I agree with those who say this is an unfair game, rigged against those who cannot afford to potentially lose some non-refundable deposit or fees.
Just because lots of schools play this game or some variation of it does not make it fair.
What particularly bothers me is the schools that charge different amounts for room, depending on what dorms are available - and usually the cheaper dorms are gone first. Yet they base their financial aid offer on the cheapest dorms, and they often don’t include the extra fees associated with advertised programs as part of the COA calculation.
When it happens at private schools that are known for gapping students, I guess it is to be expected. But it should not happen at public universities.
Families can place a housing deposit without turning down other schools, so encouraging early housing deposits doesn’t open up spots at other colleges. There’s plenty of time between May and September for colleges to process housing payments and work out placement. Why can’t they accept housing deposits early but award housing through some sort of lottery after May 1st?
@austinmshauri - I agree. Why can’t the deadlin for living in an LLC be 5/1 instead of 3/31? College orientation at this school doesn’t start until the end of May, so it seems registration for orientation can wait to open until May 1st. I’d be okay with a special orientation for people who committed early, but make the other early orientation sessions open to all.
Everyone keeps talking about getting the money back before 5/1. These are NONREFUNDABLE deposits we are making. Also paid for orientation at $110. We’re out $685 if something happens and she changes her mind. We’re fortunate to be in position where we can afford it. But I know not everyone is in that position.
I’m new to this, but I’m not sure I understand why colleges can’t wait until May 1 for housing deposits. Are they doing something in the next six weeks? Housing deposit = musical chairs?
We couldn’t afford to make a ~$600 deposit we couldn’t get back, @SuburbMom. Our kids would have to forego honors housing and take their chances in May.
Well, I could have argued that having orientation and registration for DD’s college at the end of May wasn’t fair because she was still in high school and couldn’t fly to orientation, so therefore the school shouldn’t have any orientation/registration weekends until all incoming students had an equal chance to attend. As it was, we could pick which weekend to attend, and knew going into the process that she was going to be in the last group. If she didn’t want that, she could have picked a different school. It made NO difference. She was oriented, she was registered, she had a dorm assigned.
No plan is going to be liked by everyone. Those who commit early want benefits. Those who don’t want to commit still want the best dorms or the cheapest dorms or first place at registrations. Can’t please everyone, and the schools choose the method that works best for them.
How is this different than any other event that has limited capacity? If you want to go to summer camp, you register in February to get the choice of weeks. If you want to go to the Big Game or concert, those committing with non-refundable cash get the first choice of seats, and late comers may have less desirable seats. Even going to the movies has those arriving early getting first choice of seats and the late comers sitting in the first row. Those not committing to college until May 1 are guaranteed admission and often are guaranteed housing, but not specific courses or housing.
I disagree that schools can get it all done if they wait until May 1 to process all dorm requests, or that that would make people happier or feel the process was fair. Those who are in line first (the March deposits) want first choice so they think the current method is fair. If everyone at OP’s school wants the LLC, wouldn’t it be better to know before May 1 that the places have been filled and if you really want a school with a LLC you need to go elsewhere rather than just taking a spot in the lottery? If they did it by lottery after May 1, you could find out on May 20th that you are assigned to a forced triple and by then it is too late to go somewhere else.
@twoinanddone your examples of summer camp or concerts or a big game show you are likely more privileged, and can afford those events. People who cannot afford to take a risk of losing $600 non-refundable deposit are not likely to be able to relate to those examples of what rich people can afford to do. Why not use the example of the rich being able to get first class airline seats - a special waiting area lounge, better seats up front, TSA pre-check lane, etc.
Those who can afford it want benefits, and the schools are happy to please them, at the expense of turning away other qualified applicants who simply cannot afford to play the game.
I agree that they won’t please everyone. I would like some acknowledgement that this is another example of how the system is rigged in favor of the rich.
Saying they don’t have to play the game is true. But schools should be called on it when they adopt rules that favor the rich - on top of all the other things that favor the rich when it comes to education (like the reliance on standardized test scores, legacy preference, the ability to apply ED, etc.)
Those of us who cannot afford to play this game have our choice made for us.
My kid has to commit to working for 10 weeks m-f to secure her job this summer. Glad her schools all have Freshman orientation the old style way, the week before school starts!
I can see where this might be a problem for kids on full FA, but I’m really not having much sympathy for the indecisive kid who pretty much just wants to wait and see if a better offer comes in.
Given that the California State/UC schools are all rolling out over the next couple of weeks, it’s not just indecision for my daughter and most of her friends. They just don’t have answers form a good chunk of schools.
“Full FA” (in the sense of having no out of pocket costs) is almost nonexistent. Kids waiting for a better offer may very well be those who need lots of aid.
I think there is a great deal more practicality and a lot less deviousness in these policies. Budgets are determined by enrollment. While an institution can’t count on any student until it sees “the whites of their eyes,” deposits make for better estimates. And preparing housing? The sooner the institution can get started the better. There are so many variables to consider. For instance, how many rooms are needed for freshmen? How many can it then offer to returning students? How many want/need singles? A school is a business and advanced planning is necessary.
But registering early to get first choice may be the only way a poor student can get an advantage. If the poor student wants a certain dorm, he can deposit early, and start picking. It may be the ONLY way he can get a choice. If everything is by lottery, the poor student has no control.
My daughter committed to be on her team before most of the rest of the team had even visited the school. She wanted to be #2. Anyone who committed after her had to pick a different number. Did they still get to be on the team? Yes, they just couldn’t be #2. Same with the LLC and dorms and orientation times. A later commit still gets to go to the school, still gets to go to orientation, but she doesn’t get a guarantee of being in the LLC and has to take orientation times that are left. Could the coach have waited to assign numbers until everyone had the opportunity to consider other offers, to wait until everyone got to put in a request for #2 and then held a lottery? Sure, but then maybe my daughter would have gone to a different team. Coach wanted to offer a benefit to committing early, and my daughter took it.
Remember back in the days when you could pick your seat early on airplanes? The poor flier who bought a ticket 3 months early got first pick of seats. He committed to the airline and the benefit was first choice of seats. The flier who waited until the flight was about to leave didn’t get to bump the poor flier. The plane got everyone there at the same time. Same with a school. Everyone gets the same education, everyone gets a dorm, just those who commit early get more choices.
It’s marketing. The school is offering a benefit for those who do XYZ, and the school may have learned from past years that those who deposit early are more likely to attend, so the goal is to get the students to deposit early. Schools do it with ED,they do it with Likely Letters, they do it with preferential dorm choices.
My kids were the ‘poor’ kids. If they wanted a special choice of dorm or program or LLC, they had to commit early, and commit to only one school. I was okay with them waiting for all offers too if that’s what they wanted to do, but didn’t expect others to wait or forgo the benefits of early commits just to make it ‘fair’ for my kids.
You think its fair because it worked out for your kid, and because you could afford to pay a nonrefundable deposit to a school that they might not attend. The “really” poor kids absolutely cannot afford to forego the chance of comparing offers. The really poor kids cannot afford to really want a special choice dorm or program or LLC
It’s a game, it sucks for anyone who can’t afford to put down deposits (refundable or not) and it violates both the spirit and the letter of the NACAC principles. I’d report the school, honestly, if it belongs to NACAC.
I don’t see how this is a Rich vs. Poor debate. You know the consequenses/incentives for depositing late/early at each school and you are given a choice. I do agree that a long delay from a college regarding the financial aid package would favor those who are in the position to commit regardless of how much it would cost to attend.
Life is about making choices and making commitments. Going away to college is as much about growing into a responsible adult as it is about getting an education. Sometimes we just have to go with our gut, especially if one is 95% sure of something.
What if you proposed marriage to your BF/GF with no intention of getting married but just wanted to hold on to a steady relationship while waiting to see if someone more desirable comes along. Whether this is fair or not all depends on which person you are, I guess.
Thtanks @OHMomof2 - I do feel manipulated into making the commitment prior to May 1st. I’d report them if D wasn’t going there, but don’t feel comfortable doing it since she’s likely to go there.
I would suggest that @SuburbMom go to the respective thread for the college here and ask how much of a problem this really is. It could very well be that few people pay deposits early and that it is still rather easy to get your pick of dorms, roommates and classes once you commit in May.