Two-hundred and ten dollars. The things I could do with that money are endless. I could fly to a city I’ve never been to before, I could go to five A’s games this summer, I could eat at fancy restaurants or learn to skydive or scuba.

But this money won’t be going towards those activities. This is the number I see on my screen when I am about to purchase my AP exams. Two-hundred and ten dollars, $105 a test.

But what choice do I have? Isn’t one of the main goals of grinding through 170-plus AP and honors periods each year to eventually ace the AP exam? Yes, I have learned a tremendous amount from these courses, and will take a lot away. But for them to ultimately come down to a $105 stack of papers to complete in four hours is like if Frodo walked all the way to Mordor and then just had to pay to open a pit of lava to drop the ring in.

But the issue isn’t about the value of taking the exams. I acknowledge their benefits, which is why I’m taking them in the first place.

What I do have a problem with is the price.

After grueling months of SAT or ACT prep, with my parents spending immeasurable amounts of money on rigorous tutoring and the tests themselves, I would think I’ve gotten through the worst of it. Although many would say the senior college bombshell is worse, I cannot help but notice the satisfaction that comes with the respite after taking an SAT.

Then I am reminded that I am not done yet.

Fifty dollars I could do, even sixty. Seventy is pushing it a little, and the standard eighty dollars that most schools charge is incomprehensible. But $105 per test?

I would think after all the trials us students have been through with standardized testing, the College Board would give us a break. Let our parents spend the majority of the money on the biggies: the SAT/ACT, and the occasional subject test. But climbing over another test fee mountain is like running a marathon and seeing the finish line run away from you.

The College Board is non-profit. The money we spend goes to test-makers, test-testers, materials, proctors, and graders. In theory, it wouldn’t take that much to make a test. But the College Board has really challenged that notion.

Searching the internet about fee complaints, I’m coming across people who are kvetching about $85 dollar exam fees. I chuckle. Try twenty dollars more. So what’s up Piedmont?

According to The Huffington Post and New York Times, many schools actually incentivize students to succeed by rewarding cash “prizes” to high scorers. Many other schools even pay for students to take the AP exams due to low enrollment.

But after browsing through the exam fee history on the College Board website, I realize that Piedmont’s test prices aren’t too extreme, compared to what the standard is now. For the 2013 year, an AP test has risen to $89 a pop, compared to previous years, when the price has been consistently in the seventy dollar range.

But as standard AP test prices rise, will those of Piedmont rise too?

As of now, I don’t know. But I do hope prospective AP test takers won’t have to be paying a fortune for course closure.

Finally, we all feel pressure to do well on tests. Whether it’s from ourselves, parents, or teachers, it’s something that can bring us down or motivate us. But for me, the addition of high cost makes my pressure level spiral out of control. Knowing that I could possibly get a so-so or below average score and seeing $105 dollars go out the window gives me nightmares.

But for now, I will have to deal with it. I will have to work my best to ensure that doesn’t happen, and I will have to make sure that $210 dollars out of my parent’s pockets goes to “good” use.