US universities with no application fee for Ghanaians
Yes, you can apply to many US universities without paying a fee. Some charge no application fee at all, such as Colby. Many others waive the fee for students who cannot pay it, including international students. You request a waiver through the Common App, where a school official confirms your circumstances. Ask before you pay, because a fee once paid is rarely refunded.
Can I apply to US universities without paying fees?
Yes, to many of them. Some US colleges charge no application fee at all. Colby, for example, says there is no fee to apply. Many others charge a fee but waive it for students who cannot pay, and international students can ask too.
Application fees at selective private universities often run from about $60 to $90 each. Across a list of ten, that is more than many Ghanaian families can spare. Waivers and no-fee colleges can bring that close to nothing.
Which colleges charge no application fee?
A group of colleges charge no fee to anyone, international students included. Colby says so on its apply page. Several other selective colleges have announced the same policy in recent years.
Policies change, so check each college's apply page for the current year. A no-fee college still has its own deadlines, essays and aid forms. The saving is only the fee.
How much can a full list cost without waivers?
More than $1,000, before you have a single offer. Here is an illustration for a list of ten universities, using round figures:
| Item | Illustrative cost |
|---|---|
| Ten application fees at about $80 each | $800 |
| CSS Profile: $25 for the first university, $16 for each of nine more | $169 |
| One SAT sitting in Ghana | $111 |
| Total | About $1,080 |
A second SAT sitting or extra score reports add more. Waivers can remove most of this, which is why it is worth asking at every step.
Should I add a college just because it has no fee?
No. A free application still takes hours: its own supplement essays, its own aid forms and its own deadlines. Add a no-fee college only if it would fund you and you would genuinely go.
The right order is: first, build a list of colleges that fund international students; then, for each, find out whether it has no fee or a waiver. A college that does not fund internationals is not a bargain because it is free to apply to. Our guide to building a college list for full aid shows how to choose.
How do fee waivers work for international students?
You ask for one in the application, and someone at your school confirms it. The Common App offers a fee waiver to applicants who meet at least one of its indicators of economic need. Most of those indicators are US programmes, such as free school lunches, that do not apply in Ghana. One does: a statement from a school official about your family's financial circumstances.
So for a Ghanaian student, the usual route is:
- Answer the fee waiver question in the Common App's profile section, choosing the school official's statement as your indicator.
- Ask your counsellor, headteacher or assistant headteacher to confirm your eligibility when they complete their part of the application.
- Submit without paying. The Common App lets you submit while the confirmation is pending.
Each college then decides how to treat the request. Most accept a confirmed Common App waiver. A few have their own process for international students.
Who at my school confirms the waiver?
Your college counsellor, if your school has one. Many Ghanaian schools do not, so the person who acts as your counsellor on the Common App, often the headteacher or an assistant head, confirms it instead.
Agree this with them before you submit. Explain that the Common App will ask them to confirm your family's circumstances, and that it takes them a minute. A school official who knows your family's situation is the right person; a teacher who does not is not.
What if a college does not accept the Common App waiver?
Write to its admissions office before you submit. Explain briefly that your family cannot afford the fee, and ask whether it can be waived. Many colleges will agree, especially for a student who is also applying for need-based aid.
Send it from the email address you use on your application, and include your full name and date of birth as they appear there, so the office can find your file. Allow a week for a reply, and send a polite follow-up if none comes. Do this well before the deadline, not the night before.
Keep the email short and factual. Something like: "I am applying from Ghana for need-based aid, and my family cannot pay the application fee. Could you waive it, or tell me how to request a waiver?"
What other fees should I plan for?
Three more, and each has its own waiver route:
- The CSS Profile, the aid form many universities use. It has its own fee and its own waivers, and some universities accept a free form instead. Our page on the CSS Profile fee and waivers explains them. Dartmouth, for example, publishes how it handles fee waivers for aid applicants.
- Test fees, if you sit the SAT. Ask the College Board or your school whether you qualify for a waiver.
- Score reports, for sending test results to each university.
Add these up for your list before you decide how many universities to apply to. Our guide to how to apply to US universities covers the whole process.
Does asking for a waiver hurt my application?
No. A fee waiver is handled separately from the admission decision, and colleges expect students who need aid to ask for one. Asking for a fee waiver does not tell a college anything its aid forms will not already show.
What can matter, at a need-aware university, is the aid request itself, not the fee waiver. Our guide to whether asking for aid hurts explains that difference.
What should I do first?
For each university on your list, check its apply page: no fee, a Common App waiver, or its own process. Then speak to the person at your school who will confirm your waiver, and do it before September ends.
Our free ebook walks through the whole application, including the costs, if you would like it in one place.
Questions people ask
Are there US universities with no application fee?
Yes. Some colleges charge no application fee to anyone, Colby among them. Others charge a fee but waive it for students who cannot afford it. Check each college's apply page for its current policy.
Can international students get a Common App fee waiver?
Often, yes. The Common App lets applicants request a fee waiver if they meet one of its indicators of economic need, which include a statement from a school official about the family's finances. Each college decides how it treats international requests.
Who confirms my fee waiver?
Usually your school counsellor or another school official. In Ghana, that may be your headteacher or assistant headteacher if your school has no college counsellor. Agree this with them before you submit.
Do fee waivers cover the CSS Profile too?
No, they are separate. The CSS Profile has its own fee and its own waivers, and some universities accept a free aid form instead. Ask each university about both fees.