Hi all,
I am currently a sophomore transfer applicant. I found out that I was accepted to UNC and according to them, I have to confirm enrollment and pay the enrollment deposit of $250 by May 15th.
However, on the other hand, by that time I would still not have heard from several of the other colleges I am applying to (ie. USC, they send out acceptance letters on June 1st).
Are confirmations of enrollment binding?
If not, on average how should it take before they are?
I’m just a bit baffled about the process and need some clarification.
Thank you!
It’s not binding but deposits are usually not refundable. You can accept UNC for now and if you get in somewhere else later you can withdraw from UNC and accept that offer (and lose the $250 and pay the new deposit).
You can phone (and email a confirmation of your call) the admissions office and simply ask them to extend your admission notification. That way you don’t have to lose out on a deposit and can still find out about the other schools that you’re waiting on.
This happens every year for transfers, as they do not have a national NACAC deadline like the freshman do. Because of that, notifications can often be staggered past some of the schools’ deadline.
Most schools - particularly those with earlier commitment deadlines - will have many transfer students each year in this predicament and generally speaking, they are very gracious about extending the deadlines as long as the student can articulate their compelling reason.
Be sure that when you call that you provide them with a reasonable alternate deadline. If you expect to hear back from your other schools by May 20th, perhaps you would ask them for a May 31 (or June 1) deadline. As long as it’s reasonable and just extending the original by a couple of weeks, there shouldn’t be a problem.