app fee waivers

how possible is it to get an app fee waiver?

hey worried -

if you are low income, it is not very hard. However, you may have to initially pay the money and wait for a refund, of sorts, from the school.

from Harvard:
"Written fee waiver requests will be considered if they are accompanied by documentation of need. Please note that fee waivers are subject to approval by the Admissions Office. However, to use the online application, you must provisionally submit your application fee. Should a waiver be granted, the fee will be refunded."

At yale:

"All individuals meeting the eligibility requirements who wish to be considered for a waiver or refund of the $85 application fee must follow the directions given below for the appropriate option. Except as noted, all applicants must pay the $85 fee when submitting their application in order for their application to be reviewed and considered. "

and you have to submit:

"U.S. Citizen/U.S. Permanent Resident with financial hardship documented by an attached letter from your undergraduate university financial aid officer.
U.S. Citizen/U.S. Permanent Resident with Financial Hardship documented by completing page 2 of the Fee Waiver Request Form. You must include a statement of prior education loans. "


I think most of the schools are like that. It's a bit of work, but worth it if you are applying to several schools. Most require the same basic information. BTW, you don't need to get accepted to get the waiver.

[squidjelly]

Has anyone heard of students who apply to schools with an application fee waiver and get considered last or overlooked for the grad program? :?:

No, you won't be overlooked. Typically you apply to the school for the tuition waiver and the department for admission. Therefore, the department won't see the tuition waiver request in any case. Even if they did though, I seriously doubt it would in any way affect your chances of admission.

good luck!