Do I have to put my counselor on every college and will they receive an e-mail for every fee waiver I request?

Answered

@Lalaend

On the common app, unlike the coalition app (https://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/) you can't make a blanket request to have all your application fees waived. There are 1000 colleges on the common app and they all have their own way of doing things. You have to have your HS counselor be involved for each and every college you apply to and make sure they are logged into the common app with their own account so they can do 5 things. 1.) write your recommendation, 2.) send the school profile. 3) upload your transcripts 4.) upload your mid-year report when it becomes available and 5.) if you are applying for financial aid, verify that you and your family are low-income and qualify for the fee waiver.

https://www.commonapp.org/static/9564cb27cd3bd151c9820edd7a848b08/FYAppFeesCAReady.pdf

Once you assign your recommenders to the common app for each college you are applying to, those individuals will get a common app invitation by email. I think your HS teachers and counselors only need one common app account and from there they can see all which colleges are requesting recommendations and other information on your behalf.

Alternatively, many top colleges in the US have their own Fee Waiver policy independent of the Common App or Coalition App. So you should research the 10 or 20 colleges you are applying to with regard to fee waivers. They may have fee waiver forms linked directly from the financial aid sections of their website for you to complete. One benefit of getting a fee waiver directly from the college is that you don't have to wait for your HS counselor to approve it (if their online form doesn't require them to approve it).

Good luck.