#application fees

- Last week I was notified that my landlord has decided to terminate my lease for my apartment; Most likely due to the property, changing ownership recently and nothing personal to do with me

- I still have my housing voucher, so I can use those funds to lease another apartment; but I have to move out of my current place by May 31st, 2026

- I'm under an insane amount of stress right now; losing my apartment was completely unexpected and very triggering/overwhelming; right now i'm working my butt off to avoid being homeless all over again 2 months from now

- This time around, I do have a much better awareness/understanding of the specific steps I need to take in order to secure a new rental property with my housing voucher; my current living situation is also much more stable, and so far I have a pretty solid support system

- However, I'm still struggling with several unknown variables that could drag the moving process out past the end of my lease; so being homeless again this year (even temporarily) is still a looming possibility

- One of those variables is getting the money to cover the application fees for all the properties I'll be applying to; my housing voucher only applies to rent and utility costs after I get a new lease, so I still have to pay the application fees myself

- If anyone is able and willing to spare me some money to help with these fees, I've put my Paypal and Venmo info below; please don't feel pressured to send me money if you aren't able to do so - I would greatly appreciate other forms of support like guiding advice, prayers, social/emotional connections, etc, and my dms are open on both Tumblr & Discord

Portal's Paypal Info:

Email: [email protected]

Username: RissaRooKangaQueen

Name: Karissa McKenzie

Portal's Venmo Info:

Username: kmckenzie22

find part one here:all about keeping down the costs of standardized testing

and here’s part two, about application fees and the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever filled out, the CSS Profile. 

3. Application Fees

This is most likely the most expensive part of the college application process. Each application can be anywhere from $25 to $80 and if you apply to more than a couple schools, they can really start to add up. Luckily, there are a bunch of ways you can get rid of some of those.

If you qualify for SAT waivers, you can also get the majority (if not all) of your application fees waived. This is the easiest way to go about it, because you don’t have to put in any extra work in to get them.

Some schools will waive your fee if you apply for need-based financial aid or if you start your application before a certain date or some other things

A lot of times, a school will waive your fee if you tour the school as well; the travel doesn’t always work out of course, but you kill two birds with one stone this way as well.

Honestly, if this is really going to be an issue for you, call the school’s admissions office and explain your situation. People can be very understanding and you might find yourself surprised by the results.

Finally, you can also talk to your school’s guidance office (or the equivalent at your school) and talk to your counselor. Though I didn’t qualify for the SAT waivers, he managed to get all of my Common App application fees waived, because a school official can vouch for your financial need. I only ended up paying one of nine application fees and it was honestly the biggest lifesaver of my high school career.

4. CSS Profile

This is a more detailed financial aid profile, done through College Board, that often needs to be sent to schools that give out more generous financial aid. It costs $16 as a base fee and $12 to send to each individual school, which can add up depending on the schools you apply to.

I believe you can get a few of the fees waived if you qualify for SAT waivers. If that’s not the case, I would just recommend you look up the due dates for financial aid documents and stagger their sending so you/your parents don’t have to spend their whole paycheck. Just keep a close eye on your planner so you don’t miss any of them.

Most importantly: if you find you can’t afford something, don’t let that stop you from applying to a school. Talk to your guidance office, your administration, and/or your college’s admissions office to see if you can work something out. You won’t know until you ask and you don’t want to miss out on applying to your dream school because of it.

If you’re planning to live, work, study or settle in the UK, you cannot afford to ignore the immigration fee increases coming into force from 9 April 2025. The UK government has announced a sweeping rise in visa and nationality application fees across all categories — including work, study, visitor, and settlement routes. At Lexvisa, we understand that visa costs are only one part of the bigger…