College can feel costly before students even get there, given the various fees associated with the application process. For students from low-income backgrounds, these expenses can be even more challenging.
One cost is the registration fee for college entrance exams, such as the SAT or ACT. A score from one of these tests is required to apply to many, though not all, colleges and universities.
Testers must pay $46 to register for the SAT or ACT, according to the College Board and ACT websites, or around $60 for the versions with writing components.
[Find out how to reduce the cost of applying to college.]
A number of states, though, will foot this bill for public school students. And these exams will take place during a school day, so test-takers don’t have to find a way to get to the testing site on a Saturday.
In 2017-2018, 10 states and the District of Columbia will cover the cost of an SAT test for students, according to Jaslee Carayol, associate director of media relations for the College Board.
A total of 19 states — 13 of which require all high school juniors to take the test — will pay for students to sit for the ACT this school year, according to Ed Colby, senior director of media and public relations for ACT.
Many individual school districts will cover the cost of these exams as well.
[Learn college students’ best SAT, ACT test strategies.]
But if students don’t attend a high school where the SAT or ACT is offered for free, they can avoid exam fees by obtaining a fee waiver. These documents come with a code students can use in lieu of payment information when they register for the test.
To qualify for a fee waiver, students must meet eligibility requirements, which are largely the same for both college exams.
According the testing companies’ websites, high schoolers must be in their junior or senior year; a U.S. citizen or taking the test within the U.S. or a U.S. territory; and have financial need, which they can demonstrate in several different ways. For example, students whose family income qualifies them for free or reduced-price lunch at school are eligible for test fee waivers. Those who are homeless, in foster care or whose families receive public assistance also qualify.
Students can find the full lists of financial need criteria online for the SAT and ACT.
School counselors are the primary distributors of test fee waivers, says Jane Dapkus, vice president of SAT program management and policy at the College Board. However, some college access organizations give them out too, she says.
For example, the counselors for the University of Maryland–College Park‘s Upward Bound Program, a federally funded college readiness program for low-income students, distribute fee waivers to their students, says Georgette Hardy DeJesus, executive director of Pre-College Programs in Undergraduate Studies at UMD.
If students aren’t sure whether they qualify for a waiver, they can speak with their school counselor, says Geoff Heckman, school counselor and department chair at Platte County High School in Missouri. For those with limited or no access to a counselor, a teacher or administrator may act in that role and be able to help.
But if students can’t find anyone to assist them, Heckman says, “then they can reach out directly to the testing companies and say, ‘This is the school I’m at. We don’t have access to this information. How can I still get a fee waiver?'”
[Discover tips for families to survive high school without counselors.]
These fee waivers come with additional benefits too. For instance, the two testing companies provide a number of college application fee waivers to students who have their test fee waived.
And students who want to take the SAT or ACT again to try to boost their score can receive a second fee waiver, though two is the maximum for each test, according to the College Board and ACT websites.
Dapkus from the College Board recommends students take the SAT as soon as they can in their junior year. She says low-income students, in particular, often don’t take the test until fall or winter of their senior year, which can create challenges with retesting.
“At that point, you’re heading into college application season,” she says. “If you didn’t do all that well, your ability to take a repeat test and practice in between just starts shrinking.”
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How to Take the SAT, ACT for Free originally appeared on usnews.com
