Trying to save money on college applications? Good news! There are actually quite a few colleges that allow you to apply for free. In this article, I'll provide some general information about application fees along with a comprehensive list of all the schools that offer free applications.
Application Fees at a Glance
Most colleges charge application fees in the $50-60 range, but they can sometimes be as high as $90 (looking at you, Stanford). Many top schools charge application fees of $75 or more.
To put this in context, suppose you are applying to five different schools. If three have $50 application fees and two have $75 application fees, you'll be spending $300 on applications alone. (And that doesn't include the cost of any ACT or SAT scores you might send as well.) That's not small change for most people, so application fees are something you might take into account in your college search process.
Fortunately, many schools, even ones that have very high application fees, offer waivers to students with financial need. In order to be eligible for a fee waiver, you will need to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- You were provided with a fee waiver to take the SAT or ACT
- You are enrolled in a Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program
- Your family income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service
- You're enrolled in a federal, state or local program that aids students from low-income families
- Your family receives public assistance
- You live in federally subsidized housing or a foster home
You can request a fee waiver form here. Once you fill out the form, your guidance counselor has to sign it, and then you should mail it to the admissions office of the college you have selected. Alternatively, if you want to avoid paying hundreds of dollars in application fees or going through the process of obtaining a fee waiver, you should consider applying to some of the schools with free applications that are listed in this article.
Making Smart Choices With Application Fees
If your dream school has a $75 application fee and you're considering not applying because of the cost, you need to consider the costs versus the long term benefits. Compared to the total cost of attending college, that fee is a drop in the bucket. Over the course of four years, if you plan on attending a private college, you'll end up paying close to $200,000 on average in total cost. Even for public schools the price tag will be close to $100,000. The fee is a very small part of the overall expenses that come along with attending college.
Don't sacrifice the opportunity to attend a school that's a perfect fit for you because of an application fee. You'll most likely end up regretting your decision later. Similarly, you should try not to choose schools that don't fit what you're looking for just because they have lower application fees. If you check out some of the no fee schools that I've listed and find that you really like them, then it's a win-win, but don't let it influence you too much if there are other fee-charging schools that you think you will really love!
Colleges That Don't Require Application Fees (By State)
Here is our complete and updated list of colleges that don't require an application fee. (Note that some schools may require a fee for paper applications.)
Alabama
Auburn University at Montgomery
Huntingdon College
Miles College
Spring Hill College
Alaska
Alaska Pacific University
Arizona
Grand Canyon University
Williams Baptist College
Arkansas
Arkansas Tech University
Henderson State University
Hendrix College
Southern Arkansas University
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
California
California College San Diego
Deep Springs College
Dominican University of California
Holy Names University
Laguna College of the Arts
La Sierra University
Northwest College
Notre Dame de Namur University
Pacific Union College
University of the Pacific
Thomas Aquinas College
Colorado
Colorado College
Colorado Mountain College
Johnson & Wales University - Denver
Regis University
US Air Force Academy
Connecticut
US Coast Guard Academy
University of Hartford (fee waived only if you apply by November 15)
Mitchell College
University of Saint Joseph
Florida
Ave Maria University
Florida Gateway College
Florida Institute of Technology
Indian River State College
Johnson & Wales University - North Miami
Polk State College
Saint Leo University
Santa Fe College
Georgia
Agnes Scott College
Berry College
Brenau University
Oglethorpe University
Piedmont College
Savannah State University
Wesleyan College
Idaho
College of Southern Idaho
College of Idaho
Illinois
Augustana College
Aurora University
Bradley University
Elmhurst College
Eureka College
Greenville College
Illinois College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Lake Forest College
Loyola University Chicago
McKendree University
Millikin University
Monmouth College
Rockford University
Saint Augustine College
University of St. Francis
Indiana
Anderson University
Butler University
Calumet College of St. Joseph
DePauw University
Earlham College
Franklin College
Grace College
Hanover College
Holy Cross College
Indiana Wesleyan University
Manchester University
Purdue University-North Central
St. Mary's College
Trine University
University of Evansville
University of Indianapolis
Valparaiso University
Iowa
Buena Vista University
Central College
Coe College
Cornell College
Drake University
Graceland University
Grand View University
Grinnell College
Iowa Wesleyan College
Loras College
Luther College
Morningside College
Mount Mercy University
Northwestern College
Simpson College
St. Ambrose University
Upper Iowa University
Wartburg College
Kansas
Baker University
Barclay College
Bethany College
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Sterling College
Kentucky
Alice Lloyd College
Asbury University
Berea College
Centre College
Lindsey Wilson College
University of Pikeville
Thomas More College
Transylvania University
Louisiana
Centenary College
Loyola University New Orleans
Tulane University
Maine
Colby College
College of the Atlantic
St. Joseph's College
Unity College
Maryland
Capitol Technology University
Hood College
St. John's College
Stevenson University
US Naval Academy
Washington Adventist University
Massachusetts
Bay Path College
Eastern Nazarene College
Emmanuel College
Fisher College
Hampshire College
Lasell College
Lesley University
MCPHS University
Merrimack College
Mount Holyoke College
Nichols College
Simmons College
Smith College
Wellesley College
Michigan
Adrian College
Albion College
Alma College
Aquinas College
Calvin College
Concordia University
University of Detroit Mercy
Ferris State University
Finlandia University
Hillsdale College
Kalamazoo College
Kettering University
Madonna University
Michigan Technological University
Northwood University
Oakland University
Olivet College
Siena Heights University
Minnesota
Augsburg College
Bethany Lutheran College
Bethel University
Carleton College
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Concordia College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamline University
Metropolitan State University
Saint John's University
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
St. Catherine University
St. Olaf College
College of St. Scholastica
University of St. Thomas
Mississippi
Alcorn State University
Jackson State University
Millsaps College
Mississippi University for Women
Mississippi Valley State University
Rust College
Missouri
Avila University
College of the Ozarks
Culver-Stockton College
Drury University
Fontbonne University
Maryville University of St. Louis
Northwest Missouri State University
Ranken Technical College
Rockhurst University
Saint Louis University
Stephens College
Truman State University
Westminster College
William Jewell College
William Woods University
Montana
Carroll College
University of Great Falls
Salish Kootenai College
Nebraska
Chadron State College
Concordia University-Nebraska
Creighton University
Doane College-Crete
Hastings College
Midland University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Peru State College
Union College
Wayne State College
Nevada
Sierra Nevada College
New Hampshire
Colby-Sawyer College
Granite State College
New England College
New Jersey
Saint Peter's University
New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus
Navajo Technical University
Northern New Mexico College
St. John's College
New York
Canisius College
Cazenovia College
Clarkson University
Colgate University (free for non-US citizens only)
D'Youville College
Daemen College
Davis College
Hartwick College
Hilbert College
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Keuka College
Le Moyne College
Medaille College
College of Mount Saint Vincent
Mount Saint Mary College
Nazareth College
Niagara University
Roberts Wesleyan College
Sage College of Albany
St. Bonaventure University
St. John's University
College of New Rochelle/Mercy College
College of St. Rose
Touro College
US Merchant Marine Academy
US Military Academy (West Point)
North Carolina
Barton College
Belmont Abbey College
Catawba College
Guilford College
Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte
University of Mount Olive
Queens University of Charlotte
Warren Wilson College
North Dakota
University of Jamestown
Ohio
Ashland University
Baldwin Wallace University
Chatfield College
College of Wooster
University of Dayton
Defiance College
Denison University
University of Findlay
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franklin University
Hiram College
John Carroll University
Kenyon College
Lake Erie College
University of Mount Union
Notre Dame College
Oberlin College
Ohio Northern University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Shawnee State University
University of Rio Grande
Ursuline College
Wilmington College
Wittenberg University
Xavier University
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Baptist University
Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Oregon
Lewis & Clark College
Linfield College-McMinnville Campus
Reed College
Pennsylvania
Albright College
Allegheny College
Arcadia University
Bryn Mawr College
Carlow University
Cedar Crest College
Central Pennsylvania College
Chatham University
Delaware Valley College
Duquesne University
Elizabethtown College
Gannon University
Gwynedd Mercy University
Immaculata University
Juniata College
King's College
La Roche College
La Salle University
Lebanon Valley College
Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
Lycoming College
Marywood University
Mercyhurst University
Moravian College
Neumann University
Point Park University
Robert Morris University
Rosemont College
Saint Francis University
University of Scranton
Susquehanna University
Ursinus College
Washington & Jefferson College
Westminster College
Wilson College
Rhode Island
Johnson & Wales University - Providence
South Carolina
Allen University
Coker College
Columbia College
Converse College
Limestone College
Presbyterian College
South Dakota
Augustana College
University of Sioux Falls
Tennessee
Freed-Hardeman University
Lane College
Maryville College
Rhodes College
Sewanee: The University of the South
Tusculum College
Texas
Austin College
Baylor University
Hardin-Simmons University
Houston Baptist University
Howard Payne University
LeTourneau University
Saint Edward's University (fee waived for those who apply by Dec. 1)
Southwestern Adventist University
Southwestern University
St. Mary's University
Texas A&M International University
University of St. Thomas - Texas
University of Houston-Victoria
University of Texas-El Paso
University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
Texas Wesleyan University
Trinity University
Vermont
Champlain College
Virginia
Averett University
Bridgewater College
Christendom College
Emory & Henry College
Hampden-Sydney College
Hollins University
Liberty University
Lynchburg College
Randolph-Macon College
Randolph College
Roanoke College
Sweet Briar College
Washington
Olympic College
Pacific Lutheran University
Saint Martin's University
Whitworth University
West Virginia
Alderson Broaddus University
Bethany College
Bluefield State College
Concord University
Davis & Elkins College
West Liberty University
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
West Virginia Wesleyan College
Wheeling Jesuit University
Wisconsin
Alverno College
Beloit College
Cardinal Stritch University
Carroll University
Lakeland College
Marquette University
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Mount Mary University
Northland College
St. Norbert College
Wisconsin Lutheran College
What's Next?
The Common Application makes it easy to apply to a bunch of different schools through a single online platform. Find out which colleges use it.
Are you worried about standardized tests and their role in your college application? Read this article to find out when these tests might not matter for you. Also take a look at this list of colleges that don't require SAT scores.
Everyone knows about the really selective colleges, but what are some colleges that are actually easy to get into? Find out here.
