<p>A friend tells me her child accepted a spot at Hopkins, but is on the wait list at Harvard. She said she can accept Harvard if she gets in AND get all of her money back from Hopkins. She said this us how it works. Is that true?</p>
<p>Doubtful. Most deposits are nonrefundable. What does the Hopkins website say about deposits?</p>
<p>Sometimes housing deposits are refundable if you decide not to attend the school. Maybe she is mixing up the two?</p>
<p>In our experience, the housing deposit was not refundable. Enrollment deposits usually go towards your first semester payment, and usually are refundable if done by a certain date. </p>
<p>Policies vary by school.</p>
<p>But the date after which deposits are not refundable is usually May 1.</p>
<p>Yes, the point of the deposit is that it usually is NOT refundable, so you have some incentive to stay with your original choice. I am sure there are schools that have a policy of refunding in some situations – they may or may not publish that information, though…</p>