Application Fee Woes

[ndlek21]

Hi all,

This might be a silly question. I am applying to 16 clinical psychology programs, so my application fee total is going to be pretty steep. I was wondering how schools typically determine if one qualifies for a waiver.

I'm an undergrad, so I'm still dependent on my parents...but they told me I'm on my own in paying for applications. I have some money saved up from various part-time jobs, but all these fees will take a serious hit to my modest bank account

Any advice? Just accept it...and hope that I get admitted somewhere, so I won't be flushing money down the metaphorical application toilet?

Thanks.

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[Doctor Eliza]

If you have read around this site a lot, this might be an obvious suggestion (but it didn't occur to me back in the day when I was applying). Make sure that all the professors that you are applying to are taking new students. I didn't know that it was a good idea to check first and probably paid for applications that had no shot because the profs weren't taking new students.

You also might ask a current prof at your UG about whether 16 programs is an appropriate number of programs to apply to in your case. I also applied to 16 plus one master's program as a backup and I ended up with a nearly unmanageable number of interviews. It was a good problem to have, of course, but I could have saved some time and hassle if I had realized that I was much more competitive than I thought I was!

Best,
Dr. E

 

[ndlek21]

Thanks, Dr. E.

I have - my initial list was actually close to 30, but I narrowed it down based on interest compatibility, location, and finally based on who was taking a student.
I've contacted a POI for every school on my list...

Statistically, I am a fairly competitive candidate...but where it matters (research experience), I personally feel like I've crammed a lot into 1.5 years. Everyone I've talked to has simply said "the more the better," when it comes to number of schools. I don't feel comfortable taking any of those schools off the list...but I might be forced to, depending on whether I can get any of these fees waived...

 

[mewtoo]

I've been worrying about that too. I've only seen one school on my list that said they had a waiver, but they said you had to be on food stamps pretty much to get it. While neither my mother nor I have very much money, we've never saw the need for food stamps (we'd probably qualify considering she is a small business owner and hasn't drawn a paycheck yet). I get max aid, but apparently that isn't enough.

 

[paramour]

Yeah, I don't recall seeing many schools with application fee waivers during the application process. Once you reached the interview stage (i.e., if you're granted an interview), there were more programs that had some form of financial assistance either for all students (more often) or based upon financial need--although this is not to say that all programs offer students financial aid during the interview process . . . because they don't.

 

[psychstudent5]

good suggestions in this post. you may also want to check with an accountant or someone to see if you can write the fees off as an education expense. i believe you can, but i'm not at all completely sure.