Among Friends

[sarahpanda]

Last night, on the NIGHTLY NEWS, they featured a segment about a (smart) young lady from  New Orleans who applied and was accepted at over 100 colleges and counting.  My question is - Don't you have to send in an application fee, around $100 or so, to every school you apply to?   Wouldn't it be much ''smarter'' to just decide which college is your choice and save all that extra $ applying to other schools?  Help me understand this new way of doing things.  Thanks in advance.

[jackthebear]

obnoxious taking a place from a kid who might actually go

and if they are paying $100 not so smart

from what I remember the "common ap" doesn't take a fee

[notenoughtime]

Schools will waive application fees for many reasons.Schools will waive application fees for low income families.  She is also first generation which has a lot of benefits for applications.  

[Bri369]

If you score high enough on your ACT's, you will get bombarded by colleges waiving their fees to apply.  

[PINKdogWOOD]

After employment at a major mideast university for 36 years in the registrar's office closely related to the admissions office and then the majority of my years in entities in student housing, I'm disputing application fees, entrance fees, housing app fees being waived. This does not happen. ANd these various fees are much more than $100.00.

[NicksmomESQ]

   According to my application experience with my son these fees aren’t waived.Sometimes the PTA in high schools have funds to help cover the costs for kids in financial distress.But they would assist with a couple of applications not a 100.

  When you are accepted into a college/university & decline they offer the seat to the next person on the list.Your application & acceptance into a school doesn’t permanently preclude someone else from being offered the spot.It just might place them on the waitlist.

  All this being said as a parent I didn’t let my son apply to an indefinite number of schools.He applied to about 5 & was accepted into all of them.He was given about 14 days to make a decision so that his spots could be offered to other students.

[judy0330]

From the College Board website:

"College application fees can really add up, but there’s good news for students. Every income-eligible student who takes the SAT or SAT Subject Tests™ with a fee waiver or as part of a district or state program while in high school, can choose from over 2,000 participating colleges and apply for free. These waivers will be delivered online to eligible students."

[millieshops]

@sarahpandaNo way that smart gal paid $10,000 in fees.  Google (and I hope) the girl's guidance office offer lots of ways to get that fee waived.  Most common way is to apply online -  many schools offer that fee free.

[CelticCrafter]

When my daughter was applying to college, she only applied to two.

I remember paying an application fee for one, I don't remember if we paid it for the other.

Back then it was $75.

[Isobel Archer]

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@Bri369 wrote:

If you score high enough on your ACT's, you will get bombarded by colleges waiving their fees to apply.  

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Speaking of that, I didn't realize that you could just take the ACT and be admitted to college if you score high enough - without ever attending school prior.

Found this out from reading Educated by Tara Westover, but then asked a friend who is a high school teacher and she confirmed this "little known secret."  She said public schools - and teacher unions - don't want people to know about this.

So - as in Tara's case - you don't even have to be officially home schooled - you can essentially teach yourself - as she did.

Very interesting.