["Australian Economic Review, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nResearch Question/Issue\nDo college application fees contribute to gender disparities in higher education, particularly at STEM‐focused institutions in decentralised admissions systems?\n\n\nResearch Findings/Insights\nUsing U.S. data from 2001–2020, we find that a 1% increase in application fees is associated with a 1.77 percentage‐point decline in the female share of applicants at STEM‐focused institutions, with larger effects at public universities. No comparable effect is observed at non‐STEM institutions. Additional analysis indicates that application fees primarily alter the composition of applicants rather than overall application volumes, with male applications responding more strongly than female applications.\n\n\nPractitioner/Policy Implications\nAlthough application fees are typically viewed as administratively neutral, our results suggest they can disproportionately deter women from applying to STEM‐focused institutions. In decentralised systems common across the Asia‐Pacific region, reviewing fee structures or introducing targeted fee waivers may help promote greater gender equity in STEM participation.\n\n\nMethods Used\nWe use institution‐level panel data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and estimate fixed‐effects models exploiting within‐institution variation in application fees.\n"]