While some colleges have grown more lenient when it comes to letting students pay for tuition with a credit card, it can come with a hidden cost, according to a CreditCards.com report released Tuesday.

Tuition payments options such as taking out student loans tend to be more common, but credit cards can be a more convenient tuition payment method, the report found. This isn’t to say it’s a particular popular route. Just, 2% of families paid off college tuition with a credit card in 2015.

For every tuition payment made with a credit card, students are also charged added fees — called “convenience fees” — of 2.62% on average, CreditCards.com found. To put it in perspective: For every $10,000 worth of college tuition paid for via credit card, students also charged $262 in convenience fees.

And over the course of four years, they can quickly add up.

“If your college charges a high convenience fee, it’s not worth paying your tuition with a credit card,” Matt Schulz, a CreditCards.com senior analyst, wrote in a press release obtained by USA TODAY College. “Especially if you have outstanding student loan debt, it’s unnecessary to dig yourself more deeply into debt just to pay with plastic.”

This isn’t to say schools profit from these convenience fees. Rather, Schulz tells USA TODAY College the money goes to third party companies that help process the credit card transactions.

Convenience fees vary by institution, and the survey found community colleges to be the “most college-friendly institution” with credit card convenience fees. Ninety-seven percent of community colleges accept payments via credit card but only 8% charge a convenience fee. Private institutions fell at the other end of the spectrum, with 77% accepting credit card payments and 51% charging a convenience fee.

“If you need long-term financing, first look to federal student loans and then private student loans before using a credit card,” College Aid Planner financial planner Joseph Orsolini told CreditCards.com. “Or pick a different, cheaper college. Credit cards are not designed to finance long-term debt such as student loans.”

Schulz recommends students do their research before deciding whether to pay for tuition with a credit card since fees vary from school to school.

“The sooner you find out about these fees, the more informed decision you’ll make.”

CreditCards.com surveyed 300 US public, private and community colleges to create its report.

Source: USA TODAY