<p>I've been put on the waitlist for University of Washington. The school tells me that they will notify whether or not I will be accepted into the school until May 15 - August 1. Since I don't want to end up collegeless, I need to accept admission to another school. If UW offers me admission in (worst case scenario) August 1, but I've already accepted admission from another school, how will I be able to accept the admission from UW? Will there be any fees or fines I have to pay?</p>
<p>UW serves as your back up plan. You must enroll and make a deposit at your 2nd choice like you surmised. If UW calls you off the waitlist and you decide to accept, you notify the other school and they give your spot to someone else, and they keep your deposit. You haven’t broken any rules or ethics. This is common practice.</p>