During College Application Month, State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced SUNY will waive up to five application fees per student across its 64 colleges and universities from through Nov. 3. The two-week long Free Application initiative encourages high school seniors to find their SUNY campus and apply for college early in the application period.

The potential savings for each student adds up to $250, removing an early barrier to accessing the affordable higher education SUNY provides. At $7,070 per year, SUNY is an exceptional value for students and families. In addition, 52% of New York State resident full-time SUNY students attend tuition-free thanks to federal, state, and institutional financial aid. Many families qualify for tuition support through New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program and Excelsior Scholarship. High school seniors may apply here now.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced fee waivers last week as she proclaimed October as College Application Month in New York State to expand opportunities for students – especially students from low-income families, first-generation college students, and students who may not otherwise apply for college due to financial barriers – to achieve their academic and career aspirations.

“Across SUNY, we are proud to join Governor Hochul in promoting College Application Month and providing fee waivers, which can add up quickly for high school seniors and their families,” said King. “There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker and through fee waivers and ongoing support from campus financial aid officers, campus enrollment teams, and our college admissions staff, we can ensure every high school student finds and applies to the campuses that will help them achieve their dreams.”

Application waivers are applied to both ApplySUNY Applications and the Common App. For ApplySUNY, students will automatically see the first five campuses in their application waived. For those applying with Common App, students will need to apply campus by campus. During Free Application Weeks, students will be prompted to select “yes” for the fee waiver of each SUNY school, up to five.

In addition to Free Application Weeks, SUNY also has ongoing fee waivers that apply to 60 percent of all high school seniors, including students attending high schools with large numbers of free and reduced lunch recipients, students in foster care, students from low-income households, and students with military connections. In addition, the application fee waiver applies to students on track to receiving an associate degree at a SUNY community college, to apply to a bachelor’s degree granting SUNY campus. Last year, the SUNY Board of Trustees also approved an ongoing application fee waiver for all AmeriCorps alumni. For more information, visit https://www.suny.edu/attend/apply-to-suny/fee-waiver/