I was in an info session for a college and the dean of the honors college suggested that we pay the academic deposit (even if we end up not attending) so we can then pay the housing deposit and secure a good dorm. He emphasized that you can do this even if you aren’t sure you will attend, and if you don’t attend you can get the deposit back. Is this allowed? It seems like it could jeopardize your spots at other colleges, but I’m not sure.
This may be specific to that college, but usually, you lose the deposit if you back out. And yes, it’s allowed. It’s often used by students who are on a wait list elsewhere.
But I think that ethics say that you shouldn’t have more than one deposit in effect at a time.
Getting a deposit back would be out of the ordinary, but these aren’t ordinary times and schools are being aggressive.
I’d be sure to get it in writing before going down that path.
@RichInPitt @Eeyore123 @skieurope thank you for the info! I wasn’t really considering doing it, and if I did I wasn’t really worried about getting the deposit back, but I was just wondering about if it was ethical/allowed.
Yes, people back out regularly. And even with no refund, you can certainly pay and not attend - they can’t force you to enroll.