Conflicting deposit deadlines/FA awards, the fun never stops!

Paying for College
1

<p>Okay, basic rundown of the situation:</p>

<p>I'm a transfer student.
I've been accepted to six colleges. (I'm waiting on a response from a seventh, but they don't even look at transfer apps until May.)
College #1 sent me a financial aid offer almost immediately and requested a $600 deposit by May 1st if I want to go there.<br>
Most of the other colleges START sending their financial aid offers around May 1st (not that they guarantee you'll get an offer in May, it's more a "May to June" range.)</p>

<p>College #1's offer was generous, but I would still be taking out quite a bit in loans for my remaining two years of college. It would be doable, but more than I want to spend if I have significantly cheaper options. But I don't KNOW if I have cheaper options because I'm still waiting on the other FA offers. I also don't want to send in a nonrefundable deposit of $600 if I'm not going to end up at College #1. ($600 would be an ENORMOUS chunk of my savings.)</p>

<p>But then again, what if the other colleges turn out to be more expensive than College #1, right? I'd look pretty foolish turning them down and then having to pay even more. (My in-state college would almost certainly give me fantastic aid, but they're the college who doesn't admit transfer students until May/June. I THINK I will get in, but don't want to count on it.)</p>

<p>So with this in mind, I wrote College #1's FA office an e-mail, apologizing for bothering them at a busy time, but explaining that I was waiting on a gaggle of other FA offers, and could they possibly extend the deposit date to June 1st? Or extend it AT ALL? I hope it wasn't a mistake to do this, but I didn't know what else to do. I was careful to word it politely.</p>

<p>So a day later I received a reply that said, "The May 1 date is set through out the US."</p>

<p>I don't know what that means and am struggling to figure out how to even reply. I don't know if I should reply with another e-mail, try phoning them, or just give it up. (Another problem is that I get easily flustered on the phone.)</p>

2

<p>The May 1st deadline is typical (although not universal… or even “national”) but is usually the deadline for incoming freshmen. The college you’re dealing with has decided to make it general deadline for everyone apparently. There really isn’t much you can do about that except ask for more time, which you did. (That was a good thing to try, by the way, and it seems like you handled it just right.)</p>

<p>Two things I’d consider at this point – first, try to call someone higher up the ladder, and I’d start with the admissions office, not financial aid. Second, if that doesn’t work, make sure you understand the refund policy. Sometimes, while they won’t refund the whole deposit, they will refund a significant portion of it if a student decides not to attend.</p>

<p>After that… maybe check in with your state school, explain the situation, and see if they can give you a sense of the status of your application or some idea of your admissions prospects.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, 'rentof2, that’s good advice. Unfortunately the entire $600 is nonrefundable. :frowning: </p>

<p>I will going to call College #1’s admission office and pray for daylight. I can’t believe it’s April 21st already!</p>

4

<p>Hang in there Naturally! The transfer process is every bit as nerve wracking as the first application process was, isn’t it? Perhpas even more so, with the late admissions and FA award schedules most schools seem to have for transfers…like the red-headed stepchild of the admissions process. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>I called College #1 today and got the best possible response . . . that it was fine if I sent in my deposit June 1st or even later! The admissions counselor said the May 1st date is mainly so they can gauge the housing situation for on-campus students. I’m going to be a commuter student so it’s not a concern!</p>

<p>Thanks for your support and advice, guys! It really helped when I was stressed out and panicking.</p>