Many educational institutions require a non-refundable application fee to be paid before an application will be reviewed. This fee is meant to cover the cost of processing an application.
Application fees are:
- Non-refundable: Once the fees have been paid to the school, it is not refundable.
- Required at the time of submission: Fee payments are considered a part of the submission package and application requirements. They are almost always paid at the time of submission.
- Different for each institution: Not all institutions will have an application fee, and the cost of application fees vary depending on the institution. Check the ApplyBoard platform to confirm the application fee.
Note: When you have created an application on ApplyBoard, the application will not be processed until the payment has been received.
If you wish to cancel or withdraw your application, it's important to understand how that will affect your application fee.
Application Fee Promotions
Sometimes an educational institution will offer a promotion to students and partially or fully waive the application fee. Check out monthly promotions on Assist for more information!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can also pay the application fee via bank transfer or with ApplyCredits.
Paying via bank transfer can take more time for our team to receive and process the payment. It’s important that you upload your proof of payment when completing a bank transfer as it allows our Finance team to easily find your payment and apply it to your application.
When you pay via bank transfer, in the Invoice window, under Bank Transfer select “Details/Upload”. You will be provided with ApplyBoard’s bank details to issue the payment. Once you have completed your payment via bank transfer select “Upload Proof of Payment”.
Unfortunately, we are unable to assess student eligibility or review the uploaded requirements until the application has been paid for and entered into our system. Requests for eligibility reviews before payment will not be processed.
Applications can be cancelled with a full application refund if the request is made before the application is submitted to the institution.
If you would like to cancel your application, post a note on the application or contact ApplyBoard Customer Support via Live Chat.
Once an application is submitted to the institution, the application fee is no longer refundable, regardless of the outcome of the application.
Once the application is cancelled, the money goes directly to your ApplyBoard eWallet.
Partially Submitted Applications: If an application has been partially submitted and a withdrawal is requested, the application fee will not be refundable as the application fee has already been paid to the institution.
Waitlist Decision Received: If the application receives a waitlist notification, the application fee cannot be refunded. As the application was processed by the institution, and is still under consideration in the event that a seat opens up, the application fee is non-refundable.
Program Closed Decision Received: If the application receives a program-closed decision, the application fee cannot be refunded. As the application was processed by the institution, the application fee is non-refundable.
Rejected Decision Received: If the application receives a rejection, the application fee cannot be refunded as the application was processed by the institution. If you think that there was an error in submitting the application that resulted in the rejection, please post a note on the application for further inquiry.
Fees will not be automatically refunded to the original method of payment.
Once the application is cancelled, the refund goes directly to your ApplyBoard eWallet.
For auditing and tracking purposes, we require a written request from you in order to proceed with a refund to the original method of payment. You can make this request by posting a Note on the application you wish to have refunded. Clearly state that you wish to have the application fee refunded to the original payment method.
Once we refund the fee back to your original payment method it may take up to 10 business days for it to reflect on your bank statement.
ApplyCredit returns are processed immediately. However, if you request the application fee to be refunded back to your original payment method it may take up to 10 business days for it to reflect on your bank statement.
There is no deadline to receive a refund to your original method of payment on a cancelled application. As soon as the cancellation occurs the ApplyCredits are added back to your account.
An application fee receipt is sometimes sent by the institution once an application fee has been paid and submitted on ApplyBoard.
If you cannot pay your application fee on ApplyBoard, ensure that your student profile is fully completed as incomplete profiles can prevent payment. Also, check if there are any pre-payment requirements on the application that need to be fulfilled before payment is allowed. To resolve technical issues, clear your browser history and cookies, try a different browser, and if the issue persists, contact ApplyBoard support with details and screenshots if applicable.