Comprehensive Guide for Getting Common App Waivers and

Colleges’ Unique Waiver Codes

Most colleges require an application fee to apply, ranging anywhere from $35-$100 per

application. More selective schools tend to charge a higher amount, usually at least $60. It is not uncommon for a typical student applying to 10-15 colleges to pay well over $1,000 in application fees.

Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to decrease or eliminate these required application fees altogether. The traditional method is by demonstrating financial need, but most colleges also have school-specific Common App Waiver Codes. These can be given to students at a college’s discretion, usually by admissions officers, and allow a student to apply for free. Common App Waiver Codes can be obtained through direct contact with admissions officers, college tours/info sessions, and more.

The information in this document, including detailed email and phone call request templates to admissions officers, are confirmed to have worked for T30 colleges like Johns Hopkins and UVA, specialty colleges like Embry-Riddle and Georgie Military College, other top schools like UNC, George Washington and Penn State, and dozens more (from former student D.P., former admissions officer M.T., and college consultant M.C.).

This document provides detailed breakdowns for how to obtain these Common App Waivers, as well as links to additional helpful resources like a list of colleges with no application fees and colleges that offer free application weeks/days.

This document includes:

1. Detailed breakdowns of how to meet eligibility requirements for financial need so that

all your college applications will be free.

2. A list of the ways you can get or ask for a college’s unique Common App Waiver Code, including:

• Detailed email templates that have worked
• How to call an admissions department to ask for their code
• How to get a waiver code during a college tour, college fair, info session, and via recruitment emails

3. Links to resources for:

• A list of state-by-state free college application weeks
• A list of colleges with no application fee
• Publicly available lists of college’s unique Common App Waiver Codes (use at your discretion)

If you’re curious about the practicality of getting these Waiver Codes directly from the colleges and admissions officers themselves, take a look at these comments from current and former admissions officers :

From a former Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at a well-known private

university:

“It is very common for admissions offices to give out application fee waivers, primarily as a recruitment tool or to incentivize demonstrated interest (respond to this email to get a fee waiver, visit campus to get a fee waiver, come to our visit at your school, etc.).”

From the University of Illinois’ Admissions Department blog:

https://blog.admissions.illinois.edu/how-to-get-a-college-application-fee-waiver/

How to Get a College Application Fee Waiver

Kindly Request One

Sometimes, qualified candidates just aren’t eligible for fee waivers based on a combination of factors. If there’s a college you’re planning on applying to, sometimes asking for a fee waiver may be enough to receive one. Again, this strategy is by no means a guarantee, but it’s always worth asking.