This academic school year, Parker is piloting a program where it no longer requires an application fee when applying to the school. The Administration discussed a change to the requirement of an $80 application fee at the end of last year. Dan Frank, Ruth Jurgensen, Director of Admission and Financial Aid Karen Fisher, and Chief Financial Officer Bob Haugh, met and decided to implement this change in order to expand the applicant pool. By August, they’d made the decision to waive the fee.

This is the second year of Parker’s current Strategic Plan prioritizing wider accessibility to Parker as one if its three primary goals. “The primary reason was to be able to increase access to the school to more students, ” Fisher said. “We didn’t want there to be any obstacles in the application process for students.” The Admissions office has instituted the waiver on a “probationary” basis, according to Fisher.

“This is an important  step toward equity,” Frank said, “so that families who might not have the ability to or would shy away from even looking at Parker because of the admissions fee would consider Parker.” The ultimate goal, Frank says, is to make Parker  “more welcoming”and “the application process easier and friendlier.” The administration will revisit the waiver in April or May at the end of the admissions season.

Parker’s peer independent schools in the Chicago area charge a fee associated with the application ranging from $75 to $150, according to by Allyson Weaver, Assistant Director of Admission for Outreach and Recruitment.  The Latin School of Chicago and University of Chicago Laboratory School both charge an $80 application fee. Catherine Cook and Sacred Heart schools, and The Academy and Hardey Prep school, each charge a $75 application fee. In the past, students that were in the need of financial aid could seek a waiver from the application  fee. Now, every applicant is exempt from the fee as, Parker’s website clearly states.

“People who apply to Parker probably apply to maybe three or four different independent schools,” Weaver said. “and about three to four public schools, selective enrollment schools.”  Based on the range of fees charged by the schools, families would have to spend around $300 for independent school applications.

The best possible outcome of this change, according to Fisher, would be having “a greater diversity in the applicant pool.” The exact impact on Parker won’t be known until the year progresses, applications are processed, and the number of applicants is determined.  “We are going to have to see what happens at the end of this year,” Weaver said. “We will have to see if our applications increased. What type of candidates did we get. Was it worth it.”  

In terms of applications this year, Weaver said,“we are ahead this year of where we were last year.”  The applications are equivalent to applications two years ago and it is unclear what impact the fee waiver is having at this point. It is hard to say exactly what has changed the increase. The application fee has brought “excitement” to potential applicants, according to Weaver. “We want to allow them the chance and opportunity to apply,” Weaver said. “They love that. They love that the school is even thinking like that.”

There are some concerns that come with the change. “We are concerned that if we get a whole bunch of applications that we can’t manage in the same personal way that we manage applications right now just because of the number of our staff,” Fisher said. “That would be a concern for us.” The goal is to have a process that is as “personal” as possible and if waiving the fee compromises this approach, then it will be revisited.  Fisher suggested that the school could add more staff.

The exact impact on Parker won’t be known until the year progresses. Until then, “This is a good policy move moving forward,” Frank said, “and like all things we do at the school we will watch it closely.”