Hello-
My son has been accepted to College A at an early action school. However, College A requires students to deposit early to get the housing of their choice. Would it be legal to put a deposit at this school and wait for other college’s results that he applied for regular decision? We’re not planning on double depositing. If accepted at a regular decision school, my son will definitely withdraw his deposit at College A before depositing to the regular decision school. Thanks in advance.
As far as I know, I don’t think you are supposed to do that. If you are paying deposits to an early school, you are mostly telling the school that college A is confirmed. By the time, regular decision results are released, it’s too late to withdraw your deposit and tell college A that your son won’t be attending. When is the deadline to pay deposit for early action? Some schools let you wait till regular decisions are released. If that is the case, wait till the results are released for regular decision. I hope I make sense!
@Nizamikn Thanks for your comment. The deadline to pay for deposit is May 1st like schools my son applied for regular decision. Since results for regular decision usually come out by the end of March, I was hoping to withdraw the deposit for College A by April if needed. The thing is that there is a very slim chance my son will get accepted to the colleges for regular so we want to at least get good housing for the school he would most likely go to. Would this be a problem even if we are not double depositing really? Because schools students commit during regular decision allow you to withdraw if you get into another school that you were initially waitlisted into.
Have you ascertained if that deposit is refundable (some are and others are not)? If it is not, I’d wait until very early April, when the RD determinations are known, and then potentially mail the housing deposit. Perhaps those who provide earlier deposits will receive newer/better dormitory spaces, but it’s only a nine-month freshman dorm and I suspect it cannot be too bad.
I’m not sure it is illegal if 1) it is a housing deposit only or 2) you withdraw before you accept another school (many students deposit at one school and switch if they get into a preferred school off a wait list or something and that is fine although you’d lose the deposit). I’d suggest talking to your son’s guidance counselor before planning a course of action. And I do think some freshman dorms can be less than ideal situations (forced triples etc.).
There is no reason whatsoever not to deposit at College A and then forfeit the deposit if he changes his mind (assuming it is non-refundable.) This is necessary at many schools if you want to have guaranteed housing on campus in your freshman year. You aren’t double-depositing so there’s nothing wrong with securing your S’s place until something better comes along. Keep in mind that many kids commit to a school while staying on the waiting list at another school all summer long, and if they get in, they ditch their deposit and go with the wait listed school. It’s called ‘melt’ and admission offices plan for some of this to happen.
You COULD do this, but you likely will lose the first deposit. What you can’t do is deposit at a second school and NOT immediately notify the first school you aren’t coming after all. But read the deposit info at the EA school carefully. Sometimes HOUSING deposits are refundable (but sometimes you MUST make a separate enrollment deposit before making the housing deposit, and the enrollment deposit may not be refundable).