Connecticut high school students applying to the University of Connecticut and state universities will not have to pay the application fee on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
For the second consecutive year, UConn and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system will participate in “Fee-Free Application Day,” an initiative that aims to reduce barriers to higher education.
The Connecticut General Assembly introduced legislation in 2021 requiring the schools to waive admission fees for high students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms.
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system consists of 12 community colleges, Charter Oak State College and four universities: Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University.
UConn will waive the $80 undergraduate application fee for all Connecticut high school students who submit applications that day, a UConn official said in a press release. Certain applicants can waive the fee if they are eligible; however, the initiative applies to CT high schoolers at any income level, according to the release.
Vern Granger, UConn’s director of undergraduate admissions, said in the news release that the initiative may help applicants who don't qualify for waivers and may not apply to UConn due to the cost of the application fee.
Anyone who applies to one of the four state universities on Nov. 15 will not have to pay a fee, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education announced. The admissions fee for those universities is $50.
Central Connecticut State University is offering free applications from Nov. 15 to 30.
The average cost of a college application fee in 2021 was $45, according to the U.S. News and World Report. But those costs can add up as students are encouraged to apply to between five to eight colleges for high acceptance chances.