Deadline to make decision of which college to matriculate to?

So most of the acceptance/ reject/ waitlist letters come out in April right? So when do colleges expect you to decide and send the 1st downpayment by? Is it a month later in may? I was wondering b/c my parents were wanting to wait until after I graduate to visit colleges…but don’t we have to make the decision of which college to go to before graduation?

<p>Most schools have a May 1 deadline for sending in your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), but check with the individual school. So it won't be possible for you to wait until after graduation to decide...</p>