The number of kids that need to apply to a whole bunch of colleges because they need to find the biggest discount possible because of the structure of the family finances is a drop in the bucket and among that group is a small number of families that are just looking for the best bargain. The vast vast majority of kids apply to a handful of colleges they feel they will probably be able to afford and pick one. Applying to ten or less colleges is not cheap but it is reasonable given the total expense of a college education. Providing help for college bound students is a service that guidance offices offer but is just a small piece of their job each year. Charging for transcripts or charging for excessive transcripts does not feel unreasonable to me. And my guess almost every high school would waive that for a promising student whose family is poor just as many colleges and testing services waive fees for poor families. Schools, especially public schools, tend to know who those families and kids are because they have been receiving free or subsidized support all along and public schools track that sort of stuff for reporting.