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Creating a Common App account and applying through it is free. The fees come from colleges: many charge an application fee, and many waive it for students who would find it a burden. The Common App fee waiver lets eligible first-year applicants request that waiver once, for every participating college that accepts it.
The rules below follow the Common App's own fee waiver criteria. Colleges can set their own policies too, so check commonapp.org and each college's page before you rely on a detail.
Who is eligible
The Common App fee waiver form lists the criteria below. Meeting one is generally enough.
- You are enrolled in, or eligible for, the federal free or reduced-price lunch program.
- You have received, or are eligible for, an SAT or ACT testing fee waiver.
- Your family's annual income is within the USDA Food and Nutrition Service income guidelines.
- Your family receives public assistance.
- You are enrolled in a federal, state or local program for low-income students, such as TRIO programs like Upward Bound, or GEAR UP.
- You live in federally subsidized public housing or a foster home, or you are homeless.
- You are a ward of the state or an orphan.
- A school official, college access counselor, financial aid officer or community leader can provide a supporting statement.
How to request the fee waiver
If you are unsure whether you qualify, ask your school counselor before you submit. A counselor can also tell you about other waivers, such as a college's own form.
- 1In your Common App, open the Profile section and answer the fee waiver question.
- 2Select the eligibility criterion that applies to you.
- 3Your school counselor is asked to confirm your eligibility as part of the school materials they submit.
- 4When you submit to a college that accepts the waiver, the payment step should show the fee as waived.
Which colleges accept it
Colleges that charge an application fee must now say whether they accept the Common App fee waiver, and for whom: all students, US students only, or no students. You can see each college's policy on its college information page, on the requirements grid and on the review and submit screen.
Many colleges also offer their own fee waivers, including to students who do not meet the Common App criteria, such as first-generation applicants or students who visited campus. Check each college's admissions page.
International students and transfer applicants
The Common App criteria are built around US programs such as the federal lunch program, so they fit US students most easily. International applicants should look at each college's own fee waiver policy; some accept requests directly. Transfer applicants use the Common App for Transfer, which handles fees separately, so check the transfer application and each college.
Read next: How to write a transfer essay
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