Most Expensive Application Schools Fees at USA

Academic advisers and guidance counselors often recommend that high school students apply to multiple colleges to better their chances of getting into a school that suits them. In fact, the College Board notes that the average student should apply to five to eight schools, including one to two schools students are positive they'll get into; one to two reach schools (schools that might be difficult to get into); and three to four schools that a student has a good probability of getting into, but aren't certainties. Casting a wide net is an undoubtedly sound strategy, but not a cheap one.

Of the 1,474 undergraduate programs that supplied application fee data to U.S. News, only 39 claimed to have no fee, and the average application fee across all schools that replied was $38.44 (282 schools did not supply application fee data). Keep in mind, though, that many schools will waive the fee for students with financial need, while others offer a waiver to students who apply online.

Among national universities, which are typically the largest schools that receive the most applications, the average application fee was higher than the national average: $46.78. Only three schools—the Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University Chicago, and St. Louis University—reported they have no fee (8 of the 260 national universities surveyed didn't respond to the question).

Below is a table of the 26 national universities that have the highest application fee for undergraduates, all of which are nearly double the national average cost. Schools are listed from highest fee to lowest and alphabetically if they have the same fee:

National University

Stanford University : $90
Columbia University : $80
Boston University : $75
Brown University : $75
Duke University : $75
Drexel University : $75
George Mason University : $75
Harvard University : $75
Massachusetts Institute of Technology : $75
University of Delaware : $75
University of Pennsylvania : $75
Yale University : $75
Boston College : $70
Carnegie Mellon University : $70
Cornell University : $70
Dartmouth College : $70
Hofstra University : $70
Johns Hopkins University : $70
Lehigh University : $70
North Carolina State University--Raleigh : $70
Northeastern University : $70
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute : $70
Syracuse University : $70
Tufts University : $70
University of Connecticut : $70
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill : $70

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,700 colleges and universities for our 2010 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools.

Sources : http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/01/19/25-highest-application-fees