Apply Free This October: Colleges Waiving Application Fees for Philly Students
You’ve finished the essay. You’ve asked a teacher for a recommendation and filled in every box on the form. Then the last screen asks for a credit card.
For many Philadelphia students, that screen is where an application stops. Most colleges charge a fee to apply, and sending five or six applications can cost a few hundred dollars before you hear back from a single school. This October, a long list of colleges is taking that cost off the table for School District of Philadelphia students.
What College Awareness Month is
College Awareness Month is led by CASE and is now in its second year. It is Philadelphia’s local piece of the American College Application Campaign, a national effort to help more first-generation students and students from under-resourced communities apply to college.
Throughout October, students can attend in-person and virtual workshops on finding the right college fit, visit citywide college fairs, and get hands-on help with college and FAFSA applications. There are career exploration events too. See the full October lineup and find dates and registration on the PG2C College Awareness Month page.
Colleges waiving application fees for SDP students
From October 1 through October 31, the schools below are waiving application fees for School District of Philadelphia students, and many are also hosting college awareness workshops. Apply by October 31 to use the waiver.
- Arcadia University
- Bryn Mawr College
- Chestnut Hill College
- Cheyney University
- Community College of Philadelphia
- Drexel University
- Haverford College
- Holy Family University
- Jefferson University
- La Salle University
- Lincoln University
- Manor College
- Pennsylvania College of Technology
- Penn State University
- Rowan University
- Saint Joseph’s University
- Shippensburg University
- Swarthmore College
- Temple University
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh: use fee waiver code PANTH3R (details below)
- Ursinus College
- Villanova University
- Widener University
Applying to Pitt? Use code PANTH3R
Philadelphia students applying to the University of Pittsburgh can enter the code PANTH3R to waive the application fee. The code works on both the University of Pittsburgh Application and the Common App, and Pitt doesn’t prefer one over the other. If you’ve already started a Common App for other schools, adding Pitt there saves you from entering your information twice.
Pitt uses rolling admission, so there’s no set deadline for first-year applicants, and decisions go out throughout the year. An application sent in October gets read sooner, and you’ll hear back sooner.
There is one date to remember. First-year students who submit their application and all required materials by December 1 are automatically considered for Pitt’s academic scholarships. Applying in October with the code puts you well ahead of that date.
When you apply, Pitt will ask you to rank its campuses, choose your first-year school, and say whether you want to be considered for Frederick Honors College or a Guaranteed Admissions Program. Look through those options before you sit down so you’re ready with your answers.
Check your deadlines first
Some of these schools have an early action deadline of November 1, including Penn State. Applying early action means you hear back sooner, and it does not lock you into attending. Look up each school on the PG2C college deadline tool before you plan your October.
How to use the waiver
Each school handles the waiver a little differently. At Pitt, you enter the code PANTH3R when you apply. For the other schools, ask your school counselor how to claim the waiver before you submit.
If you’re not sure where to start, talk to your counselor this week. Bring your list, and ask which of these schools fit what you want to study. The fee is covered. The only thing left is to hit submit.
