<p>I am an international. I had asked the colleges whether I could apply for an Application Fee Waiver or not. They came with a jolly "yes!!". Well ... does asking for an application fee waiver put on you some kind of black-mark or something?? It may sound ridiculous but I was thinking why would the adcoms work for free? And btw, what is the process for asking for a fee waiver? Thanks!!</p>
<p>No, it doesn't matter. Otherwise they probably wouldn't offer fee waivers. You're supposed to get a fee waiver if your family has a tough time affording money for all the applications.</p>
<p>The process is usually to fill out a short form requesting the waiver and verifying that your total family income is below a certain level (amount varies depending on total number of family members, e.g., about $40,000 for a family of 3, a little higher for larger families). That you requested a fee waiver and received one has no impact on anything -- adcoms are salaried employees and don't care one way or the other whether you paid an applicaton fee. However, the fact that you may not be able to afford the cost of college can be a deciding factor against you at many colleges in the US as an international because majority of colleges, including most if not all public universities, do not offer need based financial aid to internationals and usually require you to submit proof of your being able to pay for first year costs in order to even be considered for admission as an international.</p>
<p>I would also double check on whether the fee waivers are available for international students -- while many schools offer fee waivers for US students, many do not offer them for internationals.</p>
<p>almost all of the top colleges do offer fee waivers to international student, but write to each one you're applying to and make sure.</p>