of applying to college for the 2024-2025 school year. Since freshman year, students have been able to use Xello to find information regarding potential colleges, majors, and careers.
“I have used Xello outside of school,” says senior Eden Harrison.
Xello is a website that takes information about careers or colleges and organizes them in one place. Xello also features a variety of quizzes that can determine learning style or possible majors or careers.
“I haven’t referenced [Xello] a ton,” says senior Alaina Kwiatkowski.
While it is not required, Arrowhead counselors encourage students to use Xello as a resource during the college research process.
According to a college application checklist shared by Arrowhead North campus Counselors, “[students should] reference Xello plan and resources often.”
Xello can help students determine the price of a college, location, common majors, and the price of any application fees.
“I’m applying to three schools, one is a UW school and the others are in Minnesota and Michigan. All of which change an application fee of 100 dollars or less,” says Harrison.
According to minnstate.edu, Minnesota State universities have application fees ranging up to 20 dollars. Private universities in Minnesota can charge application fees higher than 20 dollars.
“Probably five or six schools…I have two top [schools], St. Norberts and Eau Claire,” says Kwiatkowski.
Not all universities charge an admission fee. According to Commonapp.org, St. Norbert’s college charges no admission fee but the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire has an admission fee of 25 dollars. Some schools have even larger fees. University of Wisconsin Madison has a 70 dollar application fee for first year students.
“I think it’s crazy how much money it costs to just apply,” says senior Emily Biwer.
It is typical for colleges to change an admission fee. According to usnews.com the average fee for an application in the United States is 45 dollars. Of the 64 schools with the highest application fee 78 dollars is the average. The cost of the application can typically depend on whether the college is public or private and how prestigious the school is.
“The fees are ridiculous,” says Kwiatkowski.
