One New Hampshire college has eliminated the enrollment application fee for first-generation students as an extension of its institutional initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion.
Saint Anselm College will no longer require the $50 application fee from applicants who would be the first in their family to graduate from college. The policy is “effective immediately” and applies to students who are U.S. and international students.
“Application fees represent just one more barrier that can keep talented students from diversifying their college choices,” said Eric Nichols, vice president of enrollment and dean of admission — and a first-generation student himself. “If this simple change can make the process easier for first-generation students, I think we have a responsibility to take that step. More than just a financial gesture, it reflects that Saint Anselm is committed to providing access and opportunity to first-generation students.” 
Nichols says that while Saint Anselm is not the first school in the nation to make such a change, the idea has gained momentum over the years. He recalled that his colleagues at Texas Christian University, Bowdoin College and Trinity College recently made similar decisions and the institutions saw positive results from the changes.
The administrator, seeing these results, first discussed the idea to eliminate the application fee with the senior leadership team within the admissions department at Saint Anselm. He then took the proposal to the president’s cabinet, “which has representation from all divisions of the college,” he said.
“There was unanimous support for this policy change,” Nichols added.
Using the Common Application, students who apply to Saint Anselm only have to check the box indicating that they are a first-generation student to receive their fee waiver now.
