At what point are we fully committed to paying for next year? Without all the details, my husband and I are questioning if our son should really be going off to college next year. That is not the what I am discussing here. My question, without calling the school just yet, what is the point of no return?
I think that depends upon the school. If you pay, getting the money back is usually by refund schedule. That’s set by individual schools. From what I’ve seen, the deposit is always forfeited though there may be exceptions depending on the reason for withdrawal.
I would look and see how long you can put off payment if you have done outstanding issue that is causing you to hesitate.
You will get an itemized bill at some point (every college has a slightly different schedule, there’s no single day in July where every college sends off the first semester bill). That bill will have a date on it- you don’t pay the bill, your kid can’t register for classes, get a key for his dorm, etc. After that, refunds are issued according to a schedule which is usually posted on the college’s website. You are NEVER committed to paying for an entire year- the bills are for each semester. But you need to follow the exact procedure outlined by the college so you aren’t on the hook for a dorm (check to make sure you haven’t signed a contract on a dorm when you sent in your deposit), meal plan, or other ancillary charges. There is a difference between not showing up and withdrawing- and your son may need to official withdraw rather than just not arriving in August in order to avoid paying $.
Just popping in to give support as you question whether your son is ready to go off to college next year. I know it’s tough to be in that situation. Not every kid is ready.
Good luck as you and your child navigate this. I’d check with the U—you may even ask if the admission be deferred for a year if you and your child might think this advisable.
I have a friend whose D decided as her D and she were on campus and acquiring things for her dorm room that she wasn’t ready and her school generously offered her a deferment, including keeping her generous merit and FAid award available for the following year. Uñi thought that was very generous.
The student ultimately opted to live at home and go to our instate U instead.
@HImom what’s your evaluation of someone looking at becoming a Rainbow. Pre health track or mathematics?
I don’t see how this relates to the thread, but a UH degree is perfectly fine for many. Lots of kids go to the local U to get their degrees—5 of my 6 siblings got their undergrad degrees from UH. They’re all doing great.
Ok, back to OP. Only the U your kid applied to can give you accurate info on current options and deferral possibilities.
I’ve seen this a lot. I know it’s difficult. Sometimes even after you make the decision, you are not sure if it was the right one.
We were hanging on balance with one of ours and to this day, i think a term or year at a local school might have benefited him. I think we just went the path of least resistance and just did not want to deal with his shenanigans anymore. We have cousins, who ended up with their college bound son doing CC first after he got into trouble over the summer. And my very dear friend made s heart wrenching decision to tell her wonderful DD that she could not go away to school because her eating disorder was life threatening.
Whatever you decide that is the best decision at that moment is the best one can do. Things change in an eye blink so you can only decide at that moment.
Agree that each of us must make the best choices we can, given all the information we know and not second guess ourselves in hindsight as to whether perhaps something MAY have been slightly (or greatly) better than the option chosen. Sometimes counselors can help us guide a better decision, but ultimately we are all just doing the best we can.
Don’t expect a bill to arrive in your US mailbox. I did and learned that neither daughter’s school sends a bill. In fact, they don’t tell the parents anything - but do expect parents to pay. I was looking for a copy of the bills for scholarships and the scholarship required it by July 31. It took an act of God to get them! One school had a payment due date of Aug 11 and I couldn’t get a bill by July 31? That school kept posting the charges, backing them off, reposting them (often the same amount), posting some of the grants and scholarships but not others.
Yes, we were able to get both of our children to authorize us to be guest users of the school portal so we could view charges and refunds posted on their accounts (as neither child checked such things). It was very helpful. Once when we were assessed a late fee because we didn’t see the item posted in time, we were able to get it waived by asking nicely.
I agree that you need to be proactive with the U and talk with them about what the options are. If there is a therapist involved, talk with him/her about options as well.
You can always back out – but getting the deposit back is another matter. But they can’t force a student to attend, and they can’t force you to pay other costs if your son decides not to enroll.
The sooner you notify the school of the changed decision, the higher the chances are that you might be able to request a refund of the deposit. Depends on the school of course, but you make it a lot easier for the school if you tell them in early May rather than in mid-July.
If you don’t mind forfeiting the deposit, you can back out quite late in the process. Remember, some students come of wait lists during the summer months and are making last minute shifts. There was a lot of housing shifts at my D’s school in August based on conversations I saw on our parents FB group. My own college roommate sophomore year decided two days before was starting that she wasn’t coming back (back in the stone ages).
I hope all works out for your S and your family.
You might consider requesting a derferment of one year so your son has the option of going to this school at a future date.
We had already paid room and board in full. We got a 100% refund when child withdrew a week after starting. If they had gone past the end of the week it would have been a 50% refund.
I’m sure it’s school specific but in our case it was well beyond the deposit stage.