Money is a Problem/Application Costs

[LauraV]

I'm not sure how to get through. I want just 1 application to get successfully turned in.  But finances do not exist. I'm simultaneously filing for SSI of all things.

Maybe I cannot apply.

 

[MarineBluePsy]

Some schools offer application fee waivers for various circumstances, you just have to ask.  I was able to get one and while that didn't drastically offset the amount I still had to shell out I was grateful.  I was even more grateful when that school declined to interview me lol.

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

Most applications offer fee waivers, they usually ask a financial aid report from undergrad on your side or proof that you're financially incapable of paying the waiver.

But yeah sometimes that might not be an option  

For students of color look up the Big Ten Academic Alliance btw. That's lots of fee waivers right there.

[ClassicsCandidate]

In addition to what everyone said about contacting the programs about fee waivers, you should also look into local Arts / Humanities councils, which may have grants for graduate school applications (some do, some don't from what I've seen). I know that the Institute for Humane Studies used to have a PhD application fee grant, but I'm not seeing it up there anymore, so you might want to contact them and see if they got rid of it or if it'll be up again.