New College List: No Application Fee + Common Application

College Search & Selection
1

I was curious what colleges are free to apply to, that also use the Common Application. Someone could use this list to add some quality options to their college search without incurring additional expense, while saving time not having to fill out new applications.

First a couple caveats. Some colleges may require additional material to the Common App, and some may only waive their fee for their own online application but not the Common App.

I used the free application list updated and posted by @newjerseygirl98 on 1/16/16. Her list can be found here:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/1852791/a-list-of-colleges-that-are-free-to-apply-to-2016

and I used the latest list of schools that use the Common App, which can be found here:
https://www.commonapp.org/files/component/step/files/Common_Application_Current_Members_0.pdf

and this is what I came up with. I hope someone finds this helpful:

-Agnes Scott College
-Albion College
-Allegheny College
-Alma College
-Arcadia University
-Augustana University
-Baldwin Wallace University
-Bradley University
-Butler University
-Capitol Technology University
-Carleton College
-Carroll College (MT)
-Carroll University (WI)
-Case Western Reserve University
-Cedar Crest College
-Centenary College (LA)
-Centre College
-Chatham University
-Clarkson University
-Coe College
-Colby College
-College of St. Benedict
-Concordia University (OR)
-Creighton University
-Dayton, University of
-Denison University
-Detroit Mercy, University of
-Dominican University of California
-Drake University
-Elizabethtown College
-Emmanuel College (MA)
-Findlay, University of
-Gannon University
-Green Mountain College
-Grinnell College
-Guilford College
-Hamline University
-Hanover College
-Hartford, University of
-Hartwick College
-Hilbert College
-Hobart & William Smith Colleges
-Illinois Institute of Technology
-Illinois Wesleyan University
-John Carroll University
-Johnson & Wales University
-Kenyon College
-Kettering University
-King’s College (PA)
-Le Moyne College
-Lesley University
-Lewis & Clark College
-Loyola University New Orleans
-Luther College
-Lycoming College
-Manchester University
-Marquette University
-McKendree University
-Millikin University
-Millsaps College
-Moravian College
-Mount Holyoke College
-Mount Saint Vincent, College of
-Nazareth College
-Northland College
-Oberlin College
-Ohio Wesleyan University
-Piedmont College
-Queens University of Charlotte
-Randolph College (Formerly Randolph-Macon Women’s College)
-Randolph-Macon College
-Rhodes College
-Roanoke University
-Robert Morris University (PA)
-Rosemont College
-Sage College of Albany (1 of 3 of The Sage Colleges)
-Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
-Salem College
-Scranton, University of
-Sewanee: The University of the South
-Sierra Nevada College
-Simmons College
-Smith College
-St. John Fisher College
-St. John’s College (MD, NM)
-St. John’s University (NY)
-St. Joseph’s College (ME)
-St. Mary’s College (IN)
-St. Olaf College
-St. Rose, The College of
-Stevenson University (Formerly Villa Julie College)
-Susquehanna University
-Thiel College
-Transylvania University
-Trinity University (TX)
-Truman State University
-Tulane University
-Unity College
-Valparaiso University
-Warren Wilson College
-Washington & Jefferson College
-Wellesley College
-Westminster College (PA, MO)
-Wheeling Jesuit University
-Whitworth University (Formerly Whitworth College)
-William Jewell College
-Wilson College
-Wittenberg University
-Xavier University (OH)

2

It is sure cheap advertising for a college to waive the fee and get you to apply… many, many of these schools give very poor FA – I usually tell students out here not to be drawn in by saving $50 for a school that will likely be very expensive for you to attend, that you know nothing about and probably can’t afford to visit (if you can’t even pay the application fee), might not be strong in your major, etc. There are fee waivers available at many colleges for low income students. I’d suggest that students find the colleges that are a good fit for them, THEN figure out about paying for the application process. If you are grabbing at straws like this to find colleges you want to apply to, or letting this sway your decision on where to apply, you are going about your search the wrong way.

3

^^^
I never said, “Use this for your college list.” I said, “Someone could use this list to add some quality options to their college search.”

If you can’t afford a school it’s not a quality option for you.

All I did was modify a previous list that someone else posted and others had found helpful.

“I’d suggest that students find the colleges that are a good fit for them,” yes, but sifting thru literally thousands of schools is a daunting task. If the above list steers someone to a couple of schools they may not have previously considered but are a good fit for them, that’s all I intended.

4

Thank you. This is a very useful list.

5

Thanks for mentioning me! :slight_smile:

6

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think U of Chicago waives the app fee if you are applying for Finaid.

7

@Dolemite

https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/applicants/firstyear#application-fee-waiver
APPLICATION FEE OR WAIVER
The University of Chicago does not charge a college application fee for students applying for need-based financial aid.

whoa … good call, Dolemite, and they use Common Application too so they make a good addition to the list.

8

@newjerseygirl98

hey, you did all the heavy lifting making the original list. my part was easy.