Don't pay the application fees!

Applying to College
1

<p>This is what I realized after paying almost $500 to different colleges as app fees: I could have saved all that money...
I know that there is the option to apply for a waiver. But even if you don't qualify for that, from what I saw, you can just send a polite and appropriately detailed note to the college saying that it causes trouble for your family to pay that amount (of course ONLY if it really does!) - and there's a nice chance that they will still look through your application and accept the note as a waiver. I don't think many colleges will send you an email saying that you still have to pay that fee. </p>

<p>This is something I would not have even thought of as an applicant, being scared of the admissions officers and trying to appeal to every college...but really, you have nothing to lose by trying this method while you might get to save a lot. I would have been grateful for this piece of advice when I was applying so I thought I'd share.</p>

<p>P.s.: I'm sure that there are only very few students who act this way because of the extreme tension and uncertainty about the whole application process and the fear of lowering the chances of admission. But think of it rationally: this is highly unlikely to affect the admissions decision.</p>

<p>Do you guys agree?</p>

2

<p>I didn’t want to pay all that in app fees. But given the amount I will be spending on college in the next 4 years, seemed like little more than a drop in the bucket.</p>

3

<p>I did that for the 9 school I applied to with the common application. Out of the 9 schools I only paid for 3 :slight_smile: And my parents make over $120,000, but then again my parents wouldn’t have been able to afford all 9 anyway.</p>

4

<p>I was able to use waivers. They’re on the discretion of guidance counselors, though I automatically qualified for being on a free/reduced price lunch program.</p>

<p>If you really can’t pay for some reason, talk to your counselor, they should help.</p>