fees, fees and more fees.

Okay, Rhodes, we all feel we've given you a fair opportunity to redeem yourself, but you keep digging your hole deeper and deeper.

Today I found out that I will be charged R1750 for "orientation fees". Orientation fees? Really? Because the actual orientation process took about 2 days total, involved a lecture on computers, a lecture on grahamstown history, a walking tour and information on how to register for classes. Really, most of it was over in a day. So what I should be paying for is room and board, right? Well room and board for the extended time should have cost me around R1099. So....my other $100 is going towards...one day of shitty orientation. Thanks, Rhodes, thanks a lot. And thank you, Willamette, for making me pay for this out-of-pocket and not giving me ANY indication what-so-ever that this type of fee would be incurred on my account. Again, couldn't appreciate it more.

So they said we'd get extraneous fees. What they meant was we'd have to pay for printing, for anything given to us in class, for orientation, and to stay any later than 2 days after our final (or to change our flight as the case may be). Did we get any sort of estimate as to what this might cost? No. Were we expecting fees of this nature? No. We were expecting...school supplies, internet, perhaps an ethernet cable....Not this shit. Not $330 just in fees.

So we, as the international students from Willamette University speak in one voice as we declare that this is completely unfair, unrealistic, and most of all: bullshit. Since we are paying Willamette's tuition we should at LEAST not have to pay for "orientation." Particularly since Rhodes, apparently, hasn't sent anyone to WU anyway. Why should I pay for some non-existant kid's Willamette education? IF THEY AREN'T ATTENDING THE SCHOOL I SHOULDN'T BE TAKING ON THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN STUDENT LOANS TO SUPPORT THEM. My debt should be going towards my time in South Africa, thank you very much.

And for all you hypothetical WU students considering going to Rhodes: Don't do exchange. Just take a leave of absence and do it on your own. Its MUCH, MUCH cheaper in the long run. And buy two one-way tickets, because changing your flights is a HUGE hassle.