Secondary Fee Waivers w/o FAP?

[m_tsflame]

Hi everyone,

AA male here. I included myself in the Med-MAR system when taking my MCAT. Thankfully, I did pretty well and am receiving a few emails from schools encouraging me to apply. The only thing is I can currently only apply to around 10 schools since my parents just earned over the FAP limit this cycle. Would it be beneficial to ask the schools that have emailed me for secondary app fee waivers? If anyone has done this before, I would really appreciate any guidance.

Thanks!

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[TempuraOreos]

Hi everyone,

AA male here. I included myself in the Med-MAR system when taking my MCAT. Thankfully, I did pretty well and am receiving a few emails from schools encouraging me to apply. The only thing is I can currently only apply to around 10 schools since my parents just earned over the FAP limit this cycle. Would it be beneficial to ask the schools that have emailed me for secondary app fee waivers? If anyone has done this before, I would really appreciate any guidance.

Thanks!

A few weeks after I got my score back last year, some schools ended up sending me letters saying they'd waive my secondary fees. I didn't apply last year, but I asked if the waivers would carry over to this year and they said it would. Don't know if this might happen to you. Otherwise, I say it's worth a shot to call and ask. The worse they can say is no.

 

[m_tsflame]

Ok great, I'll give them a call before the AMCAS transmission at the end of June.

Thanks!

 

[TempuraOreos]

Ok great, I'll give them a call before the AMCAS transmission at the end of June.

Thanks!

You're Welcome. Good luck.

 

[UnmarkedTrail]

Yeah that’s fine. Also it doesn’t hurt to email schools that didn’t contact you. I didn’t get FAP for last cycle, and was able to have some fees waived just by emailing the school and asking.

 

[MCATdisciple]

Hello, I would also recommend emailing the schools and telling them your situation.

Here is a template you can use:


Hello, my name is _________________ (AAMC ID:______________). I am an African American and/or Latino male/female and I am applying for admission to your medical school class entering in ______. My MCAT is _____ and my GPA is ______. My financial circumstances preclude my ability to pay your secondary fee. Is it possible to waive your secondary fee and accept my application?


Best,
___________________

 

[m_tsflame]

Thank you for the help! I will definitely be making use of that template.

 

[FishermanDon99]

Thank you for the help! I will definitely be making use of that template.

Did you end up inquiring with any schools? Could you sure what schools and what their feedback was??

 

[m_tsflame]

Did you end up inquiring with any schools? Could you sure what schools and what their feedback was??

Ya, some were happy to waive it, while others were more strict about things .
Waived: Hopkins, UChicago, Harvard (with proof), Columbia (with proof), UCSF, Mayo
Didn't Waive: NYU, Stanford, UPenn, UNC, WashU
Forgot to ask: Yale

 

[FishermanDon99]

Ya, some were happy to waive it, while others were more strict about things .
Waived: Hopkins, UChicago, Harvard (with proof), Columbia (with proof), UCSF, Mayo
Didn't Waive: NYU, Stanford, UPenn, UNC, WashU
Forgot to ask: Yale

Awesome! What do you mean by with proof though? Proof of financial need or URM status?

 

[m_tsflame]

Awesome! What do you mean by with proof though? Proof of financial need or URM status?

Proof of financial need. So I had to ask my pre-med advisor to write a letter describing my financial need and include my financial aid info from college.

 

[FishermanDon99]

Proof of financial need. So I had to ask my pre-med advisor to write a letter describing my financial need and include my financial aid info from college.

Thanks for the help! Don’t mean to keep pestering but of the schools that you mentioned that were willing to waive the fee I was only contacted by Columbia. Did you ask Harvard and UCSF without them reaching out to you or had they encouraged you to apply vía medmar?

 

[m_tsflame]

Thanks for the help! Don’t mean to keep pestering but of the schools that you mentioned that were willing to waive the fee I was only contacted by Columbia. Did you ask Harvard and UCSF without them reaching out to you or had they encouraged you to apply vía medmar?

No problem! Harvard reached out to me, but UCSF did not. So I'd recommend contacting all the schools you're applying to!