Does using an application fee waiver affect my chances?

Hi @MariaRMontilla ,

If you are apply to colleges that are not need blind but rather need aware, then applying with a fee waiver may inform admissions officers that you will be applying for financial aid to attend the university. While this information may not seriously impact whether you are admitted or not, the bigger issues has to do with the limited amount of financial aid offered for need based scholarships versus merit based scholarships at such schools.

Getting admitted to a need aware college often surprises low income students and their families because their financial aid award is packed with a lot of loans versus grants you do not have to repay. So my advise to you is to make sure the college on your list are both need blind and meet 100% of your financial aid needs versus applying to the many need aware schools. That way you will avoid huge surprises later.

https://blog.collegevine.com/a-guide-to-need-blind-schools-complete-list/