College application fees can really add up, but there’s good news for students. Every income-eligible student who takes the SAT 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.
f you registered for and took the SAT using a fee waiver, or were identified as fee waiver eligible as part of a district or state program, you are automatically eligible to receive college application fee waivers. Read more about SAT fee waivers.
If you are a senior and eligible for college application fee waivers, you will receive them when you get your SAT score. If you are a junior and eligible, you will receive them in the fall of your senior year.
If you have received an SAT fee waiver, you may apply to any Coalition, Common, or Universal College Application college without a fee. Each of these application platforms has a process in place to allow eligible students to have their application fee waived, and generally do not require you to submit your College Board fee waivers.
On the Coalition App, students can determine their eligibility for a fee waiver by answering a brief series of questions while creating their Coalition profile. If you qualify for fee waivers from the College Board (or qualify based on any of the other questions), you will automatically bypass the payment screen when you submit your application to a member school.
Similarly, on the Common App, you will be asked on the application whether your financial circumstances qualify you for a fee waiver-- if you received an SAT fee waiver, you should indicate that in response to this question to have your fee waived. Your high school counselor will be asked to verify your eligibility.
To use your fee waiver on the Universal College Application, check the “fee waiver” box on your application and submit your form to the college or university.
For all other colleges that participate in the program, submit the application fee waiver forms included in your College Board account directly to the institution.
