Request a Common App fee waiver in your My Common Application account: open Profile, select Common App fee waiver, review the eligibility indicators, and sign to certify that you qualify. Common App asks your counselor to confirm eligibility, but its first-year guide says you can submit applications without paying while confirmation is pending. Each college sets its own acceptance rules, so check every school’s policy before you submit.
Who may qualify for a Common App fee waiver?
Common App lists several indicators of eligibility. You may qualify if one or more apply to your circumstances:
- You are enrolled in or eligible for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program (FRPL).
- You have received, or are eligible to receive, an SAT or ACT fee waiver.
- Your annual family income falls within USDA Food and Nutrition Service eligibility guidelines.
- Your family receives public assistance.
- You participate in a federal, state, or local program that serves students from low-income families, such as GEAR UP or TRIO/Upward Bound.
- You live in federally subsidized public housing, a foster home, or are experiencing homelessness.
- You are a ward of the state or an orphan.
- You have received, or are eligible to receive, a Pell Grant.
- A school official, college access counselor, financial aid officer, or community leader can provide a supporting statement.
Assess your own situation against the listed indicators. A school-wide free-lunch policy or a testing-waiver practice does not, by itself, establish that you individually qualify. If you are unsure, review the indicators with a counselor or trusted adult. See Common App’s fee-waiver guidance for its current eligibility information.
How to request the waiver in My Common Application
- Sign in to My Common Application.
- Open Profile.
- Select Common App fee waiver.
- Review the eligibility indicators and identify those that apply to you.
- Enter your signature to certify that you qualify.
Common App will ask your counselor to confirm your eligibility. You can submit without paying while confirmation is pending, according to the Common App first-year application guide. If confirmation is delayed, contact your counselor. Common App’s cited materials do not specify a separate confirmation deadline or an escalation route.
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Check each college’s fee-waiver policy
The Common App waiver is not accepted under one uniform policy at every member college. Some colleges do not accept it; others offer their own institution-specific waiver. Check the fee and waiver information in each college’s application requirements, and ask its admissions office if the policy or process is unclear.
A college-specific waiver is a separate route from certifying for the Common App waiver. Common App’s guide says an accepted Common App waiver or a college-specific waiver removes the application fee for submission. For a college’s own waiver, follow that school’s application instructions, including any process or timing requirements it publishes.
What international applicants should check
Rules can differ for applicants outside the United States. A college may charge international applicants a different fee, limit the Common App waiver to U.S. applicants, or not accept it; it may offer its own waiver instead. Verify eligibility, acceptance, and any separate application process directly with each college.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How widely the waiver is used
Common App’s 2025 resource reports that more than 400,000 applicants received a Common App fee waiver in the 2022–2023 cycle, and that $133 million in waivers were granted that year. These are historical figures, not counts for the current application cycle. See Common App’s 2025 application-fees resource.
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