Will de Blasio waive CUNY’s $65 application fee for NYC students?

How can we bolster the supply of STEM workers if a routine fee discourages New York high school graduates from applying to college?

For very low-income students, the cost of applying to college may be enough to keep them from doing it. If every last penny the family earns is out the door for bills and rent, never mind debt, many of them cannot find $65 to apply to college, even if once they are accepted, financial aid may cover the rest. That’s why the Bloomberg Administration has been talking to officials at CUNY about waiving the fee for high school students in New York City. The discussions aren’t finished, however, and the next mayor will have to weigh in.

A top Department of Education official said the agency has been in talks with the City University of New York to make applying to CUNY undergraduate schools free for city students. But Dennis Walcott, the schools chancellor, appeared unfamiliar with the proposal when it was broached in an interview, and said any decision would fall to the next administration.

[Crain’s]