tl;dr If you're a student at Stanford, then by default you are billed almost $150 every quarter to fund student groups. That's why I wrote a little script that will automatically opt out of each student fee. All you have to do is create a new waiver request and copy and paste some javascript into your browser's URL bar.

Opt out of your Stanford student group fees in 2 simple steps!

If you're a student at Stanford, then by default you are billed almost $150 every quarter to fund student groups. After digging in a little, I realized that Stanford gave over $100 to groups that provided me no value whatsoever. Less than $40 went to the groups that I was at all interested in.

Over 12 quarters this amounts to over $1600, and many students aren't aware of this. And if you do want to opt out, you have to create a fee waiver request. Then for every student group you must slide clunky sliders and toggle checkboxes. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense for students to have to opt in rather than opt out?

That's why I wrote a little script that will automatically opt out of each student fee. After running it you'll be able to opt in and fund the groups that bring you value. All you have to do is create a new waiver request and copy and paste some javascript into your browser's URL bar.

Instructions

1. Request a Fee Waiver

Head over to http://waivers.stanford.edu and click on "Request a Fee Waiver for Spring 2012-2013 »"

2. Run the script!

Copy the following script:

$.each($('[name*="value"]'), function(index, elem) {
  $(elem).attr('checked', true);
});
$.each($('[id*="amount"]'), function(index, elem) {
  elem.value = $(elem).parent().parent().children('th:nth-child(2)').text().substring(1);
});

Then go back to the fee waiver request and clear your browser's URL bar.

Then type into the URL bar:

javascript:

As soon as you finish typing javascript: paste the script in the URL bar, and press enter

This will waive the entire fee for each group. Don't worry if the sliders are still positioned to the left, it does not matter. The only thing that your browser cares about when you submit the form is the amount just above the slider. The slider is just one of the many ways that you can toggle that value.

If something went wrong, reread the instructions. If it still fails, you probably need a better browser: try Safari or Chrome.

Fund the student groups that matter to you

I recommend that you take a look at each group and make a conscious decision as to whether you want to give it money. Though, please don't abuse this and keep all the monies for yourself. Some groups don't waste their allowances on unnecessary events and food, and actually need that money to run.

And the best part is, you will receive a nice little check in the mail a couple weeks after doing this!