<p>My child has been getting emails from colleges that he does not need to write essays and there is no application fee. </p>
<p>Should he apply since there is nothing to lose? I am afraid that he will be taking other kids spots by applying to those schools.</p>
<p>Has your son examined the website to see if the school even interests him? Does it have his major? Is it located in a place that he could see himself being? Does the school have anything that appeals to him? </p>
<p>These schools do this so that they could report an increase in applications. Schools would not do this if they had nothing to gain. To answer your question about should he apply…only if he could see himself there. He will not take the place of someone who wants to be there because these schools know that many students will apply but much fewer will attend. They adjust things accordingly.</p>
<p>And you likely will have to pay to have scores and transcripts sent so they aren’t “free” but much cheaper than most. My daughter did apply to a couple that were not schools she would have rulled out just so she could have some "yes"es early in the game which had its own advantages. Make sure though they are schools that would interest them.</p>
<p>I agree with the others - there’s no point wasting the electrons if it isn’t a school your child would possibly go to, BUT he won’t be taking a spot from another child (unless Harvard, etc. have recently dropped the application fee 
). There are many schools with no application fee and no supplement; maybe a few ARE good choices for your son.</p>
<p>I applied to some “no fee!” colleges that were spamming me and a couple of them ended up giving me really generous financial aid offers. The in-state public flagship was still cheaper, so I ended up going with that one . . . but nonetheless the scholarships offered by a couple of those schools would’ve made it possible for me to attend there. I did some research and the schools weren’t too shabby, either. </p>
<p>I don’t know why they’re contacting your son, but I know the reason the colleges were contacting me was because I was a CC student in Phi Theta Kappa.</p>
<p>Consider the hidden costs as mentioned above. You only get so many free test reports sent and his HS may also limit the transcripts or letters of recommendation. Teachers may not be as enthusiastic in spending time on their recommendations to too many schools he is applying to on a whim/because it is easy to do so. Be sure he is serious about attending any school he applys to.</p>
<p>Also make sure you think about whether you are going to apply ED or EA anyplace, and whether these applications would interfere with that.</p>
<p>The free application/no additional essay offers my daughter has received have actually been helpful in spurring us on to discuss what characteristics she’d like in a college. So far, I think she has chosen to apply to one and declined two due to their locations.</p>
<p>My kids applied to some of these - but only to those where they would consider attending.</p>
<p>Your child isn’t likely taking anyone’s spot. These schools waaay over-admit because they know that they’re safeties for many students.</p>
<p>We had a thread last year listing schools with easy applications - no essays and no recs required (not all were free, but they were all easy). The thread was very popular.</p>
<p>Maybe that thread should be revived…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/802256-list-good-schools-have-fast-ez-apps-no-essays-no-recs.html?highlight=essays[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/802256-list-good-schools-have-fast-ez-apps-no-essays-no-recs.html?highlight=essays</a></p>
<p>I would advise my child to apply only if she was willing to attend that school. There’s little point in applying to a school you’d never consider attending, no matter how easy or inexpensive the application is. Remember that there are costs involved in sending scores and sometimes in sending transcripts.</p>
<p>I am really curious about University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Application?</p>