Students looking into applying to the State University of New York system typically pay $50 to apply to one of its schools. But right now, SUNY is waiving its application fees for up to five schools through Sunday.

More than 82,000 applications have been received since the program started on October 24, about 40,000 more than last year during the same time.

SUNY is also launching a tuition match program for interested students from out-of-state. First-year students interested in a public university system from these states are eligible:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Illinois
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Vermont

For instance, a student from Vermont attending the University at Albany would pay roughly $19,000 for tuition, which is what cost them to go to the University of Vermont. Out-of-state UAlbany students typically pay about $28,000.

"We want to improve access to education for everyone and give students the opportunity of a diversified education and go to college with students from all different geographic regions within the country," said Joel Wincowski, the deputy to the Chancellor for Enrollment at SUNY. "This is only limited to eight states, but it's to where SUNY has the most potential and has identified the most potential for growth."