SAT
How the SAT Program Fee-Waiver Service works
The College Board fee-waiver service assists students for whom payment of fees for the SAT or SAT Subject Tests might be a barrier to college entrance. You can help remove the barrier by awarding fee waivers to students who meet our eligibility guidelines. Students receive fee waivers through their school counselors. They may use up to two fee waivers for the SAT and up to two for SAT Subject Tests.
Please note: To be valid, fee-waiver cards must be completed by the counselor. See the 2009-10 Counselor's Guide to SAT Program Fee Waivers (.pdf/728K) for complete instructions. Requires Adobe Reader (latest version recommended).
To order materials or to ask questions about fee waivers, call the SAT Program's Educator Helpline at (888) SAT-HELP.
Fee-waiver eligibility guidelines
Fee waivers for both the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests are available for high school students in the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. commonwealths who cannot afford to pay the test fees. Fee waivers for the SAT are available for juniors and seniors only, while eligible high school students in any grade qualify for SAT Subject Test fee waivers.
You can determine which students qualify for fee waivers by using:
- The fee-waiver eligibility guidelines
- Your knowledge of individual student circumstances
Using income to identify eligible students
If you know the annual income of a student's family, you can use the USDA income eligibility chart for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program/National School Lunch Program as your primary source in determining student eligibility. For more information, consult Test-Specific Guidelines.
International students
The same income guidelines apply to students living abroad who are United States citizens and will be testing outside the United States.
- Fee waivers may be granted to nationals of countries other than the United States who live and test in the United States, U.S. territories, or U.S. commonwealths, and who meet the eligibility requirements.
- Fee waivers cover the cost of regular registration, the international processing fee, and the surcharge for India or Pakistan (if applicable) for U.S. citizens testing abroad. The student is responsible for all other fees.
Homeschooled students
Homeschooled students are eligible for fee-waiver cards provided they meet the income guidelines. These students must provide proof of eligibility (tax records, public assistance records, or record of enrollment in an aid program) to a local high school counselor. If the student is eligible, issue a fee-waiver card and review the card with him or her.
Additional services for fee-waiver eligible students
Students who register with fee waivers also receive these services:
- Coverage of the fee for either the Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) or the Student Answer Service (SAS)
- Coverage of the international processing fee
- Coverage of the additional security fee for students testing in Pakistan or India
- Up to four application fee waivers at many colleges
Students who meet the SAT Fee-Waiver Service eligibility guidelines, whether or not they actually registered with a fee waiver, can send a total of four additional score reports at no additional charge. The flexible score reports:
- Can be used at any time while the student is in high school
- Are available any time after a student takes an SAT Program test
- Can be used even if a student previously registered for the SAT or an SAT Subject Test without using a fee waiver
To use the flexible score reports, students can go online see how many credits they have left and place their order. The number of flexible score reports available will appear automatically if they have registered using a fee waiver. If they have not previously registered with a fee waiver, they should indicate that they are eligible and enter the 12-digit code from the bottom of the fee-waiver card you provide them.
If ordering score reports by phone or paper, students can determine how many credits they have left before placing their orders. They can do this by signing into My Organizer or calling Customer Service and providing their registration information from their most recent test date.
Fee-waiver facts
- Students eligible for fee waivers can register online with a unique fee-waiver number that is printed on the bottom of each fee-waiver card.
- You must confirm the student's eligibility by filling out the appropriate area on the card.
- You must validate the fee waiver by writing your school/agency's 6-digit code in front of the preprinted number. These two codes combine to form a 12-digit fee-waiver identification number.
- The 12-digit fee-waiver identification number can be used only once.
- 2009-10 fee waivers can be used through August 12, 2010.
- Eligible students receive a total of four fee waivers during their academic career—two for the SAT and two for the SAT Subject Tests.
- Students must choose the type of test and the test date on the card in order for it to be valid.
- Students may choose to use their fee waivers for the SAT in either their junior or senior years.
- Ninth and tenth grade students may use fee waivers for SAT Subject Tests only.
- Students who are not yet in ninth grade may not use fee waivers.
- Only those students who use fee waivers to register for SAT or SAT Subject Test administrations are eligible to receive Request for Waiver of College Application Fee forms.
- Students may receive a total of four college application waivers.
Exceptions
Fee waivers are not permitted with late and standby registration, except for the October administration, when fee waivers can be used with late registrations.
Resources
Fee waivers may qualify a student for college application fee waivers. The guide Directory of Colleges Cooperating with the SAT Program Fee-Waiver Service (.pdf/789K) lists, by state and city, colleges that cooperate with the SAT Program Fee-Waiver Service.
Download this student's guide, which covers eligibility guidelines and other important information about the fee-waiver program: Students' Guide to SAT Program Fee Waivers (.pdf/184KB).