How to Get and Use College Application Fee Waivers
Applying to college can cost money before you ever get to tuition.
Some colleges charge an application fee. Students may also run into fees for admission tests, score reports, and other parts of the college process. Those costs can add up quickly if you are applying to several colleges.
If application fees are making it harder to apply, don’t remove colleges from your list yet.
You may be able to apply to college without paying the application fee. Fee waivers are available through Common App, Coalition on Scoir, College Board, ACT, NACAC, and some individual colleges. The right option depends on how you’re applying and which eligibility rules you meet.
This guide explains how to get a college application fee waiver, which option to start with, and how to use it before you submit your application.
The TL;DR:
- Start with the application system you’re using. Common App and Coalition on Scoir both have built-in fee-waiver processes.
- If you used an SAT or ACT fee waiver, check whether you have college application fee-waiver benefits.
- If those routes do not apply, see whether the college accepts a NACAC waiver or offers its own.
- Eligibility and verification rules differ by program. Qualifying for one type of waiver does not automatically mean you qualify for another.
- Some fee waivers require help or verification from a counselor or other authorized official. Others can be requested by the student without additional documentation.
- Before paying an application fee, check the college’s official admissions instructions to confirm which waiver it accepts and how to use it.
What is a college application fee waiver?
A college application fee waiver lets an eligible student submit a college application without paying that college’s application fee.
Each college decides whether to charge an application fee and how much it costs. You may see the fee in Common App, Coalition on Scoir, the college’s application portal, or its admissions requirements.
If the college accepts your fee waiver, you can submit the application without paying that fee.
Application fee waivers do not cover tuition or other college expenses. They apply only to the cost of submitting the application.
Which college application fee waiver should you use?
Start with the application platform or fee-waiver benefit you already use. You may be able to handle the waiver directly through your application instead of completing a separate request for every college.
A school counselor or college access counselor can help if you are not sure which process applies to you.
One rule applies across all of these options: Before submitting a waiver, check the college’s official admissions site to confirm that it accepts the waiver and how it wants you to send or request it.
Who qualifies for college application fee waivers?
There is no single eligibility list for every college application fee waiver. Common App, Coalition, College Board, ACT, NACAC, and individual colleges set their own rules.
Depending on the program, eligibility may be connected to factors such as:
- Free or reduced-price school meal eligibility or applicable income guidelines.
- Participation in certain programs that serve students from low-income backgrounds.
- Public assistance or federally subsidized housing.
- Foster care, homelessness, ward-of-the-state status, or orphan status.
- SAT or ACT fee-waiver eligibility.
- Federal Pell Grant eligibility.
- Verification of financial need by an authorized school or community official.
These are examples used across different programs, not one universal eligibility checklist. Always review the requirements for the specific waiver you plan to use.
For example, the Coalition fee-waiver criteria accepted by all Coalition members include qualification for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program, receiving a College Board, ACT, or NACAC fee waiver, Pell Grant eligibility, or participation in TRIO programs. Individual Coalition colleges may accept additional criteria.
ACT publishes separate 2026–27 fee-waiver eligibility requirements, while College Board maintains its own SAT fee-waiver eligibility and benefit rules.
The sections below explain the rules and process for each major type of application fee waiver.
Option 1: How to get a college application fee waiver through the SAT
If you received SAT fee-waiver benefits, you may also receive college application fee waivers for participating colleges.
College Board says application fee waivers appear in eligible students’ My SAT accounts if they:
- Are a high school senior or no more than one year out of high school.
- Have taken at least one SAT.
- Have an SAT score or are waiting for one.
Students who take the SAT using a fee waiver can search more than 2,000 participating colleges through College Board’s college application fee-waiver program.
How to use an SAT college application fee waiver
- If you do not already have SAT fee-waiver benefits, review College Board’s SAT fee-waiver eligibility information and ask your counselor about eligibility. Eligible students may also be able to request benefits directly from College Board.
- If you already have SAT fee-waiver benefits, sign in to your My SAT account and review your available benefits.
- Use College Board’s participating-college search to confirm that the college accepts its application fee waiver.
- Follow the college’s instructions for using the waiver with your application.
College Board says students whose fee-waiver benefits have already been added to their accounts continue to have access to those benefits. Review the current College Board fee-waiver information if you have questions about your account or eligibility.
Option 2: How to get a college application fee waiver through ACT
If you tested with an ACT fee waiver, you may request that a college waive or defer its application fee by submitting ACT’s application fee-waiver form directly to the college.
For 2026–27, ACT’s Fee Waiver Program requires students to:
- Be enrolled in high school in 11th or 12th grade.
- Test in the United States, U.S. territories, or Puerto Rico.
- Meet at least one ACT indicator of economic need.
ACT lists indicators including participation in the federal free or reduced-price lunch program based on USDA income levels, participation in certain programs for economically disadvantaged students, foster care or homelessness, public assistance or federally subsidized housing, or family income at or below applicable USDA levels.
Students who test with an ACT fee waiver may also request a Waiver or Deferral of College Admission Application Fee.
How to use an ACT college application fee waiver
- Ask your school counselor whether you qualify for an ACT fee waiver.
- Use your ACT fee-waiver code when registering for the ACT.
- Get ACT’s current Request for Waiver or Deferral of College Admission Application Fee form.
- Complete the student portion of the form and have an authorized high school official complete and sign the required section.
- Send the completed form directly to the college where you are applying. Do not send the application fee-waiver form to ACT.
- Follow any additional instructions from the college.
ACT’s form says individual colleges may consider the request but are not required to waive or defer the fee. The college makes the final decision.
Review ACT’s current Fee Waiver Program before submitting your request.
Option 3: How to get a Common App fee waiver
If you meet Common App’s eligibility requirements, you can request a fee waiver directly in the Profile section of My Common Application.
Common App’s application fee and fee-waiver guide says its fee waiver covers the application fee for colleges you apply to through Common App.
To request it:
- Go to the Profile section of My Common Application.
- Open the Common App Fee Waiver section.
- Answer “Yes” to the fee-waiver statement.
- Add your signature to certify the request.
Your counselor will also be asked to confirm your eligibility.
Common App says you can submit your application without paying the application fee while your counselor’s confirmation is pending.
You can review the process in Common App’s fee-waiver resource.
If you do not qualify for the Common App Fee Waiver, check whether the individual college offers another fee-waiver option.
Option 4: How to get a Coalition fee waiver on Scoir
If you are applying through Coalition on Scoir, answer the fee-waiver questions in your application profile to see which participating schools will waive your application fee.
The Coalition fee-waiver page says students can select the criteria that apply to them in the Fee Waiver section of the application profile. Coalition does not require additional documentation or verification for this process.
All Coalition member schools accept these criteria:
- Qualification for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program.
- Receiving a College Board, ACT, or NACAC fee waiver.
- Pell Grant eligibility.
- Participation in TRIO programs.
Individual Coalition colleges may accept additional criteria. Coalition lists examples such as first-generation status, public assistance, foster care or homelessness, military service, participation in certain college-access programs, and receipt of certain need-based scholarships.
After completing the fee-waiver questions in Scoir, review the schools where you are eligible to apply for free. If a college does not appear as an option, check its official admissions site for another fee-waiver process.
Option 5: How to use a NACAC application fee waiver
If another fee-waiver route does not work for you, the NACAC Request for Admission Application Fee Waiver may be an option for undergraduate applicants with financial need. Each college decides whether to accept the request.
For first-time undergraduate applicants, NACAC’s current instructions tell students to:
- Download the current Request for Admission Application Fee Waiver.
- Complete the student section.
- Have an authorized official complete the required section and verify economic eligibility.
- Save the completed form.
- Send it directly to the college’s admission office using the method that the college accepts.
A school counselor, postsecondary support professional, principal, or qualifying community-based organization official may be able to complete the Authorized Official section.
How many colleges can you use the NACAC waiver for?
Plan to use the NACAC application fee-waiver form for no more than four colleges.
NACAC’s form instructions state that students submit one form for each university and reference a maximum of four universities. Its FAQ says the waiver is intended for colleges a student is most interested in attending and recommends limiting its use to no more than four schools.
If you are considering using the form at more than four colleges, talk with the school official authorizing the request and review NACAC’s current guidance.
NACAC does not maintain a directory of colleges that accept its form, and each college makes the final decision about whether to approve a request.
Before sending the NACAC form
Contact the college’s admission office or review its official admissions site to find out whether it accepts the NACAC form and how the school wants to receive it, such as by email, mail, or fax.
NACAC recommends following up with the admission office two to four weeks after submitting the form to check its approval status.
If the college does not accept the NACAC waiver, ask whether another application fee-waiver process is available.
Option 6: How to ask a college for its own application fee waiver
If the standard fee-waiver options do not work for you, check whether the college offers its own application fee waiver.
A college may use a waiver code, an application question, a form, or another process. Because policies differ by school, use the college’s official admissions or application-fee page for current instructions.
Coalition also notes that students can contact a school directly to request a fee waiver when needed.
If the college’s website does not explain the process, you can email the admissions office:
Subject: Application Fee Waiver Question
Hi,
I’m planning to apply to [College], but the application fee is difficult for my family to pay. Does your admissions office offer an application fee waiver? If so, what steps should I follow?
Thank you,
[Your name]
The admissions office can tell you whether the college uses a code, form, application question, verification process, or another option.
When should you ask a counselor for help?
Ask a counselor when a fee-waiver program requires verification, when you need a testing fee-waiver code, or when you are not sure which option applies to you.
Depending on the program, a counselor may be able to:
- Help determine whether you meet the eligibility requirements.
- Provide or help you obtain an SAT or ACT fee-waiver code.
- Confirm a Common App fee-waiver request.
- Complete the required section of an ACT or NACAC application fee-waiver form.
- Help you find a college-specific waiver if the standard options do not fit your situation.
If you are homeschooled or do not have access to a school counselor, the rules depend on the waiver.
For example, NACAC’s fee-waiver guidance says an independent counselor or community-based organization official who can verify a student’s economic eligibility may complete the Authorized Official section. NACAC also provides separate guidance for homeschooled students.
Coalition, by contrast, says it does not require additional documentation or verification for its Coalition fee-waiver process.
Check the rules for the specific waiver before deciding who needs to help verify your eligibility.
Check for a fee waiver before you pay
Before entering payment information, make sure you have checked every fee-waiver option that may apply to you.
Pause before paying if:
- You have not confirmed whether the college charges an application fee.
- You may qualify for a Common App or Coalition waiver.
- You used an SAT or ACT fee waiver and have not reviewed your college application benefits.
- You have not checked whether the college accepts a NACAC waiver.
- Your Common App counselor confirmation is still pending.
- The college may offer its own fee-waiver process.
If an application takes you to a payment screen and you believe you qualify for a waiver, do not assume that the payment screen means you have to pay immediately. Review the application and college instructions first, and contact the admissions office if the process is unclear.
Example: Using a Common App fee waiver
A student using Common App may be able to request one fee waiver through the application instead of contacting each Common App college separately.
For example, Maya is applying to seven colleges through Common App and meets the Common App Fee Waiver criteria.
She can request the waiver in the Profile section of her application. Her counselor will be asked to confirm her eligibility, and Common App says she can submit applications without paying the application fee while that confirmation is pending.
Maya should still review any college that has separate application instructions or uses a different application system.
Starting with the application platform you already use can reduce the number of separate fee-waiver requests you need to make.
Before you submit your college applications
Check every college on your list before paying an application fee so you know whether you qualify for a waiver and have completed the correct process.
Use this checklist:
- Does this college charge an application fee?
- Which application system am I using?
- Do I qualify for the fee waiver offered through that application?
- Did I receive SAT or ACT fee-waiver benefits?
- Does the college accept the College Board, ACT, or NACAC waiver I plan to use?
- Does the college offer its own fee waiver?
- Does a counselor or other authorized official need to verify or sign my request?
- Have I completed the waiver process before submitting payment?
Common App explains where students can review application-fee information in its application fees and fee waivers resource.
Once you know which application fees you may be able to waive, look at the bigger cost picture before finalizing your college list. Compare factors such as cost, location, available majors, admission likelihood, campus setting, and outcomes.
Use Appily to compare colleges and build a college list that fits your academic goals, preferences, and budget.
FAQs about college application fee waivers
Can I use a Common App fee waiver for every Common App college?
Common App says its fee waiver covers the application fee for colleges you apply to through Common App.
Your counselor will be asked to confirm your eligibility, but Common App says you can submit your applications without paying while that confirmation is pending. Review the Common App fee-waiver instructions.
Can an SAT fee waiver cover college applications?
Yes, at participating colleges.
College Board says eligible students can receive college application fee waivers as part of their SAT fee-waiver benefits. Students who take the SAT using a fee waiver can search more than 2,000 participating colleges through its college application fee-waiver program.
Can an ACT fee waiver cover college applications?
Students who test with an ACT fee waiver may request that a college waive or defer its application fee.
ACT provides a Request for Waiver or Deferral of College Admission Application Fee form. The completed form must be submitted directly to the college, not to ACT, and the college decides whether to approve the request. See ACT’s current Fee Waiver Program.
Can I use the NACAC fee waiver at every college?
No. Each college decides whether to accept a NACAC fee-waiver request.
NACAC recommends limiting use of its Request for Admission Application Fee Waiver to no more than four colleges, and students generally use one form for each school. Review NACAC’s current fee-waiver instructions before submitting the form.
What should I do if a college denies my fee waiver?
Contact the admissions office to ask why the request was denied and whether another fee-waiver option is available.
NACAC notes that colleges make the final decision on NACAC requests and may require the application fee if a waiver is declined. An incomplete form or a college that does not accept that type of waiver can also lead to a denial.
What if I do not have a school counselor?
Your options depend on the fee-waiver program, and not every waiver requires a school counselor.
Coalition does not require additional documentation or verification for its Coalition fee-waiver process.
For NACAC, an independent counselor or community-based organization official who can verify economic eligibility may complete the Authorized Official section. NACAC also provides guidance for homeschooled students who need someone to verify their request.
Review the requirements for the specific waiver you plan to use before asking someone to verify your eligibility.
