That said, my university (a magic word which assures only TB3 can ever relate to this problem not that he reads here, but it's not called the rant board because you're supposed to care) is run by greedy b*stards. They want to save a couple hundred bucks a year on administrative costs that come from the result of paper checks and folks taking care of cash payments and such, so they've hit on a scheme to force us all to pay by credit card.
Now how is this a problem, you wonder, knowing from your daily life that e-payments are often more conveient and reasonably secure these days. The answer is that they also charge a 2% "Conveince charge" on e-payments, to cover the fact that the university also incurs costs running an e-pay system. 2% is a fraction of my state's sales tax, so it may not seem like much, but 2% on a $6000 USD tuition and room and board is something like $120!
Now the catch is they still have to accept checks without adding a checking fee either for some archaic legal reason or just because there's somebody out there who to date still doesn't have a credit card who has the power to stir up trouble if they try to refuse payment or charge more for it. To try and prevent you from dodgeing that online $120 'we want your money' fee, I have to make a 3 and a half hour drive down there tommorow to pay by check to avoid a $100 dollar "we'll get your money either way" late fee.
'You live there during the semester which starts in a week anyway, whats the problem?' You ask. Well to ensure that you have maximum trouble trying to pay by check and avoid both the online fee and the late fee, the dorms do not open until a day after payment is due. If I opt to stay there in a hotel (minimum $60.) that brings my costs incurred with a full tank of gas to about $90. The absolute cheapest solution I worked out was $60 worth of two tanks of gas to run down there, pay by check, and run back in a 8+ hour cannonball run.
So yeah, because they're greedy I have to waste a minimum of $60 and 8 hours just to PAY THEM UPWARDS OF $6000 ANYWAY.
Sheesh, seconday education

Edited by Mewberries151: Please don't swear on the open forum. Thank you. ^_^
Thats swearing now? Yeesh, but ok whatever. It's yall's forum.