New York Colleges are Waiving Their Application Fees Right Now

By Amy Feiereisel. NCPR Community Engagement Reporter.

Colleges and universities across New York are waiving their application fees this week and next week. That’s in an effort to make college more accessible to New York families, but also to boost enrollment in higher education, which has been on the decline for years.

SUNY fees waived

Between October 21 and November 3, The State University of New York is waiving up to five application fees, per student, to its 64 colleges and universities.

SUNY Chancellor, John B. King Junior, says the goal of the free application weeks is to make it easier for students and families to explore their higher education options.

"You know, with 64 campuses, we have something for everybody," said King. "If you want a big school, we've got University of Buffalo with 30,000 students. If you want a small liberal arts college, we've got SUNY Geneseo. If you're passionate about the environment, we've got our Environmental Science and Forestry College in Syracuse."

King says they also want to get the message out about financial aid, and the cost of state schools.

"We want families to know how affordable SUNY is. And we find that when students begin the application process, that may be the first time they and their families realize that our tuition at our four-year campuses is only $7070 for the year."

He also noted that over 50% of SUNY students go tuition-free, "because of the federal Pell Grant program and the New York State Tuition Assistance Program."

The state’s Tuition Assistance Program was recently expanded in the most recent state budget. About 50,000 additional students were made eligible for the money, and the minimum award was increased.

Private schools waiving fees and a nationwide trend

Alongside the SUNY system, and the City University of New York, over fifty private universities are also waiving their application fees in October.

It’s part of nationwide trend of colleges working to remove barriers to admission. For example, in 2023, Utah eliminated college application fees.

That’s partly in response to declining enrollment in higher education. Schools want to boost their applications.

In the SUNY system, Chancellor King says 2023 was the first enrollment increase SUNY has seen in a decade, and preliminary numbers for this fall suggest that will continue. But that increase is more the exception than the rule in the broader landscape of higher education.

Since 2010, the number of students enrolling in college has been on a steady decline, about 1.5% per year.

Declining enrollment and FAFSA issues

Fewer students applying to and attending college each year has put a lot of financial strain on schools, especially private ones, which have seen the steepest drop in enrollment.

Private schools Clarkson University, St. Lawrence University, and Paul Smith's College have all seen decreases in enrollment and have made organizational changes.

NCPR spoke with Clarkson University professor Stephen Bird earlier this year about his department being cut. "In 2019, this was a hallway with 17 or 16 people who were here just about almost every day. And by the fall, there’ll be six or seven of them left," he said.

College enrollment took another hit when the US Department of Education revamped the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, last fall. Technical issues with the new form led to millions of students not being able to apply. That had an impact on college admissions, says SUNY Chancellor King.

"Nationally, there's no question that there were students who were negatively impacted by the glitches and the delays in the application, due to the federal government's rollout of the new form. And we know that in in New York, we were down about 11% statewide in FAFSA completion," said King.

King says the SUNY system made a lot of efforts this spring and summer to make up for the federal FAFSA challenges. That included paying current SUNY students to provide FAFSA guidance to prospective students.

"Although we think we were able to mitigate the impact for SUNY, we still worry about the students who may have missed out on knowing how much financial aid is out there for them," said King.

'Opening a door'

In removing application fees, and through related in-person and virtual events to help students apply, King hopes to inspire high school students to apply who maybe wouldn’t have

to say, 'You know what, I'm going to apply to college.' And so, this could be the opening of a door to a different future," said King. "And we know that students with a bachelor's degree earn, on average about $1,000,000 more over their lifetime. As a result, we know that the vast majority of new jobs that are being created in the country, that provide a family sustaining wage, require some level of post-secondary education. We want a suitable path to upward mobility for New Yorkers all across the state."

Applications will be free until November 3 for SUNY schools. Applications at private universities are free until the end of October or have been waived year-round.