UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State, as a member institution of the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, will offer an application fee waiver for members of the United States armed forces. Penn State will allow veterans and current service members to apply for free through the coalition’s online application; the waiver will be available in 2018 for students applying for the 2019-2020 academic year.
“At Penn State, we strive to be an example of what higher education can do to support and address the needs of our nation's armed forces, veterans, and their families, such as hosting a veterans’ career fair, offering priority class registration for veterans, and granting in-state tuition to all eligible veterans and dependents receiving Chapter 33, Chapter 35, or Fry Scholarship benefits, regardless of residency,” said Clark V. Brigger, a veteran and Penn State’s executive director for undergraduate admissions. “This application fee waiver is another very tangible way to express our commitment to veterans and military families.”
Seamlessly integrated into the coalition’s online application, which Penn State accepts, the fee waiver is easy to use: Applicants simply indicate their status as “currently serving” or “previously served” in the U.S. armed forces, and then select Penn State from a list of member schools that honor the waiver. Qualifying students will then automatically bypass the payment screen when they submit their application.
“This is a great opportunity for veterans and for enlisted men and women — and also for our members,” said Annie Reznik, executive director of the coalition, whose board introduced the waiver to honor the military service of veterans and encourage more veterans to apply to and graduate from college.
“Only 4 percent of all undergraduate students are veterans, and less than one-third of those veterans enroll at a four-year public or private university,” Reznik added. “Our hope is that this waiver will not only inspire more veterans to apply to coalition schools, but also convey that our members greatly value their service to our country, and now want to serve them. Plus, with their excellent track record of supporting students — and the graduation rates to prove it — coalition schools are truly smart college choices for veterans.”
The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success is a group of colleges and universities across the U.S. that is committed to making college a reality for all students through its set of free online college planning tools, MyCoalition, that helps them learn about, prepare for, and apply to college.