What sort of a financial situation would one need to be in to qualify for fee waivers (Like to Harvard or stanford). Is there any way to know if you qualify?
What is your financial situation?
Have you tried google?
I just saw some forms and vague info. On college board for example, it just says you can get 4 if you have had fee waivers in past (I have not). I did notice a BOG fee waiver which I am clearly not eligible for (our income is not 30k) but it is for community colleges, not privates, and I thought that circumstances may ve different. Especially with all the complications of taxes etc. I wanted to know if someone had a general estimate. I’ll probably talk to a counselor about it.
Financial situation is relatively stable. Family of 4 earning 100k a year with a college student (in community). I don’t think we qualify but I don’t want to waste my parents money so I wish to explore all possibilites.
Sorry if I come off as unresearched. I’m not too familiar with such things and Google sometimes speaks in circles.
That is too high an income for fee waivers. Although I don’t have a handy citation for you, fee waivers are for low income people and would generally be 40k or less. Since you mentioned BOG waiver I take it you are in CA? fyi, the UC and CSU applications have instant fee waiver on the application, I think based on AGI (adjusted gross income.) BOG has to do with tuition for low income at a CC, it has nothing to do with application fee waivers to private colleges.
Fee waivers are for low income students - for example those who qualify for free or reduced price school lunch. Your family’s 100k income is too high.
I thought so. Thanks for your informative response @madison08 @BrownParent
However, a lot of schools offer their own fee waivers for visiting, applying online directly (not common app), for NHS or other honors. There were a lot more available than I knew about. My daughter’s school offered them for anyone who applied in July (very early, but since it is a state school most h.s. counselors know about it). It doesn’t hurt to ask if any of the schools you are interested in have them.
@twoinanddone: Even for these?
[Quote=andydis]
Like to Harvard or stanford
Harvard and Stanford have some generous FA even for families of that income level so maybe that extends to fee waivers?
It wouldn’t hurt to inquire if you would qualify.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-31/pdf/2015-07358.pdf
Yes, you would not qualify for reduced lunch on that income, even if you were a family of 8 in Alaska.
Quick google search “Harvard application fee waiver” returned this result:
https://college.harvard.edu/frequently-asked-questions
Stanford says the following: http://admission.stanford.edu/application/deadlines/fee.html
Do you have stats to make it likely that you would be accepted at either or both? Did your family run the net price calculator and look at the cost of each that you might expect and are they willing to pay for one, but not the other?
Can you get a job and help pay for the fees if your parents don’t want to pay for both?
One can always ask!
Yale is pretty generous with fee waivers
http://admissions.yale.edu/fee-waiver
Thank you all so much @Dragonflygarden @twoinanddone @mommdc. I really appreciate your input! I will probably contact some of the schools about a fee waiver. And as for the actual price, I’m planning on waiting to look into it after acceptance. I applied to many match and safeties so as to receive merit aid in the case that financial aid in the reach schools (in the case I get accepted) are insufficient and contacting the school is not fruitful. Again, I’d like to thank you all so much for giving me your advises. I’m a bit ignorant since it’s my first time going to college (but then again, how many times will I go?) and a lot of what my parents know are outdated.
For a family of 4 earning $100,000 is it a “significant financial hardship” to pay an $80 application fee?
If I earned 100k it’d be a different matter. I try to not to use my parents money carelessly. Yes, they are willing to pay 8 0, or maybe even 50k a year for me. But I will not ask them for that. Be frugal with others money and be generous with your own. That is how I try to live. And I just wanted to ask. Honestly, I doubt I can even get any and will just apply with the fee waivers I was sent due to SAT score and whatnot. Also, I am applying to about 20 schools to fully explore merit aid, and unfortunately, 80 dollars times 20 is 1600, and SAT scores, and transcripts from high school, college etc. need to be sent. I understand I am ignorant but I felt horrific after learning that I wasted my parents money sending sat scores to multiple UCs. I am grateful to my parents and I do not want to abuse their affection. I appreciate that you informed me @Madison85 and I’m sorry if I seemed really ignorant/annoying. I really appreciate the time and help that members of this website offer.
*A reason that I thought I might qualify was because I saw that harvard and stanford practically gave full scholarships to lower middle class families according to their website. I though that other forms of aid may also be possible. I don’t want to keep missing opportunities. I intend on applying to outside scholarships to subsidy my college costs as well.
That is the price of doing business. By choosing to apply to so many schools you are making a choice that may not be wise. If the NPC is nowhere near what your parents will pay then you are wasting by applying.
I understand the need to not pay if it is going to be offered for free, but don’t be penny wise and pound foolish if you are on a merit hunt. You also could work to pay for some of that. See what is available over the holidays…
You could use your own job earnings to pay the fees if you feel bad about using your parents. Do you have money saved from your summer job?
You have chosen to apply to twenty schools. If money is THAT tight, you might want to vet your list a little better.
What kind of “fee waiver” did you get for your SAT score…do tell? It could help someone else.
Harvard and Stanford give need based aid to MIDDLE income families which is where your $100,000 a year family income would be. It’s actually well above the mean family incime in this country…which hovers around $50,000 a year.
These schools give extremely generous aid to accepted low income students. With an income of $100,000 a year, your family would not qualify as a low income family.
Thanks for all your advise. I won’t be applying for fee waivers. Fee waivers are sometimes offered to high scoring students as with Rice and some other schools. I wish to apply to more schools to compare aid. I’ve seen far too many who were shut out. And I believe that spending 5k now is better than 200k in the future. From summer jobs, I have less than 1k. My parents suggest studying and getting merit aid (to the low matches and safeties) is better than working at McDonald’s now, although I plan on working once I enter college (my parents are currently opposed to unskilled labor. They think applying for scholarships, reading books, studying, having fun, is more important). I’m really sorry I seem so arrogant. I now realize how ignorant of a question I asked although I do not regret asking because of all the invaluable information I received. Again, thanks so much for helping me understand my situation better. I was mistaken about my financial situation (it comes as no surprise now that my parents told me to not bother). I’ll divert my attention to outside scholarships instead once my college applications are complete and look into jobs.