Free college applications

Parents Forum
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<p>I'm trying to assemble - or find - a list of colleges which do not charge application fees for online, electronic applications. (If they don't charge for paper apps, that would be good to know too). I plan to put some limits on how much my d. can spend on apps next year - so I think it will be useful to budgeting to know which colleges can be added to the list without extra cost.</p>

<p>Anyway, I've only started, but so far I have: </p>

<p>Hobart & William Smith
Lewis & Clark<br>
Mt. Holyoke </p>

<p>I'd welcome additions to the list.</p>

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<p>Wellesley- no fee if you apply online.</p>

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<p>American (online only)</p>

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<p>I think Tulane does a free on-line application</p>

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<p>Notre Dame <a href="http://www.notredamecollege.edu/application/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.notredamecollege.edu/application/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think that this is a good list that you are putting together :)</p>

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<p>Centre College -<a href="http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/howtoapply.html"&gt;http://www.centre.edu/web/admission/howtoapply.html&lt;/a>
Lynchburg College - <a href="http://www.lynchburg.edu/enroll/application-front-page.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lynchburg.edu/enroll/application-front-page.htm&lt;/a>
Peabody College at Vanderbuilt-<a href="http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/apply.htm"&gt;http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/apply.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology -
<a href="http://www.rose-hulman.edu/admissions/application/freshman.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.rose-hulman.edu/admissions/application/freshman.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also, we received admission fee waiver at several Universities by just asking while attending admissions presentation/sessions. You may want to add this to your list.</p>

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<p>Lycoming -<a href="http://www.lycoming.edu/admiss/application/admisapp.htm"&gt;http://www.lycoming.edu/admiss/application/admisapp.htm&lt;/a>
Allegheny- <a href="http://www.allegheny.edu/admissions/apply/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.allegheny.edu/admissions/apply/&lt;/a>
Smith- <a href="http://www.applyweb.com/apply/smith/intl_instruct.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.applyweb.com/apply/smith/intl_instruct.html&lt;/a>
Guilford- <a href="http://www.ncmentor.org/applications/nc_independents_common_app/apply.html?application_id=1566%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ncmentor.org/applications/nc_independents_common_app/apply.html?application_id=1566&lt;/a>
LeMoyne- <a href="http://www.xap.com/Applications/The_Common_Application/apply.html?application_id=368%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.xap.com/Applications/The_Common_Application/apply.html?application_id=368&lt;/a>
Hood College- <a href="http://www.hood.edu/admissions/index.cfm?pid=/admissions/app/_applyOnline.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hood.edu/admissions/index.cfm?pid=/admissions/app/_applyOnline.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Colgate has no fee for online applications; I think U of Rochester doesn't. If you get a common app, it lists the fees and whether they waive it for online apps.</p>

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<p>University of Northern Colorado is free to apply to if your combination GPA/SAT or ACT scores are above a certain number. I think this applies to either online or paper, but my son applied online.</p>

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<p>There is another variation - some schools solicit selected kids to do a "streamlined" and free app. Eg, S received such from Santa Clara U, called the Snapshot App - no fee, no essay, kind of a one-page fill in the blanks. I know Tulane did this (this may be what sybbie is referring to). S had already applied early via commonapp on-line with fee.</p>

<p>I don't know if there is any systematic way to id the schools I am speaking of. We believe S received the Santa Clara version based on our visit there and they are seeking to up the male ratio. Don't remember if he had had his SATs sent there. I think Tulane's version went out based on PSAT/SAT scores.</p>

<p>S received his from Santa Clara sometime in late Nov/early Dec.</p>

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<p>Kenyon - free online. Even if you do just the first, preliminary, part online and the rest by mail, it is free.</p>

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<p>Truman State U (Missouri) - free application</p>

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<p>Carleton - on their site or Common App site - fee is waived</p>

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<p>Rhodes, free on line.</p>

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<p>Baldwin-Wallace, free online
[there is still a conservatory app fee, though]</p>

<p>Valparaiso University, free online</p>

<p>Centenary College of Louisiana, no application fee for mail, online or common app</p>

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<p>workingforblue-
How did you pose your question that led to your getting app fees waived?? Was it need based or just for the asking?</p>

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<p>Wow! Thank you everyone for contributing. I'm going to post some comments, and then I will follow up a little later with the list I compile.</p>

<p>First, I want to especially thank Sybbie for including links to the pages on the sites. In checking out some other colleges, I found that they either no longer offer free apps or else there is no clear information on their web site as to whether a fee is charge. I am sure the policies probably change from year to year. So I decided to make a list of only those colleges where I could verify the policy. So Sybbie - thanks for making that part very easy for me - I know it took extra effort on your part. </p>

<p>No offense to anyone else -- I appreciate any name, even without links, because it only takes me about 2 minutes or so to find the web site and check. </p>

<p>Special thanks also to CynthiaR for the information about the common app. I turns out that the common app site has a 6-page chart with all the colleges, their app fees, application deadlines, and standardized tests required. I think this chart is a must-have for all of us parents of rising seniors - sure beats the whiteboard system I used 4 years ago with my son. The chart can be downloaded here:
<a href="http://app.commonapp.org/Additional_Forms/requirements.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://app.commonapp.org/Additional_Forms/requirements.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Also thanks to workingforblue for the suggestion to simply ask for a waiver -- that is one of those easy things that never occured to me, because I know that we would never qualify for a waiver based on financial hardship. But of course my problem -- which I am sure we all share -- is that while it easy to come up with $40 or $60 here and there.... it starts to add up to be quite a burden when the kid wants to apply to 10 colleges, plus you have to pay college board & css profile to send scores and reports to each one. </p>

<p>Finally, I just want to comment that I am amazed at how many really terrific colleges follow this practice -- as well as colleges that probably are excellent safety choices for our higher-achieving kids. I know that 4 years ago my son might not have applied to Lewis & Clark but for their policy - he ended up with a great financial aid package from them, and although he did not attend, he did visit and they were seriously in contention at the end. </p>

<p>My daughter kind of rolls her eyes when I suggest a seven-sister's college -- but with Smith, Wellesley and Mt. Holyoke on the list, you can't go wrong. So this can really broaden the landscape of college choices. I know from experience 4 years ago that once the college admits a student, or even recognizes a strong candidate - the college turns on the charm and takes over the job of trying to convince your kid of its merits. So it's probably no accident that those three schools show up on their list -- I wonder how many of their current students are girls who wouldn't never have applied otherwise. </p>

<p>So I think that this sort of information is extremely useful - especially for rounding out the list of matches and safeties - though it is probably also very nice to be able to add a reach like Carleton or Wellesley would be for my daughter, without wondering if you are simply throwing away the money.</p>

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<p>OK, here's a list. </p>

<p>The following are common app colleges that waive fees for the common app. submitted online; some may also have their own online apps or offer the same deal via other services:</p>

<p>Agnes Scott, Albright, Alfred, Allegheny, Arcadia, Baldin-Wallace, Binghamton, Bradley, Butler, Carleton, Case Wetern, Chatham, Colgate, Concordia, Denison, Elizbethtown, Emmanuel (Massachusetts), Grinnell, Guilford, Hamilton, Hartwick, Hiram, Hobart & William Smith, Hood, Kenyon, La Verne, Le Moyne, Lesley, Lewis & Clark, Loyola (New Orleans), Luther, Manhattanville, Marietta, Marquette, Nazareth, Notre Dame de Namur, U of Pacific, Queens U. of Charlotte, Rhodes, U of Rochester, St. Joseph's (Maine), St. Norbert, Salem (North Carolina), Spring Hill, Stevens Inst. of Tech, Susquehanna, Sweet Briar, Trinity U. (Texas), Union, Valparaiso, Washington & Jefferson, Wellesley, Westminster (Missouri), Westminster (Pennsylvania), Wilson, Wittenberg, Xavier (Ohio)</p>

<p>The following additional colleges waive fees for online applications submitted via their sites:</p>

<p>Centre, Coe, Lycoming, Lynchburg, Mt. Holyoke, Notre Dame College (Ohio), Peabody College of Vanderbilt U, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Smith, Truman State </p>

<p>I wasn't able to verify the practice for other colleges mentioned, or else I found that they no longer offer it. For example, American U. now offers a reduced fee for online apps, rather than no fee. </p>

<p>I'd also note that many colleges offer fee waivers to students in certain categories - I didn't include U. of Northern Colorado for that reason, as it takes a specific GPA/test score level to qualify (though admittedly they set the bar very low). </p>

<p>But I do remember that my son received various offers from colleges the year he applied - his NM status made him a hot item in some circles - so my guess would be that there are probably waivers made in all contexts. But I just wanted to be able to have a good, basic but simple list to work from.</p>

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<p>Trinity, knox(for preferred applicants, same for Tulane)</p>