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Applying to college is expensive. According to U.S. News , the average college application fee is $44, and the average application fee at the 62 colleges with the most expensive application fees is $78. Considering that CollegeVine recommends applying to between 8-12 colleges, that can mean spending more than $1,000 just on applications—and that’s not including other expenses like taking the ACT, a standardized test that is used by most colleges to make admissions decisions.
One way to lower the price of applying to college is to acquire an ACT fee waiver, which covers the cost of the exam—along with some other expenses—and makes the ACT more accessible to students from lower-income families.
The ACT is available in two formats, one with a writing section and one without a writing section. The test with the writing section costs $15 more than the exam without the writing section—the additional expense is refundable if you’re absent on test day or switch to the no-writing test before the exam begins.
What’s Included
Full ACT (no writing)
Student score report, high school score report, score report for up to four colleges
Full ACT with writing
Student score report, high school score report, score report for up to four colleges
The ACT also has a late registration period after the regular registration period has closed. Late registration for the ACT typically lasts for two weeks after the end of the normal registration period—the cost for late registration is $35, which is in addition to the regular registration fees. The price of the ACT with late fees is:
Full ACT (no writing) + late registration fee
Full ACT with writing + late registration fee
Fee waivers are available to eligible students, however, students cannot apply directly for a fee waiver. Rather, fee waivers are requested by a student’s high school—students should work with their high school counselor/advisor to determine eligibility and request a fee waiver. To qualify for a fee waiver, a student must meet three requirements:
The indicators of economic need are: