From October 13–19, in-state students will not be required to pay an application fee to Texas public higher education institutions.
Texas Senate Bill 2231, which establishes Free College Application Week and mandates that the Texas Higher Education Board eliminate college application costs during specific times, was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 21.
For domestic students pursuing an undergraduate degree, the application fee at UT is now $75. However, if applicants use ApplyTexas, a website specifically for public Texas university applications, they will not be required to pay the fee during the second week of October.
The bill’s sponsor, Texas House Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, noted in an email that the legislation “removes financial barriers for families, encourages post-secondary opportunities, and streamlines the admissions process through My Texas Future.” We are making it very evident that Texas wants you to succeed if you are prepared to put in the effort and pursue higher education by waiving application fees during this time.
Wilson claimed that the possibly high cost of college applications for students was the reason he backed the law.
Wilson said that this method made perfect sense because most applications cost between $60 and $75, and many kids apply to five to ten different colleges during their senior year of high school.
UT is one of several in-state public universities that Valentina Balladares, a rising senior in high school in Texas, is applying to. She claimed that the number of applications she may have submitted would have been restricted if her school had not waived her application expenses. Students who do not have the funds to apply to many universities could benefit from this new approach, she said.
According to Balladares, it’s a fantastic opportunity, particularly for low-income households. For students who don’t have a lot of money, don’t come from wealthy families, or don’t work part-time jobs, that would be quite beneficial.
In an email, Democratic State Senator Royce West stated that he was a co-author of the law, which aims to relieve students of the financial burden associated with applying to colleges.
According to West, it’s critical to have a regular, yearly opportunity for Texans to apply to public universities for free. This is one strategy to lessen the cost of college applications.
