Hi everyone. Just sharing my positive experience so far in case any of you find it helpful.
I received an unsolicited fee waiver from UCLA on 8/20, but with the new cycle approaching and considering that I am planning to apply to a whopping 21 schools, I decided to send out requests to each of the schools this morning.
Michigan and WUSTL promptly granted me fee waivers.
I'm interpreting Yale's response as "Yes you can have one but we have to wait until our applications open in October."
The remainder of the schools have either not responded yet, responded that they don't grant merit based, that they don't grant solicited waivers, or directed me to a formal application process. Almost all schools that did not grant me a fee waiver suggested I apply for need-based.