You can save money on college applications by using fee waivers for tests, applications, and aid forms. A fee waiver is official permission to skip a required fee because you meet need-based rules. Planning matters because each program has its own form and approval step. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises asking a counselor early and confirming that each college accepts your waiver type.
Table of Contents
- How SAT Waivers Unlock Application Waivers
- How Do You Request a Waiver in Common App?
- What If Your College Is Outside Common App?
- How Do You Save on Financial Aid Forms?
- How Do You Plan So Waivers Work?
How SAT Waivers Unlock Application Waivers
The College Board says SAT fee waivers are for low-income 11th- and 12th-graders in the U.S. and territories, plus U.S. citizens abroad (SAT fee-waiver eligibility details).
This is the starting point for several later savings. College Board BigFuture says seniors who registered for and took the SAT with a fee waiver automatically qualify for application waivers when scores release (answers on college-application fee waivers). College Board K12 Educators says those waivers can be used at more than 2,000 participating colleges, as many as needed, subject to each college's approval.
How Do You Request a Waiver in Common App?
The Common App Help Center says applicants request the waiver in the Profile section. Qualifying reasons include SAT or ACT waiver eligibility, USDA Food and Nutrition Service income guidelines, foster care, homelessness, or public assistance.
The same Help Center says a counselor must verify eligibility. Check the criteria before you submit, so your counselor can confirm without delay.
What If Your College Is Outside Common App?
The National Association for College Admission Counseling offers a paper Request for Admission Application Fee Waiver for colleges outside Common App, plus a separate transfer form. An authorized official, such as a school counselor or community-organization official, must verify eligibility.
Coalition for College says students with a College Board, ACT, or NACAC waiver can apply free to any Coalition member school without added paperwork. It also says many members waive fees for first-generation students or other need-based reasons.
How Do You Save on Financial Aid Forms?
The College Board CSS Profile Help Center lists the fee as $25 for the first college and $16 for each added college (who qualifies for a CSS Profile fee waiver). Domestic undergraduates submit free when family adjusted gross income is under $100,000, when they had an SAT waiver, or when they are an orphan or ward of the court under age 24.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the FAFSA is free and required for federal loans, work-study, and grants, filed only at studentaid.gov (guidance on applying for financial aid). Never pay a third-party site to file it.
How Do You Plan So Waivers Work?
Make a short list for each college: accepted waiver type, verifier name, and aid-form deadline. Confirm acceptance before you apply, because approval stays with each college.
- Ask your counselor early about SAT, Common App, and NACAC forms
- Match each college to the right waiver: Common App, Coalition, or NACAC paper form
- File the FAFSA and CSS Profile early and keep each approval notice
