Free shipping is a thing in all sorts of businesses. Online is pretty common but I've purchased things in local stores and had them shipped free to my door. But one university will give out no such free lunch.

If you attend South Dakota State University in Brookings and graduate from one of their fine programs, you will have earned a degree that will "take you anywhere," but they won't send it anywhere without digging one last ruthless fee out of you.

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SDSU graduates told us that the university charges $25 to send diplomas in the mail to wherever you live after graduation. The SDSU website shows that they also charge an insulting credit card transaction fee of 2.5 percent.

As unbelievable as it sounds, we had a SDSU employee call in and verify what numerous people told us over text message. Diplomas can be picked up for free in the registrar's office in Brookings, but if you move to start your career after graduation, pay up. This is not for a second or duplicate diploma either, it is for new SDSU graduates.

One person told us they didn't even have the pick up option when they graduated.

I graduated from SDSU during Covid so picking up my diploma literally wasn't an option so had to pay to ship it.

This is so messed up and wrong.

When I graduated from Black Hills State University, where I transferred to after leaving SDSU, my diploma arrived in the mail sometime that summer after graduation. It is still that way. There is no mention of "ordering diplomas." Their website merely mentions they will get a mailing about where the diploma will be sent and to make sure they have the right address.

The average cost for a South Dakota resident to attend SDSU for a year is $17,758 if they live in a dorm and buy a meal plan, and $10,500 if you live don't pay for those extras. The typical 4-year path, after being extorted for two years by the Board of Regents to overpay for half of a dorm room and bland meal plan, would cost $56,516.

I guess a new Camaro's worth of tuition and fees isn't enough to have to send out your diploma for less than $10 in a padded Priority Mail flat rate envelope, instead they send it first class and upcharge you plus card fees.

Is it too much to ask that graduates not be forced to pay for their diplomas to be mailed to them? Or could you pass the hat at a football game a few times to cover that cost?

9 Driving Laws in South Dakota that Might Surprise You, Some You Didn't Know Existed

There are some things you can do on South Dakota roads that you may have once thought illegal but aren't. Like, can you ride in the back of a pickup, or drive barefoot in South Dakota?

While perusing the South Dakota Department of Public Safety I was reminded of some things that come up in conversation quite often.

Here are a few to ponder:

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