This parent wonders whether her student can make two college deposits since they can’t visit campuses due to COVID-19. https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/deposit-at-two-colleges
Just because we are living through this strange time doesn’t mean people who can afford it should be allowed to double deposit. That second deposit deprives someone else of a seat. That’s the MAIN problem.
Nothing is going to change soon enough for students to decide. Let them figure it out with all the advantages people never used to have, by reading about schools, viewing college Instagram accounts, joining Facebook groups, calling school admission offices, asking questions on CC or Reddit, etc…
So many kids used to, and still do, turn up on campus on move in day. Surprises are fun. Do research and be ready for a pleasant surprise.
I don’t believe that “because I didn’t visit” is the only reason that families may be considering double-depositing right now. With a few exceptions, colleges and universities have been very quiet about what their contingency plans are for fall. When the decision comes down to how much a family is willing to pay for a 100% online education, buyer’s remorse becomes a much more likely scenario.
I think there is the scenario of the having a May 1st school and a Jun 1st school. If you deposit on the May 1st school and they develop an online learning plan that doesn’t suit you and they deny a deferral, you could conceviably deposit at the Jun 1st school. I just don’t feel it is justified to take a deposit for an in person learning experience and then hold you to the deposit if the experience ends up being on line.
I don’t think we are going for the online experience but will request a deferral, but when I research it one answer I got was you need to deposit, then apply for the deferral and see if the request is granted. Hmmm … not sure that will work for us.
@jetmathmama, that is infuriating. I imagine that schools that are insisting on deposits by 5/1 will be singing a different tune when they see a lower yield as a result. All other things being equal, I’d choose the school with the 6/1 decision date.
Some schools, like UCLA, say they won’t change their date to 6/1 because they would over enroll…which I believe in that case is probably true. They can always go to their very large waitlist after May 1.
I read someone reported in this forum it is doable. After you decide which one you will go, just email the other one. The school may see you are off the waitlist but you will lose the decision deposit, of course. The other reason may be due to the financial aid issue and you are not able to get what you want to attend.
No, you cannot double deposit, it’s unethical and harms other students looking for a spot. Our GC just sent a reminder a few days ago NOT to double deposit.
If you have a school due 5/1 and another 6/1…call the 5/1 school and ask for a little more time to decide.
not all are moving to 6/1 because they also need time to plan for what their incoming class will look like.
Here’s a reminder of the language that applicants who use the common app agree to:
HS guidance counselors will send only one final transcript. So…if you double deposit, only one school can get the student’s final transcript. Schools must have final transcripts before certain things can happen, e.g., select housing, take placement exams, register for classes, execute on student loans, etc.
Funny how schools want us to play by the rules when they most certainly don’t. My daughter is deciding between 2 schools. She was accepted to honors by both schools. School #1 let her enroll in the honors program without the SIR. School #2 required that she enroll within 72 hours of acceptance. NO problem only they want her to SIR prior to accepting honors. So basically she had 72 hours to SIR and accept or her honors acceptance would be withdrawn and given to someone else. We did ask for an extension and were denied. These colleges know the kids can’t physically visit. They really need to give students more time to decide. So I don’t blame a student if they have to SIR at 2 schools right now. Eventually they will have to pick 1 as their final transcript can only be sent to 1 school. But at least it buys a little time when all your research has to be done online.
Parents can’t have it both ways. Do you want extra time to decide or a quick decision about what will happen in the fall? Some colleges can afford to extend the commitment date by a month, but I would bet that many can’t. They’re working on next year’s budget and deciding how many staff people to lay off and which faculty they can afford to keep, and that will affect what courses they can offer. Some of that is directly related to how many students accept and what the financial aid packages end up looking like.
I don’t understand the need for more time. If you’re not willing to pay for a semester of online classes you can ask for a deferral and drop any college that won’t grant one. If your finances have changed and a school won’t increase aid, or your finances haven’t changed but you can’t afford a particular school if they do change, drop it from the list. It seems fairly straightforward to me. You’re either willing to do an online semester or not. A college is either affordable in a worst case financial scenario (in our case, it would be both parents getting laid off) or it’s not. Why do families need an extra month to decide?
If someone doesn’t want to take a chance that classes will be online, don’t deposit. How can ANYONE know right now what the situation will be in September? Colleges have to manage their enrollments.
If someone wants to save a lot of money, enroll in the University of Phoenix, or go to CC, which will probably offer online options too. If you want your child to begin college, online or not, then deposit at the first choice university.
I think the reasoning for the desire for more time (separate from whether it is permitted or appropriate) is for some families a hope of possibly visiting the school before commitment.
The language in the Common App prohibiting double deposits was something I didn’t initially realize. It’s pretty clear. 
Many schools have at least disclosed their plans and alternate plans and have reached out to admitted students with honesty and integrity. Whitman College has told students they will have reduced tuition if on-campus classes aren’t possible. Other universities have disclosed what various options might look like: considering starting in January, delayed start but still in the fall, reduced numbers of students on campus, in “shifts” to allow single rooms. What many colleges/universities are doing is pulling additional students off waitlists and refusing to grant deferrals without deposits. THIS is unethical.
My child is class of 2020 and his school is planning a month’s late start (also, it’s in the UK, where the deposit is 100% refundable). While we are not in this position, many of my peers have students who are undecided between two schools with vastly different costs of attendance, and the idea that one should “deposit at the first-choice university,” regardless of how open and honest the university is about contingency plans, is something only a privileged few can afford.
Which college will receive the final transcript is per student’s request, right? How can a high school counselor be requested sent more than one final transcripts if the student has decided which college is one’s final choice and made a request?
Correct, the student tells the HS GC what school to send the final transcript to.
If a student double deposits, which is what my post was referring to…the HS GC won’t send two final transcripts, so the student would still have to choose one school, thereby wasting the deposit at the second school.
@mom2agd: you are SPOT ON correct! It’s more than not visiting campus but about what has changed since a deposit was made. We are considering the same scenario to cover ourselves. While I want our son to have the full college experience for four years, if freshman year is deprived of him, then I’m not paying 100% online if it can be done elsewhere at a fraction of the costs.
I submitted an appeal to a college to defer my admission to 2021 because they are across the country for me but they won’t let me know of their decision until after May 1, but I need to submit a deposit for them to consider my appeal. But if I submit my deposit and they don’t approve my appeal, then I can’t go but am bound to it!
So do I just say goodbye to this school!? Or do I deposit here and somewhere else in case they don’t approve it?
Is this your first choice school? Do they have clear guidelines for granting a deferral and does your request satisfy one of those reasons? Will you attend if they don’t grant the deferral, or go elsewhere?
Have you been granted a deferral anywhere else?
I suggest you speak with someone live about the situation and press them on the likelihood they will grant your deferral request.
Sounds awkward. I believe that this time will come to pass and we shall get back to normal so no need of doing things that are unfair to others such as depositing on different colleges. My idea though…