I work at a university and we had a complicated formula to create a fake fee waiver code that looked like a one-time code but was actually just your signature plus some meaningless numbers. We were supposed to give out a “unique” fee waiver code to each student so that they would think that they are super duper special, but at a certain point in the year we ran a report of every applicant who sent us transcripts and test scores, but whose application wouldn’t be read because they didn’t pay the app fee. Then we’d block-waive the fee and read them all.

Eventually, after the staff had been pushing for years to get rid of it, they let us just not pretend about the app fee anyway. We never cared about the fee, we waived half of them anyway and I think that money went straight into a dean’s pocket because the number of app fees paid/waived was the one statistic about money that no higher-ups ever asked for.

App fees are stupid and I’m so glad I don’t have to solicit them anymore.

edit: I still get a few hundred fee waiver requests each year, though. And it’s always privileged kids, either some program they’re a part of sends us a form letter or the kid sends out an email CC’d to fifteen college admission departments saying they need a fee waiver because they’re applying to thirty schools.

oh don’t worry, you can fill out this additional application and write a personal essay describing your struggle and you will be evaluated on whether you are eligible to have the application fee waived on a means-tested basis! /s i hope