Colorado’s Free Application Days event offers every student across the state the opportunity to apply to college free of cost. But even if students miss the three-day window, they haven’t missed their chance to apply to college or prepare for life after high school.

The days, from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20, serve as an unofficial kickoff to the college application season. However, Colorado students shouldn’t feel like they need to rush through the college application process just to meet the free application deadline.

A persistent myth among students is that you have to pay to apply to schools, said Analise Gonzalez-Fine, director of college initiatives at DSST Public Schools, a Denver-area charter school network. But that’s not universally true.

Read the full Chalkbeat article here.