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DELPHOS — Those wishing to acquire a General Equivalency Degree (GED) should consider doing so before this coming August. Sara Ricker, coordinator of ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education), the GED program at Vantage Career Center, says the price is expected to triple after that point.

“The classes are free but right now you pay $40 for the test,” she said. “In August, it will go from being pencil and paper to being all on computer. They’re estimating the new price will be around $120 because now we’ll have to pay for software updates and everything else.”

The registration deadline for the old test is Aug. 9. The new computer-based GED test will be initiated Jan. 1, 2014.

“You have to be an adult. We do take 16-18-year-olds but there’s a lot of extra paperwork,” Ricker said. “Most of the time our students are people who didn’t finish high school or those who have been out of high school for a while and would like to pursue a four-year degree but need a refresher to build their skills up first.”