There’s nothing better than being able to grab a late-night snack with friends from “the Rat,” — officially known as the Bobcat Den — but have you ever stopped to really look at the prices of what you buy?

As I was waiting in line to pay for my meal recently, I decided to look at the price tags on the fridge next to me. The cost of the Dunkin’ creamer struck me, and I kept the number in mind. As I was walking back to my dorm, I looked up the product online.

At Target, the creamer costs $3.99. At the Rat, it costs $9.99.

A half-gallon of milk? $6.99 from the Rat, and $2.79 from Target. TGI Friday’s boneless chicken bites? $10.89 from the Rat, and $7.24 from Walmart. The list goes on.

It’s quite obvious that Quinnipiac is overcharging students for snacks, meals, candy and drinks when most of us already pay a decent amount of money to attend this university. Frankly, I find it ridiculous that a singular pickle from the Rat costs $3.99 while a jar of pickles costs $2.49 from Target.

It’s extremely inconvenient that the Mount Carmel Campus dining hall closes at 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 p.m. on weekends, forcing students to be overcharged at the Rat for the day-to-day essentials.

Even then, the dining hall prices aren’t far off from the Rat’s.

One bag of chips costs $4.09, while a box of 18 assorted bags of chips costs $9.98 from Walmart. One 28-ounce bottle of Gatorade costs $3.39, while at Walmart it costs $1.77. A bag of Swedish Fish costs $4.09, compared to $1.28 from Walmart.

To make matters worse, if you live on the York Hill Campus, the prices don’t improve. A 16-ounce jar of JIF peanut butter is $7.99, whereas at Walmart it’s $2.42. A bag of beef jerky is $12.99, it’s $3.97 at Walmart. Finally, a Milky Way share size candy bar is $4.29, at Walmart it’s $2.28.

Additionally, most students living on the Mount Carmel Campus don’t have their own ways of transportation to get to shopping centers.

While I understand students can take the shuttle to stores to buy these items for a lower price, we shouldn’t have to carve out an entire day for a shopping trip that could be done on campus if items were sold at reasonable prices.

The shuttles to local shopping centers also only run on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at specific times. Not everyone is available to go grocery shopping on those days.

Since I live close to campus, I’m able to go grocery shopping twice a week to avoid getting scammed by the dining system. For those who are less fortunate, I would suggest looking into Instacart+.

With this delivery service, you can subscribe for $9.99 a month and when you order $35 of groceries or more, it offers unlimited free delivery. That way, you’re able to purchase items in bulk for less than what the Rat and dining halls offer.

I can’t find any justification other than Quinnipiac clearly choosing economic prosperity over the needs of its students. Even with the fees Quinnipiac has to pay to stock these goods, students are paying thousands of dollars to go here. The university could make up money in other ways.

Do yourself a favor: skip the shopping spree at the Rat and remember to stock up on these items when possible from local grocery stores. Your wallet will thank you later.