High school seniors and anyone else planning to start an undergraduate degree at a Texas public college have a seven-day window, opening Monday, to submit applications without paying the usual fee.
Free College Application Week runs Monday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 18. During that stretch every public college and university in Texas must waive its admission application fee for state residents applying to undergraduate programs, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office, which sent a reminder Thursday.
How it works
The waiver applies only to applications sent through ApplyTexas, the shared online application, and only to Texas residents. Applications must be in by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 18. Students unsure whether they qualify as residents are pointed to the state's Texas Residency Guidelines.
The fee break is written into state law, and the governor's office says more than 260,000 applications came in during last year's free week.
Texas Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser said in the announcement that the week "can save them hundreds of dollars as they apply to their chosen public Texas colleges and universities."
The state also points students to two tools: My Texas Future, which lets families compare programs by tuition, location and value, and the Direct Admissions program, which the state describes as a way to streamline the college search.
