Throughout November, high school students in D.C. can apply to select colleges for free during D.C. College Application and Exploration Month.

As part of the annual program, 11 D.C.-area universities and colleges are waiving application fees for D.C. students until the end of the month. And this year, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education will also cover fees for students applying to historically black colleges and universities through the Common Black College Application until June 1, 2020. Through this application, students may apply to more than 50 HBCUs.

“Exploring and applying to colleges can be overwhelming and costly for students and families—our goal is to lift as much of that burden as possible by eliminating application costs and providing guidance and support to ensure that each participating student completes and submits at least one application,” said State Superintendent of Education Hanseul Kang in a press release on Monday.

College Application and Exploration Month was launched by the OSSE in 2012, with the goal of increasing college enrollment for D.C. students. As of 2015, District high school students were severely below benchmarks for college readiness with 25 percent of students on track in 10th grade English and 10 percent on track in 10th grade geometry.

This year all D.C. public schools and public charter schools in the District are participating in the initiative, Lida Alikhani, director of communications at the OSSE, tells DCist, along with several community organizations for young adults.

This year, participating institutions will also hold workshops and programs that prepare students for college. Students will learn about the college search, applying for financial aid and scholarships, and how to write essays for applications. Students will also hear about college funding options like D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant and the Mayor’s Scholars Undergraduate Program.

Kang says the response to the program has been positive this year. Capital City Public Charter Schools kicked off the month on Friday with “March to the Mailbox,” where about 75 students from the class of 2019 marched to drop off their first college application, Kang tells DCist.

In addition to programming around college applications, OSSE pays for high school students to take the SAT twice a year, once in the spring of junior year and again in the fall of senior year.

“What we are focused on is helping make sure our students know that one, how much people across D.C. believe in them and are supporting them,” Kang says. “And secondly, that we are looking at specific tangible barriers that exist and how we can help students overcome those barriers.”

The following colleges and universities are waiving their application fees for D.C. students in November, per OSSE. One area institution that’s not included is Trinity Washington University: Applying to the school in Northeast is always free of charge.

• American University
• The Catholic University of America
• Gallaudet University
• Georgetown University
• The George Washington University
• Marymount University
• Montgomery College
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Prince George’s Community College
• University of the District of Columbia
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore

This story has been updated to include that Trinity Washington University’s application is free, and to correct the title for Capital City Public Charter School.