COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Heads up students looking to go to college or further their education. Tuesday kicked off Colorado Free Application Days. From Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, all 32 state colleges, universities, and some private institutions will waive application fees.
A recent survey done by Hanover Researchfound that 34% of prospective students say financial reasons keep them from enrolling. That is why this week is so helpful for prospective students. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) said they expect to see at least 5,000 applications this week because of the application waiver. That’s about a third of what the school takes in yearly. Taking away the barrier of an application fee opens up more opportunities for students.
“I think they love applying to multiple schools to see a place that might not have been a possibility for them, and all of sudden it’s like, “Well, it’s free, I might as well.” And then see what happens because what we really want is to get students through that process so they can start seeing, 'What’s the financial aid package looking like?,' UCCS director of admissions Chris Beiswanger said.
“I think this little thing taken away says, 'Well, if I don’t go, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t cost me anything, so I might as well try and just see what happens. And I think it really takes a little bit of pressure off long-term,'” Beiswanger said.
More students are waiting to go to college because they are unsure about what they want to do, according to Beiswanger. He said UCCS is seeing more gap years, where students take time off after high school before going to college. According to the Gap Year Association, about 130,000 students took a gap year in 2020.
Chris says colleges like UCCS have started to plan recruiting events around this week. That’s because more students are waiting to apply during this week versus previous years.
