Fee Waivers
Financial Hardship fee waiver requests for the 2025-26 application period have all been allocated as of November 21, 2024. Any new or pending requests will not be granted.
All fee waivers must be approved and applied to your online application prior to submission. Do not pay the application fee to submit your application prior to receiving a response from our office regarding your fee waiver request. We are unable to waive or refund the application once it has been paid.
Who is Eligible?
US Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Undocumented applicants who:
- Demonstrate financial need/financial hardship OR
- Be a current or recent participant in certain graduate preparation programs that qualify for a fee waiver
Waiver Deadlines
- Waiver requests need to be submitted a minimum of 5 business days prior to the graduate program’s posted application priority deadline. Complete requests will be processed within 2-3 business days by our office.
- The Graduate Admissions Office will be closed December 23, 2024 - January 1, 2025. Any requests received on or after December 19, 2024, will not be processed until the week of January 2, 2025.
Financial Hardship
APPLICATION CLOSED. The financial hardship fee waivers allotted for the 2025-26 academic year have been granted as of November 21, 2024. The application originally opened at 8:00 a.m. (PST) on October 1, 2024. Any new or pending requests will not be granted.
Instructions: Complete the Financial Hardship Fee Waiver form to waive the $135 application fee. A limited amount of fee waivers are available and processed on a first-come, first-served basis. A fee waiver can only be applied to one application.
For the 2025-26 application cycle, the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) will be replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI).
- Federal Aid - U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and Dream Scholars with a Student Aid Index (SAI) of $4,000 or less.
- Financial Hardship - Not exceeding the Gross Income Maximum based on your Household size provided in the below table. Household size is determined by the number of people you report or claim on your income tax forms for the previous year. If you are claimed as a dependent, your household size is determined by the total number of people claimed on your tax form (IRS 1040). A copy of this form must be submitted for eligibility verification. If you are independent and have no earned income, you must document how you supported yourself for the past year and why you do not have sufficient funds to pay the application fee.
|
Household Size |
Gross Income Maximum |
|---|---|
| 1 | $26,355 |
| 2 | $35,770 |
| 3 | $45,185 |
| 4 | $54,600 |
| 5 | $64,015 |
| 6 | $73,430 |
| 7 | $82,845 |
| 8 | $92,260 |
Graduate Preparation Program
If you are a current or recent participant in any of the eligible graduate preparation programs, you may qualify for an application fee waiver to one graduate program at UC Riverside. For those who visited our booth at ABRCMS and SACNAS, you will receive an email with further instructions on how to request your application fee waiver.
Only U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents may request a waiver for the application fee. If you are currently in a graduate program or recently completed one and your graduate preparation program participation was from your undergraduate program, you are not eligible for a fee waiver.
- Complete the first three sections of your online application.
- Complete and submit the fee waiver request form. Further instructions on proof of participation required are provided in the that form.
Please refer to your online application for the required deadline submission or program's noted priority deadline posted on their website. Make sure to submit the Application Fee Waiver Request form a minimum of 5-7 business days prior to the appropriate deadline. Our office will not be able to process a fee waiver without the submission of the request form and saved application.