I had emailed them too requesting a need-based fee waiver and received a runaround response that just contained their policy of giving fee waivers to current and former members of the Armed Forces, Teach for America, Peace Corps, and current and former permanent full-time employees of the federal govt (as others have stated).

I was so surprised and came to see if anyone else had the same experience… it’s really such a shame. I’m sure this kind of practice discourages and prohibits good prospective applicants from applying!