I just want to know what has to be done to get a fee waiver for applications and how hard certain schools make it to get one.
We applied for fee waivers at a number of schools. In most cases, it was just a matter of emailing the head of admissions or head of financial aid. The only exception was Andover.
Andover requires a letter from a third party attesting to your need. Andover also required “proof” of my inability to produce tax returns from my son’s father (think death certificate). I was very turned off by this lack of trust so early in the admissions process. None of the other schools required either of these things. I don’t have a problem with their checking up on us prior to awarding us financial aid. My issue was their attitude and timing.
For the most part, I just had to write and ask. Some schools were very quick and easy with this - even asked which portal we preferred to use. I think Hotchkiss was the easiest of all of them, even providing an SSAT waiver after just asking in an email.
@HMom16 Really? I just called the Andover admission office and they just gave me a name and the code.
@CottenCandyTrill All I did was call the office and told them my parent’s annual salary and boom they just gave it to me
@swimmer0521 Glad it worked out. Were you asking for a test fee waiver or an application waiver?
I was responding to the question regarding the application waiver. This is from the Andover website:
“A fee waiver should be requested from the Phillips Academy Admission office (admissions@andover.edu) if the family believes payment of these fees will create a financial hardship. To request a fee waiver, a third party, who is familiar with the family’s financial situation (a guidance counselor, clergyman, principal, etc.) should write to the Admission Office on behalf of the family to explain the hardship. The Admission Office will contact the family if further information is necessary.”