First, while I don’t want you to rule out any schools simply because of cost or distance from home, be realistic.  If there’s no real chance you’d actually go to the University of Hawaii because it’s so far from home, or even if you were admitted to Princeton, you wouldn’t really want to spend the $30,000+ to attend, don’t apply!  It would be cool to say you’d been admitted to schools like that, but is the cool factor worth the cost? 

Second, if you truly can’t afford to apply to a school, but are interested, visit with your high school counselor about having them draft a letter explaining your financial limitations AND your interest, and ask for a waiver.  You can include that letter with your application or use forms provided by the College Board or NACAC.  Sometimes, schools will defer the application fee (allowing you to wait to pay the fee until you have financial aid for school), but many will also waive the fee entirely.

I’m not suggesting you wait until you’re sure about a school before you apply (and saving application fees that way), because you need the schools you’re interested in to know you’re interested.  I’m just suggesting you be smart about which schools you apply to, and how many.

Visiting college campuses is another expensive activity, but also one that can be done economically.  Starting early (Sophomore year or before) will help spread out the travel expenses involved and make them more palatable.  You can also combine summer vacations or trips to visit family with stops at nearby college campuses.  I firmly believe the more college campuses you visit, the better you’ll know what you like and don’t like, and what you’re looking for in a school.  In fact, campus visits are often cited as the deciding factor for many students.  I would encourage you to tag along with friends who are visiting campuses or coordinate travel with friends and their families who are considering the same school(s) as you.  Also, when spending the night on a college visit, try to stay on campus.  Often schools will rent out campus housing to visitors at very reasonable rates.  And if you have friends attending a school you’re considering, ask to sleep on their floor – college students love to show off their school and would probably be glad to show you around.

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