Counselor’s Guide to Fee Waivers for the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests

Sep 14, 2026

Counselor’s Guide to Fee Waivers for the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests explains how the College Board’s SAT Fee-Waiver Service expands educational access for low-income, college-aspiring students. It outlines eligibility requirements, additional indicators used to confirm eligibility, and how fee waivers connect recipients to free or reduced-rate test preparation and services. The guide also covers counselor strategies to improve test-day attendance, how to use registration reports, and how fee-waiver card allocations and reorders work for schools and agencies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

About the SAT Fee-Waiver Service

Improving Access to Higher Education

Allocating and Reordering Fee-Waiver Cards

More than Just a Waiver

Eligibility Criteria

Primary College Board Fee-Waiver Eligibility Criteria

Additional Fee-Waiver Eligibility Indicators

2013-14 Counselor’s Guide to Fee Waivers for the SAT ® and the SAT Subject Tests™ About the SAT Fee-Waiver Service As a not-for-profit membership organization, the College Board is committed to excellence and equity in education. Part of our mission is to help more low-income students connect to and complete a postsecondary education. Grounded in that mission, the SAT® Fee-Waiver Service serves hundreds of thousands of low-income students every year, and it provides much more than simply the waiver of test fees—it gives low-income students access to a comprehensive set of resources that help them prepare for the tests and take the next steps toward college. Fee waivers are available for low-income, college-aspiring high school students who meet the eligibility guidelines outlined in this pamphlet. Thanks in large part to the passionate efforts of counselors and student advocates like you, the SAT Fee-Waiver Service continues to reach record numbers of low-income students. We will continue to support you in distributing fee waivers to qualified students and encouraging each recipient not only to register, but to be present on test day. Improving Access to Higher Education Fee waivers offer a great opportunity for low-income students to show colleges that they are prepared by taking the SAT or SAT Subject Tests™ . However, some students encounter barriers that prevent them from showing up for the tests after registering. Counselors can play an important role in increasing testday attendance. Here are a few effective strategies used by counselors: • Carefully identify low-income students who have college aspirations. • Connect fee-waiver recipients to the full suite of free SAT and SAT Subject Test practice materials, so they can feel more confident and prepared as test day approaches. • Provide encouragement through reminders to plan transportation and other logistics. • Use the SAT Counselor Registration Report to view and create customized reports that show which of your students are registered for the SAT and SAT Subject Tests. You can also track who used a fee waiver, which students were absent on test day, and other useful information to put students on the path to college. For more information, visit [sat.org/reg-roster](sat.org/reg-roster). (This resource is only for use by authorized school personnel.) [collegeboard.org/feewaiver](collegeboard.org/feewaiver) Allocating and Reordering Fee-Waiver Cards High schools and qualifying agencies receive allocations of cards based on the number of fee waivers that their students actually used for testing in the October 2012 through January 2013 administrations of the SAT and SAT Subject Tests. Your high school or agency code allows us to match fee-waiver usage to your school or agency for this allocation process. Be sure to write the code on the cards you distribute. If, after distributing the fee-waiver cards to eligible students at your institution, you need to reorder, please call the Educator Help Line at 888-SAT-HELP (728-4357) or +1 212-520-8600 internationally. More than Just a Waiver The SAT and the SAT Subject Tests are more than just tests—they are keys that open the door to college opportunity. In turn, fee waivers offer more than just the waiver of test fees. An eligible student can take advantage of all the following services for free or at a reduced rate: • Up to two registrations for the SAT and up to two registrations for the SAT Subject Tests—a total of four fee waivers. One fee-waiver card covers one SAT registration ($51 value) or up to three SAT Subject Testson one test day ($74 .50 maximum value) . • Four additional flexible score reports, which can be ordered at any time during the student’s testing lifetime ($45 maximum value) . • The Question-and-Answer Service or the Student Answer Service. Students must order the service when registering to receive it at no charge ($18 maximum value) . • A $40 discount off the regular

FAQs

What is the purpose of the SAT Fee-Waiver Service?

The SAT Fee-Waiver Service helps low-income, college-aspiring students connect to and complete postsecondary education by providing more than waiver of test fees, including access to preparation resources and next-step support.

Who is eligible to receive SAT fee waivers?

Eligibility is based on participation in the federal Free and Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL) for SAT. Students must meet specific grade requirements and can also be evaluated using additional eligibility indicators.

What should counselors do to improve test-day attendance for fee-waiver recipients?

Counselors can identify eligible low-income students, connect them to free practice materials, provide logistics encouragement such as transportation planning, and use the SAT Counselor Registration Report to monitor registrations and test-day attendance.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Chloe Bennett