Compared to the majority of other countries, the United States has numerous institutions that do not charge fees for the application process. This rule extends not only to domestic students but application fees are not levied to international degree-seeking students either.
If you are planning to study in the U.S. in the upcoming academic year, you can apply to the following universities for free!
Universities in the USA with No Application Fees
1. University of Vermont
The University of Vermont is a public research university based in Burlington, Vermont. The university was established in 1791, making UVM one of the oldest universities in the United States.
It is considered a ‘Public Ivy’ university and offers over 200 major and advanced degrees to its student community, which comprises domestic and international students. Students applying for undergraduate studies are recommended to apply during Early Action or Early Decision, as the university will not charge any application fees.
2. Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas Aquinas College is a liberal arts college in Santa Paula, California. Established in 1971 as a Catholic-based college, the university offers a diverse academic system. However, Thomas Aquinas’ only degree program is the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, although this program spans several disciplines, from natural sciences to philosophy.
3. Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a prominent catholic university based in Chicago, Illinois, established around 1870. With a student enrolment of over 16,000, the university offers around 230 different undergraduate and graduate programs.
In addition to its Chicago campus, the university also has international campuses in Rome and programs in Ho Chi Minh City and Beijing.
4. Mount Holyoke College
Established in 1837, Mount Holyoke College is a women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the Seven Sisters College network and the prestigious Five College Consortium. Mount Holyoke currently has over 2,000 students who have access to diverse and advanced departmental majors, as well as numerous study abroad and exchange programs.
5. Carleton College
Carleton College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It has a student population of over 2,100 and offers over 30 different liberal arts majors. It has been consistently ranked as one of the top-rated liberal arts colleges in the United States. The college also provides over 240 other student organizations and is known for its high student satisfaction.
6. Smith College
Based in Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College is also a private women’s liberal arts college and another member of the Seven Sisters network. Established in 1871, it has grown to become a prominent liberal arts institution that educates nearly 3,000 students across 50 academic departments. It is one of the first women’s colleges in the United States to grant an undergraduate degree in Engineering.
7. Reed College
Based in Portland, Oregon, Reed College is an independent liberal arts college that is known for its senior thesis requirements, compulsory humanities program, and general academic excellence. The college was founded in 1908 and has grown into an elite institution with an enrolment of over 1,400 students.
It offers around 40 different majors and five specific humanities courses, including interdisciplinary and dual degree programs (in connection to other universities).
8. Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts institution established in 1795 in Schenectady, New York. It is one of the oldest institutes of higher education chartered in New York and is considered to be one of the ‘Little Ivies’ due to its high academic standards.
Union College has over 2,000 undergraduates who have access to a wide range of liberal arts majors. The college is also acclaimed for its high rate of students who engage in study-abroad and international programs. You can apply to this good college without paying application fees.
9. DePauw University
DePauw University is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana. It was founded in 1837 and currently has a student enrollment of around 2,000 students. The university is among the top-tier liberal arts colleges in the United States. Students can choose a Program of Distinction that caters to their academic strengths.
10. Sewanee: The University of the South
Commonly known as Sewanee, the University of the South is a private liberal arts college located in Sewanee, Tennessee. With a student enrolment nearing 2,000, the university offers several liberal arts majors. It is acclaimed for producing the oldest literary magazine in the country, and the college is associated with a rich tapestry of student traditions.
11. St. Olaf College
Founded in 1874 by Norwegian-American immigrants and named after Olaf II, the patron saint of Norway, St. Olaf’s College is a private, co-educational liberal arts institution that is located in Northfield, Minnesota. The university offers several interdisciplinary degrees in addition to 40 majors of study to its 3,000-student population.
Students are typically required to complete foundation courses as well as core studies such as society, human behavior, and theology prior to their graduation.
12. Denison University
Denison University is a private liberal arts university located in Granville, Ohio. Founded in 1831, it is highly diverse, with an enrolment of 2,300+ undergraduate students from all 50 states and over 40 countries.
With three main degrees offered, Denison’s most popular majors include economics, psychology, biology, and English. Moreover, students also have the choice of creating their interdepartmental major.
The university also offers over 200 organizations and societies for the student community. Some of Denison’s famous alumni include Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.
13. Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college based in Memphis, Tennessee. The institution’s campus, which was established in 1848, is acclaimed for its natural beauty and significant architecture. With a student population of over 2,000, Rhodes’s key features include small class sizes and a strong emphasis on writing and research work.
It offers over 70 different study programs, including interdisciplinary degrees. The college is also known for its internship opportunities. You can study at this excellent liberal arts college by applying with no application fees.
14. Drake University
Located in Des Moines, Iowa, Drake University is a private, co-educational university. It was founded in 1881 and has grown into an elite institution of higher education that provides for over 5,000 students. The university offers a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including professional courses in law and business.
Drake is also famous for being home to one of the oldest law schools in the United States. Students have access to over 150 different student organizations and an enriching extra-curricular experience.
15. Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college located in Portland, Oregon. The institution, which was founded in 1867, currently has a student enrollment of 3,400, with international students coming in from over 50 different countries.
It offers a diverse range of departmental majors as well as multiple study-abroad programs. These are provided through the undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Law, and the Graduate School of Education.
16. St. John’s University
Located in New York City, St. John’s University is a private Catholic university founded in 1870. It has an extensive campus with satellite areas in Manhattan and Staten Island, as well as overseas campuses in Rome, Paris, and Limerick, Ireland.
The university has a student population of over 21,000 and is academically arranged into five undergraduate schools and six graduate schools. Collectively, the departments offer over 100 undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university boasts a diverse student community, with students from all 50 states and over 122 countries.
17. Ursinus College
Ursinus College is a private liberal arts institution that was founded in 1869. It is based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and is one of the only secular colleges in the state. Since its exclusive Pennsylvanian status, the university has grown into providing education for over 1,500 students who hail from 35 states and 12 countries. A diverse range of over 100 student organizations is provided for all the students.
18. Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is a private undergraduate liberal arts college in Bloomington, Indiana. Founded in 1854, the university currently educates close to 2,000 students who study across over 40+ departmental majors. Its key strengths lie in the fields of liberal arts, fine arts, and business.
IWU is very generous in offering scholarships, and more than 9 in 10 students receive a scholarship or any form of need-based financial assistance. The university also ranks in the national top 40 for students studying abroad and provides well over 700+ study-abroad options across different countries.
If you want to study at this excellent university, apply! You definitely should because there are no application fees!
19. Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a prominent private liberal arts college located in Gambier, Ohio. Founded in 1824, it currently has over 1,800 students. Kenyon is committed to providing a well-rounded academic experience for its students.
A critical academic feature of the institution is that students are required to take classes in four academic divisions: the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Foreign language courses are also encouraged. Moreover, the application fee is waived for all online applications.
20. Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a private women’s liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1885 and is also a member of the Seven Sister Colleges network. With a student population of over 1,700, the college has been consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Bryn Mawr is also acclaimed for being the first women’s institution to grant graduate degrees through a Ph.D. program. In terms of academics, students are required to complete courses in natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The application fee is waived when submitted online.
21. Hampshire College
Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, Hampshire College is an elite liberal arts college that was first founded in 1965. It is a member of the Five College Consortium that includes Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges.
Currently, Hampshire has a student enrolment exceeding 1,300. Hampshire is widely acclaimed for its socially liberal politics, alternative curriculum, and general ‘experimental’ nature of education.
Non-traditional features include a curriculum focused on the student’s interests, focusing on narrative evaluations as opposed to the GPA system. The academic structure consists of ‘schools of thought’ such as cognitive science, natural science, and interdisciplinary arts.
22. Lawrence University
Lawrence University is a private liberal arts institution and music conservatory located in Appleton, Wisconsin. Established in 1847, it is known for being the second institute of higher education to become a co-educational university.
Lawrence has been consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The university has a student population of over 1500. It offers a diverse range of majors, predominantly in the liberal arts, engineering, and health sciences.
The Conservatory of Music is another university segment that provides music education to students. If you want to apply to this university, you don’t have to worry about it, as this institution waives the application fees!
23. Gustavus Adolphus College
Located in St. Peter, Minnesota, Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts university founded in 1862. Its 2,400 students have access to over 70 different majors across 25 academic departments, including interdisciplinary and study-abroad programs.
The university has produced a rich series of alumni who have reached prestigious levels as well as gained membership as Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, and Truman Scholars.
It recently adopted a ‘test-optional admission policy’ that forgoes requirements such as the SAT/ACT scores for prospective applicants.
24. Berea College
Berea College is a private liberal arts undergraduate college located in Berea, Kentucky, founded in 1855. The institution is acclaimed for being one of the first higher education colleges to be co-educational and racially integrated.
It is also noted for charging no tuition expenses, and every admitted student is offered a full scholarship. The college currently offers over 32 departmental majors to an enrollment of over 1,000 undergraduates.
25. Grinnell College
Grinnell College, founded in 1846, is a private liberal arts college based in Grinnell, Iowa. The institution educates over 1,200 students. Grinnell is reputed for its strong academics and commitment to social justice.
A vital feature of Grinnell’s academics is the open curriculum, which enables its students to curate their majors and courses of study. It also offers collaborative programs with other elite universities, such as Columbia University, California Institute of Technology, and Dartmouth College.
26. Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a private liberal arts college located in Hillsdale, Michigan. Established in 1844, it is among the only institutions of higher education in the United States that decline federal financial support and rely mostly on private donations and endowments.
The college has a student population of around 1,700 students and offers a wide variety of undergraduate majors. Students are encouraged to complete a core curriculum that includes sciences such as biology and chemistry, U.S. history, and the U.S. Constitution. Hillsdale further offers graduate programs in politics. The application fee is automatically waived when an online application is submitted.
27. Beloit College
Beloit College is a private liberal arts college that was established in 1846. It is located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and is among the oldest institutions of higher education in the state. The college currently has a student enrollment of over 1,100. The curricula of Beloit encourage experiential learning and the practical applications of liberal arts.
The college’s academic strengths include geology and anthropology. The college is focused on small class sizes with a maximum of 15 students to make the learning experience more effective.
28. Ohio Wesleyan University
Located in Delaware, Ohio, Ohio Wesleyan University is a private, nonsectarian university established in 1842. It has been one of the first universities to have liberal principles since its inception and admits students regardless of race or religion.
With a student population of over 1,400, the university is also reputed for having the eleventh-highest percentage of international students admitted to liberal arts colleges. Students are encouraged to participate actively in student exchange programs with several countries.
The university offers over 70 majors, and students are required to complete 34 units of coursework to earn their degrees.
29. Trinity University
Trinity University is a private university in San Antonio, Texas. Established in 1869, it is a member of the Annapolis Group of institutions committed to liberal arts education. Trinity currently has an enrollment of over 2,500 undergraduates and 200 graduate students and offers over 90 different majors and minors.
Trinity University’s students come from over 45 states and 65 different countries. Their fields of study include the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business, and fine arts. The university also offers several study-abroad programs in 30 countries.
30. University of St. Thomas, Minnesota
The University of St. Thomas is a private liberal arts university based in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1885 as a Catholic seminary but has now evolved into one of the largest private universities in the state of Minnesota. St. Thomas currently has a student community exceeding 10,000.
It offers around 88 majors and 59 minors at the undergraduate level of study as well as over 60 master’s, graduate, and professional degrees, provided through nine academic divisions. Students also have access to a wealth of sports and student-run organizations as part of their collegiate experience.
31. University of Dayton
Located in Dayton, Ohio, the University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic university founded in 1850. It is the second-largest private university in Ohio and educates over 10,000 students.
In addition to its main campus in Dayton, it also runs an international center in the Suzhou Industrial Park in China. Its student community hails from across the United States and over 40 countries.
Dayton offers over 80 academic programs in fields ranging from natural science, health sciences, and engineering to business, law, and education. It is also the first institution of higher education in the United States to offer a degree in human rights.
In conclusion, applying to many institutions in the United States without an admission fee is a game-changer for international students seeking high-quality education. Without this financial burden, the student’s educational journey would be much easier, and they could focus more on other essential costs, such as tuition fees.
We hope that this article on universities with no application fee will encourage you to submit an application. If you are interested in studying in the United States, check out the USA Scholarships Page and Available Programs in the USA for International Students!
