জ্ঞান দান #১: FEE WAIVERS | USA

LABIB TAZWAR RAHMAN·WEDNESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2017·

Applying to US universities is perhaps WAY cheaper than you think. You can save
HUNDREDS of US Dollars by reading this post. I had so much confusion
regarding this issue which were later resolved by the lovely and kind people of
this group (I'm looking at you, Saraf) when I applied. I've recently noticed that a
lot of people are concerned about the impact of asking for waivers on their
chances of getting admitted to a university. So I thought it would be great to
share the little knowledge I have acquired throughout my journey.

There are 3 types of fee waivers you can avail: i. Common App (the application
through which you can apply to US universities) fee waiver, ii. CSS (the
application through which you apply for college scholarships) fee waiver, and iii.
Standardized Tests (SAT/ACT/TOEFL/IELTS) fee waivers.

1. About Common App, most schools give Common App fee waivers. Some
give CSS waivers. Very few give waivers on sending
SAT/ACT/TOEFL/IELTS scores.

Now about me: I used Common App fee waiver for ALL universities. Only
UMass Amherst didn't allow it, so I didn't progress further with their
application. How to get this waiver? Click here.
2. About CSS, I used CSS for 8 universities (6 with CSS waivers, of which I got
into Duke, URoch, and Amherst). Even the ones which don't give CSS
waivers (like Stanford, UPenn) allowed me to send an International
Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA: the free alternative to CSS). I
was accepted into 3 universities that took ISFAA instead of CSS - Stanford,
 UPenn, and Colby. How to get this waiver? Ask for a CSS fee waiver from
any university by emailing their financial aid office.
3. About Standardized Tests, I paid to send my SAT to every university. You
can send your scores to 4 colleges for FREE anyway. However, I didn't pay
to send TOEFL to ANY university (I'm not sure if this impacted university
decisions). Furthermore, a lot of universities will waive your TOEFL if your
SAT/ACT Reading score is above a certain threshold. So maybe you DO
need to send TOEFL electronically (or maybe you DO NOT). I just
described my condition to universities, and most accepted it. You might be
able to send SAT/ACT scores through your counselor's email address to a
few universities too. This way you can save some money. How to get this
waiver? Again, simply explain your situation (as well as SAT/ACT Reading
and English score) to your universities over e-mail to check for eligibility.
(Also, a good exercise is to take the TOEFL test after you've taken the
SAT/ACT.)

Paying these fees would've taken a hefty toll on my parents. Universities had my
bank statements, and they knew this. NOT ALL COLLEGES ARE THE SAME,
AND "PERHAPS" FOR A VERY FEW COLLEGES YOUR ASKING FOR
WAIVERS WILL HURT YOUR APPLICATION (this might not be for asking
waivers. but due to applying for financial aid). But colleges that will assess you
differently if you ask for a waiver (that covers 12 to 90 US Dollars) will

😛
probably be less inclined to give you financial aid or need-based scholarships
anyway. So there's that.

The best thing to do to find out if you're eligible for

these waivers is to send an email to a university with
the following information:

a. Country of residence:

b. The number of family members who live in parents' household:

c. Family's total 2016 income from all sources in U.S. dollars:

d. The equity (value minus debt) of family's assets in U.S. dollars:

e. The exchange rate used to convert your currency to U.S. dollars:

If you are eligible, it's probably a good idea to not pay for something when you
can get it for free!

TAKEAWAY:

1. E-MAIL UNIVERSITIES ALL. THE. TIME. IF YOU DON'T ASK YOU'LL

NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MIGHT GET.

2. ASK FOR THESE WAIVERS A FEW MONTHS BEFORE DEADLINE. MANY

UNIVERSITIES OFFER FINITE AMOUNT WAIVERS.

I hope InShaaAllah this post was helpful for prospective applicants. It was an
attempt to show that except a VERY few universities, you probably won't be at a
disadvantage by applying for these waivers. May Allah grant success to everyone
who will apply to the US this year or in the future.

And remember to get these waivers - and to get them well in advance!

#GottaCatchEmAll.