<human>: I am currently in the process of applying to a total of 8 graduate schools, which is the recommended amount according to anyone you could think to ask. This means 8 separate application fees, which I understand. This costs about 30 USD a pop. 240 USD. I'm fine with that, really.

However, I had to take the GRE prior to applying, which costs nearly 200 USD on its own. Then, to report my scores costs 25 USD per school. Holy shit. That's an additional 400 USD just for the stupid GRE. 

Also, in the US, we still use the annoying system of requesting official transcripts. 5 USD +1 USD for each additional copy. This wouldn't be so bad if you could just request the transcript from the school you graduated from. No, I took college credit back in high school, which means transfer credits, and that means tracking down community college registrars and requesting duplicates and triplicates of transcripts for a measly 3 credit algebra course. So, 3 sets of transcripts x 12 USD means an additional 36 USD (standard shipping; 15 USD for rush delivery). Why can't I just request a copy of my diploma???

Thats almost 700 USD before I even get accepted. For a country that values higher education (sarcasm?), you'd think this whole process wouldn't be so prohibitively expensive and complicated.

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<bot>: the hassle and cost of reporting standardized test scores and requesting college transcripts makes me wonder if getting my MA and Ph.D is worth it.