With the deadline for college applications quickly approaching, you might still be compiling the list of universities you’re interested in attending, either on your own or with the help of a guidance counselor or college admissions consultant. Having an extensive list is important. One tip that I have is to not put all your eggs in one basket — consider every option that you have and stay open-minded. Long story short, I advise you to apply to a lot of schools.
However, one barrier to taking the mass-application route is the application fees. Most colleges and universities charge between $35 and $75 per application. It is possible to beat these fees, however, through an application fee waiver. An application fee waiver relinquishes the fee on applications. This is commonly used for those with financial needs. Typically, fee waivers are built into the application. However, in some cases, you may need to contact the university directly to request that your application fee be waived. Many universities today are offering fee waivers to better accommodate students who may not have the financial means to apply to their dream school. Here are 12 colleges and universities that offer application fee waivers.
- Georgetown University
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Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. accepts application fee waivers that are submitted by your school’s guidance counselor through the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). Once this form is submitted and you are found eligible, you will be contacted by the university about the waiver process.
- University of Oregon
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University of Oregon offers an application fee waiver for eligible students. To request a waiver, you have to apply on your preferred platform, fill out the fee waiver form, and indicate if you fit any of the eligibility requirements.
- American University
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American University in Washington, D.C. gives the option to pay for an application fee through the Common App. With the Common App, you have the ability to apply to multiple colleges at once. However, American University requires that you do your application separately to redeem the fee waiver.
- All University of California Schools
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University of California offers application fee waivers for eligible students. To apply, you must complete the waiver application online. This waiver applies for all nine UC universities.
- New York University
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NYU offers an application fee waiver through the Common App as well. The only step is to check “yes” when it asks if you would like to request for a waiver. Very simple!
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
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North Carolina A&T State University accepts fee waivers through the College Board as well as the NACAC. The university requests that applicants send the fee waivers through postal or an electronic transcript service.
- Texas Southern University
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Texas Southern University in Houston offers a fee waiver application for prospective students. To request one, all you have to do is fill out an application to confirm your eligibility!
- Syracuse University
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Syracuse University offers an application waiver in various ways, including through the NACAC and through your school’s guidance counselor, who can submit a fee waiver to the university directly.
- University of Maryland, College Park
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University of Maryland, College Park offers application fee waivers to qualifying students who apply through Common App or provide documentation of a fee waiver from their guidance counselor.
- University of Chicago
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When applying to the University of Chicago, you can apply for a fee waiver after submitting your application. To do so, just go through the portal and submit a fee waiver request.
- Harvard University
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If you’re thinking of applying to any Ivies, it’s good to note that Harvard accepts fee waiver requests. All you need to do is check “yes” for fee waiver when applying through Common App.
- The Ohio State University
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The Ohio State University offers application fee waivers for qualifying students. In order to qualify, the university must receive a letter from a secondary school or guidance counselor to verify eligibility.
This list is not exhaustive, so as you’re looking into schools you might want to apply to, check out their website to see what they say about application fee waivers. You can also ask your guidance counselor if they might be able to help you figure out a way to get the fee waived, if it’s not immediately obvious, or reach out to an admissions representative for that school. Good luck!