<p>Here's another gripe of mine. Why do application fees for private colleges vary so much? We paid anywhere from $35 to $75 per application. To me, $35 sounds reasonable. But $75? Why does it cost so much to process an application - or does it?</p>
<p>some schools are free if you apply on line- but the cost of applications was one reason why D only applied to 5 schools.
Of course considering the price of tuition, an application fee is practically nothing.</p>
<p>I guess it comes down to the college's budget - are they trying to make enough on application fees to make admissions self-sufficent?</p>
<p>Daughter applied to 9 colleges, but only had to pay 3 fees.</p>
<p>My kids each had only one free app - one was was Brandeis Blue Ribbon and another had a free online app.</p>
<p>I don't know the answer to that, except the obvious one - revenue. But I have heard a number of admissions officers imply that just as schools want to get more of the right type of application (so that their selectivity increases) they also try to restrict their offices from being flooded with too many of the wrong type of application. They can do this by denying admission to a candidate that would open up "the floodgates to lesser applicants" (a quote from Jacques Steinberg's The Gatekeepers) or they can raise application fees and accomplish something similar. One other reason comes to mind, and that is, perhaps they similarly don't want to open those floodgates to too many students who will be needing aid.</p>
<p>College apps are not a moneymaker. App fees may defray some of the costs of processing the application and recruiting a class, but they by no means cover the admissions budget.</p>
<p>I believe the general purpose behind fees are designed to make sure applicants are reasonably serious about it. This is obviously as bigger deal to schools which put a lot of processing into applications or for various reasons have to worry more about predicting yield so they don't undershoot or overshoot a class. </p>
<p>As to why they vary, who knows? Maybe some schools are worried about a high fee being a deterrent, so they'll aim for a lower fee. And a lower (or entirely waived) fee can be an incentive for applicants to use a certain method (like a web app).</p>
<p>i know my college gives you an "application fee wavier" if you come and take a tour. basically everyone who comes and takes a tour gets a coupon to mail in with their application to waive the application fee. i know a lot of other colleges do that as well.</p>
<p>My son applied to 9 schools and paid an application fee for three of them. All the other schools offered waivers for either having visited, doing the app. on-line (which was kind of a joke because all were on-line) or he was offered a VIP application. He was also offered quite a few other free applications on-line from schools that he had looked at intially and may have asked for info but did not visit. Many of the free app offers came deep into the fall and did not stop until late January. This was very different then when my daughter was applying three years ago. </p>
<p>In hindsight, I think many of the free offers came not from the psat mass mailings but from when we did a college fair in Philadelphia. We took some computer printed return address labels with my son's info (name, address, phone, name of HS) on them and used them to show interest to any school that struck our fancy. For those of you that haven't attended one of these - each school has a booth and after giving out a viewbook or flyer they ask you to fill out an info form. We just stuck the labels on there.</p>
<p>Kathiep, Thanks for that tip! I will use it when it is my younger son's turn. I had gone to a college fair with a friend when my older one was in 9th grade, but it was premature. I had not been back to one since that time. I can see now that just my spending 2 hours at one of these, you could save a few hundred dollars. Great tip!! </p>
<p>We got several free app offers through the mail (unsolicited). We got one by visiting a school, and some colleges sent letters out (tour, and then to help compensate you for your expenses to visit, we will extend a free application). Some are free if you apply online, and some are at a reduced cost if you apply online.</p>
<p>Just wait until graduate school admissions!</p>
<p>They make you pay as much or more to apply than for undergraduate. There are fewer "fee waivers" or free online application and they don't necessarily need to tell you if your application status!</p>
<p>For example, when I was applying for MS programs two years ago I didn't hear from one of the universities until April 14 (deadline to accept admissions for graduate school is pretty much universally April 15). This is a common practice. If you aren't the first choice for a potential advisor, but they still would like to have you as a second choice if the first chooses to go elsewhere, many times they will not tell you that you are waitlisted or the equivalent. In some graduate programs, no new is bad news, they don't even tell you if you are rejected. I mean seriously, a one line email would be much better than having us up worrying all night whether they have made a decision yet!</p>
<p>Makes me wonder who is benefiting from graduate application fees...I know the graduate school itself doesn't screen applications...and the department, though the decision-maker in admissions, sometimes isn't allowed to give you the formal offer (I'm experiencing this currently, know I'm accepted but don't know what kind of funding I've been offered).</p>
<p>At least with undergraduate application fees, you know who is getting them and you know you'll get a response either way!</p>
<p>Interesting fee experience here. I applied to Loyola Marymount University online but was required to send in by mail the application fee. But I received my acceptance before I had a chance to send it. So I guess I got in free :) But I do wish the application fees were less, above 50 always strikes me as high. It does help to keep a ton of applications to multiple schools from being sent though.</p>
<p>Some high schools offer fee waivers for low-income students; I was able to take advantage of this, and it saved my bank account! I ended up spending $3 to send my application in (one application, accepted ED, and I only had to pay that fee to my school to mail it.)</p>