Can a kid pay deposit to more than one college by May 1?
The reason for my question is that my older kid was supposed to attend college for 2016-2017, she applied and was admitted to a few, but we had always thought it was beneficial for her to enroll in PG. During a meeting with the GC of her very small private HS, the GC pushed for DD to go to college, and suggested that we paid deposit to a college that she would likely attend and that we could decide later. Somehow during the conversation, I had the impression she had her son paid deposit to more than one college.
Then in June, I heard another parent mentioned that his son had not made up his mind on which college to attend. Hence I thought I thought it was common for parents paying deposit to more than one college.
DD eventually decided to enroll in PG and re-apply to college again. When we submitted the application through common apps, I think there was an agreement that we were not supposed to commit to more than one college. I do not have access to common apps now, but I am not sure whether I have misread the agreement. Hence my question is whether a kid can pay deposit to more than one college by May 1.
why? is it not allowed? When the GC spoke with me in April, at the time we only considered one college, but she sounded as if it was a good idea for kids who had not made up their minds, that she asked her son to pay deposit but as her son would attend college, hence I had the impression that she was referring to her son paying deposit to more than one colleges.
BTW, last year I didn’t pay attention to the common apps as we had planned to enroll her for PG, hence the common apps was mainly handled between the GC and DD.
You are signing an agreement that says you will only commit to one college when you submit the common app. Do some people commit to more than one? Sometimes. Is it risky? Yes. Surprised a GC would even hint that as a possibility.
PG is post-grad, another year after high school.
That’s exactly. I didn’t realize that it was part of the agreement in the common apps, hence I was wondering whether I have misread it. On the other hand, I do not have too much faith with a GC’s knowledge in general, and the GC in particular…
What she asked us to do last year was not illegal as she was pushing us to pay deposit to that one college, just that, during the conversation, she gave me that impression that she had paid deposits to more than one college for her son as I questioned whether it was okay if we eventually did not attend. Eventually I called the college to confirm.
You can pay housing deposits at more than one school (especially if housing is given on a first come/first served basis and most times is refundable if you withdraw before May 1). H
However, you can only commit to attend one school on May1.
You will risk your child having her admission rescinded at all schools where you have multiple deposits. This is the main reason why schools now have families pay crazy deposits to hold their spot (some schools now charge close to $1000)
Annamom, this questioned has been debated and parsed on other threads here on CC. The issue has become more “acute” because a number of colleges are now requiring the student to submit an enrollment deposit before the college will allow the student to access the housing priority/application and deposit process. So a student may have a college that his high on her list that she has been accepted to, say, in October, and if she doesn’t act regarding the housing right away she will be behind the 8-ball on selection, so she submits the enrollment deposit in order to have a high priority on housing. Then another college that is high on her list accepts her, and, since she is undecided and like most kids does not have a clear number one choice that early in the process, she must deal with that same problem again. The student doesn’t want to “forfeit” housing priority, but yet it will be many months before her entire “college options” picture is known. So, many rationalize that it is okay to make more than one enrollment deposit, especially if it is driven by the games the colleges are playing in wringing out enrollment deposits in advance of housing priority deposits, as long as the multiple enrollment deposit situation does not linger past the May 1 magic date – the thought being that if it is cleared up by May 1, then she is not depriving someone else from an opportunity to come off the wait list for that school, etc. Others have theorized that you can only submit one enrollment deposit out of the schools that you applied to via the common application, and that you can also deposit to a “non-common application” school – even though the wording you agree to in the common application does not say it is is limited to the common application schools. And then, as you will see from the comments preceding this, many will say it is simply “unethical” to make an enrollment deposit to more than one college, if you have utilized the common application process at all and thereby “agreed” to the restrictive language. So, some think it is a complicated issue, and there are valid reasons to multiple deposit (although it is much harder to defend allowing a multiple deposit to linger past May 1 and into the Summer), and others think any such rationalization is a character flaw and it is a black & white situation based on the language in the common application (which you are not free to negotiate, but you are free to simply not use). Each person has to decide where to come out on this issue…
I would check the Common App rules and the rules of individual colleges. I know you’re not supposed to have deposits at more than one school after May 1st, but I don’t know why you couldn’t have a couple before then. Unless the rules specifically forbid it, I don’t see the harm. My son applied to ~13 colleges, and didn’t use the Common App for any of them, so read it to be sure.
If you wonder why, imagine if there were 100 kids with 10 acceptances and they deposited at all schools…that would be schools thinking that there were 1000 student/slots taken up when there are realy only 100.
Generally you can figure out what you are doing by May 1. I think there are rare circumastances where you might need to do this but not as a general course.
I don’t know why you would want to have a couple before May 1st…there isn’t any point. Your place is held just by the fact they accepted you. You have until May 1st to put a deposit to accept, why spend money you don’t need to? As thumper mentioned, you may want to put housing deposits down (some schools do first come first served), but there isn’t any point in putting admissions deposits down until you are sure.
Of course, as already mentioned, after May 1st you should only have one deposit down.
If housing is first come, first served, then schools that won’t take a housing deposit until families put down an enrollment deposit are putting lower income families at a disadvantage. If they can’t get on campus housing, they can’t attend. If a later acceptance comes through with better aid, they often can’t afford not to take it. But if no better offers come and they didn’t deposit at the first school, then they’re out of luck.
We didn’t run into this problem. Are there schools that do this? Then if so, that would be a reason to put an enrollment deposit before May 1st on two schools (of course, this is also putting lower income families at a disadvantage who can’t be putting multiple deposits down). But I thought those schools that had a first come first served only asked for a housing deposit. I have very little firsthand knowledge about this since my kids picked LAC’s with guaranteed housing. I thought I recalled some of the bigger schools sending housing info and saying not to wait–send in housing deposits even before deciding on admissions to make sure you got in.
But regardless, after May 1st there should only be a single deposit.
The way I see it, they are a business and I’m the consumer. If I’m paying I’ll do as I want.
Is having a waiting list not the same? Hypocrite rules from my perspective.