@Petal12: So you are turning down a state flagship university (with one of the best honors colleges in the country) almost assured offer of a full out-of-state tuition scholarship–and possibly more–because of the cost of applying to that college ?
Did you even request an application fee waiver ?
Did you even contact the school ?
It has been more than 5 weeks since you were informed of this option.
My thoughts are quite candid, but I will be diplomatic. If I understand your situation, you only applied to Ivies & other ultra-selective schools needing 100% financial aid without applying to a safety. You didn’t apply to your safety–Univ. of Texas at Austin–because you missed the deadline.
Using one’s common sense is an important part of life.
There must be some other barrier causing you to not follow the suggestion. If the school is not good enough for you, then that is fine.
P.S. Maybe the coalition application doesn’t have that school because it awards too much in merit scholarships & financial aid ? And the school prefers to make offers to those with genuine interest.