The average cost of applying to a college has risen to over $100. That includes the application fee itself, SAT/ACT exam fees and score transmission, CSS profiles, and sending transcripts. If you add on test prep tutoring, admissions consulting, college visits, and deposits it can cost over $1000 just to apply to one college.
To keep the cost down, you should consider including one of the schools below, especially if you’re looking for an extra safety school or reach school to add. You should also consider asking the admissions department for a fee waiver if you can’t afford the application fee.
These are all in the top 200 in Forbes’ rankings and are all great schools. Keep in mind that there are over 4600 degree granting institutions in the US, so these are all in the top 5% (according to Forbes anyway). If you have thoughts or info to share about any of these, I’d love to hear it.
Here are 26 of the Forbes Top 200 Colleges with no application fees, along with their rank:
| Number | College | Location | Forbes Rank |
| 1 | United States Naval Academy | Annapolis, Maryland | #20 |
| 2 | United States Military Academy | West Point, New York | #24 |
| 3 | Carleton College | Northfield, Minnesota | #37 |
| 4 | United States Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, Colorado | #41 |
| 5 | United States Coast Guard Academy | New London, Connecticut | #46 |
| 6 | Wellesley College | Wellesley, Massachusetts | #47 |
| 7 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | Kings Point, New York | #51 |
| 8 | Oberlin College | Oberlin, Ohio | #53 |
| 9 | Grinnell College | Grinnell, Iowa | #57 |
| 10 | Colby College | Waterville, Maine | #61 |
| 11 | Reed College | Portland, Oregon | #70 |
| 12 | Smith College | Northampton, Massachusetts | #71 |
| 13 | Trinity University | San Antonio, Texas | #90 |
| 14 | Rhodes College | Memphis, Tennessee | #108 |
| 15 | Tulane University | New Orleans, Louisiana | #123 |
| 16 | Sewanee University of the South | Sewanee, Tennessee | #134 |
| 17 | Earlham College | Richmond, Indiana | #135 |
| 18 | Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo, Michigan | #141 |
| 19 | Lewis & Clark College | Portland, Oregon | #146 |
| 20 | Centre College | Danville, Kentucky | #162 |
| 21 | Thomas Aquinas College | Santa Paula, California | #166 |
| 22 | University of Dayton | Dayton, Ohio | #171 |
| 23 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | #173 |
| 24 | Illinois Wesleyan University | Bloomington, Illinois | #197 |
| 25 | Gustavus Adolphus College | St. Peter, Minnesota | #198 |
| 26 | Saint Louis University | St. Louis, Missouri | #199 |
2 thoughts on “Colleges with No Application Fees”
I was looking at Case Western Reserve University, and it looks like it does have an application fee of $70. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like there may be a slight mistake.
Yes, you’re right! Thanks so much for catching that. I apologize for the mistake, and also am sorry for your sake that there is in fact an application fee. I will double check the rest of the list.