Algonquin College students navigate tuition and fee costs

The deadline to withdraw from the winter term with a full refund passed on Jan. 17, leaving students who remain enrolled navigating the financial challenges of paying their tuition and mandatory fees.

Sundus Farah is a second-level student in community and justice services. The Ontario Student Assistance Program covers her tuition fee, but she still feels stressed.

Farah said it is too much to pay for the services she doesn’t use, such as athletics and activities fees.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, Algonquin College charged ancillary and administrative fees of $160 for athletics and $217.37 per term for student activities. These fees apply to all full-time post-secondary, graduate certificate and bachelor’s degree students.

“I think the college can take out those unnecessary fees for those people, like people who drive to school, but they still need to pay the U-Pass fee,” Farah added.

Harsh Dama, a Level 4 international student in the financial services program, said he worked two part-time jobs during the summer break to pay for all the fees.

Dama saved money using Guaranteed Investment Certificates.

“I was receiving monthly payments from my bank. I was saving it, but just in case I hadn’t secured a part-time job. I managed it somehow,” Dama said. “It’s really hard to save money for the fees.”

Dama said he uses the college services, “but it’s still too expensive.”

According to Ontario colleges, the average tuition cost for one academic year at an Ontario college varies by program type. Diploma programs typically cost around $2,400, graduate certificate programs are $3,600, bachelor’s degree programs average $6,100 and collaborative programs are approximately $5,000.

Zolan Howard, a Level 2 student in the music and industry program, transferred from the business law program at Trent University. OSAP covered his tuition and he said he’s not stressed about paying back the loan.

Howard transferred to college because he felt that the university lacked a sense of community.

“I used to pay around $8,000 a year for university business courses, but I didn’t enjoy them,” he said. “For my program, I’m paying $16,000. I would say the course quality is good enough because the studio is amazing here, and I feel it is worth it despite the higher cost.”