American University recognizes that the college application process can be expensive for families, especially as most students apply to multiple schools. The inability to pay a college application fee should never be the reason a student doesn’t submit their application to American University. To that end, we offer families in need the option of applying to American University without submitting the standard $75 application fee.

Common Application Instructions

To apply to American University without paying the application fee, please utilize these instructions for the Common Application:

• Log into the Common Application website.
• Within the Member Questions on the Common Application, under the General Section, you will be asked "Do you intend to use one of these school-specific fee waivers?"
• Please select the following: "Yes – I qualify for a pre-approved AU waiver."

Please note: To access the fee waiver option on the Common Application, you must submit your AU application separately. You will not have the option to waive the fee if you submit multiple applications at one time.