Hidden costs are one of the biggest obstacles students face today, and sometimes they don’t even come with a guarantee. Prior to the Spring 2026 semester, students were charged a $500 deposit which was fully refundable. With a new policy change, students are required to pay a $100 non-refundable application fee.
For a school that costs upwards of $100,000 annually, $100 may seem like nothing. However, for the many students who are already stretching their budget to cover housing costs, it becomes something else entirely: the cost of applying for housing without any guarantee of receiving it.
This charge supports housing operations as a whole, but the University has not specified whether it will be credited to a student’s personal housing balance. Returning students are not guaranteed housing at UM, so if they want to live on campus, they have to find a spot through the lottery system…