<p>Let's say S has narrowed down his college decision to two colleges. He has visited College A and knows that he likes it and would be happy to attend. College B looks great on paper but we will not be able to visit until the end of April. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, College A is opening up fall class registration in early April, and students who have already deposited will have priority in course selection. They will also have priority in housing selection. We were told that the all-freshman housing that S wants fills up fast. Same with the small freshman seminars. If he waits to deposit, he can still get into a freshman seminar, but not necessarily one of the ones that most interest him. We were urged to "deposit now if you're sure College A is your first choice."</p>
<p>Under these circumstances, and assuming I can live with losing the deposit $ if S ultimately chooses College B, is there anything wrong or unethical with depositing at College A before S is 100% sure that he will attend?</p>
<p>No there is nothing wrong or unethical, College A is being a bit nasty by playing the course registration game before May 1st deadline. Many schools do entice students with housing choices based on deposit (often it’s a separate, less expensive housing deposit) but few with course registration. </p>
<p>I would go ahead and make the deposit if you can live with losing the deposit money. Kids switch schools when they get off the waitlist of a preferred school or for any number of reasons, don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>It is fine to deposit at one school at a time, particularly in circumstances like this, where you will be penalized by a school for not depositing.</p>
<p>The thing to remember is when/if you change your mind, you have to FIRST let the deposit school know you will not be attending BEFORE you deposit elsewhere. </p>
<p>I’m sure this is common sense, but sometimes it’s best to state the obvious. :)</p>
<p>Its common to put down a deposit to secure housing, etc. There is often a good deal of what is called “summer melt”, when people get into schools off wait lists and cancel out on schools they put downdeposits with. Not unusual. No worries.</p>
<p>The May 1 deadline for commitments is practiced by many, many colleges and is a recommendation by the NACAC but all colleges of course accept decisions anytime after the acceptance letter. I believe my oldest who committed to his college in January also had a phone meeting with his counselor and had logged in and signed up for his freshman classes long before May 1. It’s the just the way some colleges operate and totally within their prerogative. Which is great for kids that have made up their minds. I would take advantage of this if your son is even considering attending this college …the most you will lose is your deposit if he changes his mind at the last minute.</p>
<p>Simpkin - we did it and caught a little grief from the guidance counselor. We deposited at one school whilst waiting for a few more later decisions. She wanted to get in the housing que which we hear is pretty competitive, and I was ok with losing the deposit. The GC was telling her to withdraw her apps at other schools and I contacted GC to let her know we would not be withdrawing apps until all was said and done, but certainly would never have more than one deposit in at a time. As I told DD - it is not over until May 1 - you can change your mind.</p>
<p>And told GC the same thing. Made me a little angry because she made DD feel bad when she ultimately did change her mind. the school w the deposit in was graciousl and fine iwth it however. Agreed - that is why people get off the wait list.</p>
<p>^^your GC was out of line…this is done all the time before May 1st…for housing purposes, registration purposes, and even, scholarship offers…</p>
<p>One school (I think Furman) requires a deposit something like 10 days after their admissions results to hold a spot and it is not an ED admission…wayyyy before May 1</p>
<p>Thanks, this is very helpful. No double deposit. I don’t like that they are playing this game, but since it seems very likely that he will ultimately choose this college, it probably does make sense to deposit now to secure any advantages that come with that.</p>
<p>In fact, all students who agree to accept places on waiting lists need to do this. They say yes to one school, knowing that if the school they prefer accepts them off the waitlist later, they will change their minds.</p>
<p>If your student needs to do it for a different reason, that’s OK, too.</p>
<p>It is considered unethical to double dip which is accepting two or more college spots at the same time to “buy” more deciding time. Even that, my opinion, which is hotly disputed and panned, is that under some circumstances the most pragmatic thing to do. To do it one school at a time, is not a disputed practice, to my knowledge, and I see no reason not to do it.</p>
<p>My one son’s school flat out told me that we should have put down a deposit right away as soon as he was offered a spot. That we did not until he was sure where he wanted to go there over some other schools put him in Outer SIberia in terms of dorm choice. </p>
<p>There are often financial aid and other issues that are not resolved by decision time and talking to the adcoms about this is worse than oral surgery. My nephew tried to to this the “right way” and was denied extensions last year. Unless the school (CMU being one of them) specifically has you sign that you have not signed up for another school, I don’t think it’s worth the hassle. In the end, I told my nephew’s mom to just send the deposits to the school and then get the money situation resolved at your leisure. The time deadline was causing unbelievable stress and the schools could not care less. You do lose the deposit when you do this.</p>
<p>If you are willing to lose the money, definitely do it. Just let them know as soon as you change your mind. And make sure that you don’t lose both spots. I don’t agree that it is that necessary to withdraw from A before sending to B… just don’t procrastinate.</p>
<p>…and that GC was so out of line. Why does a GC even know if and when you send a deposit in?</p>
<p>If you tell people. That’s how a GC will know. Some high schools have policies against doing this regardlless of whether the college does or not, and could come down hard on you if they find out you do this. I recommend keeping this sort of information private.</p>
<p>How would you handle this situation - Purdue has a regular admission to a BS, deposit before May, but the direct early admission results to their Vet program is not announced till way after this deadline. Assuming another college is preferred if the direct Vet admission isn’t offered, what would be the permissible/ethical use of double deposits? Purdue said they didn’t object if there’s another college with a deposit till their June decision.</p>
<p>I see no problem with this and my son did exactly that. He was prepared to go to the school he was accepted to but was on the wait list for two other schools. Fortunately, they waived his deposit but we would have paid it with the understanding it would be forfeited if he withdrew. He ended up getting accepted to one of his wait list schools and the financial aid and the opportunity were too much to pass up. He sent a follow up e-mail to the original school thanking them for the opportunity and explaining how he received an offer he couldn’t refuse. The school sent a response thanking him for the notification and wished him luck. They also went one step further and indicated if it didn’t work out they would take him as a transfer the following year.</p>
<p>I believe schools understand that the applicants have to ensure they have a spot somewhere and don’t take it personal if the applicant withdraws their acceptance.</p>
<p>You’re not supposed to double-deposit or spuriously deposit, but this school lost its rights to have dependable deposits when it played that game. Deposit all you want and don’t feel guilty (even if you resent the loss of $$) if you have to move on. Turkeys.</p>