Introduction

How to Apply to Top Foreign Universities Without Paying Application Fees: You can spend money on a university application before the university has even told you “yes.”

That is one of the frustrating parts of studying abroad. You may already be paying for document preparation, English-language tests, transcripts and other requirements, and then another application fee appears before you can even submit your application.

Apply to five universities and the cost starts adding up. Apply to ten, and it can become a serious barrier, especially when you are applying from a country where foreign-currency payments are expensive.

But here is the part many applicants overlook: you may not have to pay every application fee you see.

Some foreign universities don’t charge an application fee at all. Others have application fee waivers for qualifying applicants. Some also accept fee-waiver requests through platforms such as Common App.

The important thing is knowing the difference.

A university can have a $75 application fee and still allow an eligible student to apply without paying it. Another university may genuinely charge nothing.

Those are two very different situations.