<p>I have a sticky situation in my hands. I'd really appreciate it if you could all give some advice.</p>
<p>I applied to 4 independent schools this year.
3 of which are boarding schools and I find out on March 10,
and 1 that is a very competitive day school nearby my house.
I got excepted to the day school which I'm very happy about. However, it was my backup.</p>
<p>I have 2 first choices, and one of the boarding schools is below the day school.
The problem is that I need to deposit 10% of the tuition for the day school before or on March 1 to tell them if I will be attending their school. The even bigger problem? I find out from my boarding schools on March 10. </p>
<p>So what do I do? I need to play my cards right. Do I take the risk and say no?</p>
<p>Go talk to them and ask if you can have a 10 day extension. Realistically, I do not know why they would be against you having a broader choice, and it is certainly not in their best interests to coerce you into going there.</p>
<p>Perhaps they make money on people who put down deposits as a backup, but then go to a different school. But it certainly won’t hurt to ask for an extension. I’m sure they’ve encountered this before, so they’re likely to have a policy in place.</p>
<p>We had this same exact situation happen to us last year. Because the boarding school acceptance/rejection was yet to be learned, we put the deposit down at the day school and attended all meetings for new students (including setting her schedule for the next year). We realized that we might lose that deposit - and in fact we did – but it was the only solution to be sure she had a place at a school we wanted. I know some will view that as a waste of money. We viewed it as an insurance policy. Congratulations, by the way!</p>
<p>Perhaps you and your parents can explain the situation to day school, and modify the contract so that the deposit can be returned within 10 days if plans change? </p>
<p>My guess is that the day school picks March 1 rather than March 10 so it can get and keep more deposits, but who knows.</p>
<p>If you do choose to put down the deposit…check with the school about their policy. Some private schools (here in NYC) have a certain date that you can change your mind, lose your deposit but not be responsible for the full contract…but after that, they can go after you for the full tuition. It’s rarely done (school suing for full contract) but it’s been done. Just make sure about their policy.</p>
<p>Yeah my brother also suggested that we ask the school.
But the question is should we ask them around March/Late Feb or right now?
My parents are saying to push it off until the last moment.</p>
<p>You have nothing to lose by asking for the extension although I doubt if they will say yes. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter when you ask them. Nothing will change if you ask at the last moment. So if you have/decide to ask, do it now. It is also better to give them enough lead time to think about what they can do VS push them at the last minute, which is not beneficial to you eventually. </p>
<p>BTW, have your parents agreed to make a deposit if they have to and give up later?</p>
<p>If you ask closer to the deadline, and the school has realized that it is SHORT of incoming deposits from continuing or accepted students, it may give you a little more wiggle room. So there may be a slight advantage in waiting, and no significant disadvantage.</p>
<p>@patronyork
I think my mother is unwilling to make the deposit. The deposit is A LOT. We don’t want to lose that money. Also, my mother is very frugal. So I think if the deadline won’t be able to be extended, then we will simply not pay at all.</p>
<p>@2prepMom
What you are saying makes sense and sounds like a good idea.</p>
<p>yeah, but there’s also the flip side to what 2prepMom said too. If you ask closer to the deadline and the school has realized that they already have more acceptances/deposits than they expected, then they have no incentive to give you the extension. I think it’s the most upfront to just tell them now that you’re thrilled with the offer, and that if you attend a day school you will most definitely at that school, but that you are also considering boarding schools and you won’t find out until March 10. You’d rather not make such a huge decision about your future education in the absence of knowing all the options, and so could you please have a 10 day extension of the time to pay the deposit. If they say no, there’s no harm in it even if you do go there. They can’t revoke your admissions offer just because you’re applying to other schools too.</p>
<p>The day prep school should know M10 is the notification date for most boarding schools and doesn’t want to lose its accepted students to boarding schools, knowing many boarding applicants consider their day school acceptance as a back-up. The school wouldn’t make an exceptional case by extending the deadline for a single student. It has no incentive of doing that. If you look at this from the school’s perspective, it is not entirely unfair. I just hope the school understands your situation and act in your favor and probably the only way is talk to its heart, not the brain.</p>
<p>@soxmom
I definitely understand your viewpoint and I support it as well. I need to consider all my options before making the correct choice.
I will still continue to ask them for the extension. My mother suggested asking the boarding schools if I can know ahead of time but we know that is a totally different situation. Boarding schools receive applications from all over the world and asking them for early notification is crazy considering that I’m not even confident that I fit their standards.</p>
<p>Nevertheless I will still ask the day school for an extension. Hopefully they allow it. And if not… Well I guess I’ll take the risk.</p>
<p>@mrnephew
I don’t know if I have a good chance or not. That’s the problem. I can’t under or overestimate any situation. Right now I’m simply praying that I do get accepted.</p>
<p>OH my, I find it very perplexing that the school is making the deadline for the deposit before the BS acceptance date of M10. It sounds to me as someone already said, that they’re trying to lock the top students in before they get snagged up by more competitive BSs. The day school my son has applied to has a deadline of April 15, which gives even kids waitlisted at BS enough time to make a decision. BUT their acceptance date is Feb 28, which is much later than yours. I honestly don’t know the answer to your question, but I do think it wouldn’t hurt to ask if they have a way to waive the M1 deadline for kids who are waiting to hear from BS. Maybe they make exceptions???</p>
<p>@rareparadox-truthfully, if you had two choices above the day school, I wouldn’t make the deposit. Pretend you get rejected at those two schools and you go to the day school, won’t you have any regrets and have the urge to go to your first choices? What I am saying here is, don’t attend a back up. You should reapply to your first choice if you don’t get in so you can go to a school you really want to be at. I got accepted to a really competitive day school last year in my town where other kids from different states make a two-three hour committment every day to attend. But boarding school was what I wanted. So I denied the acceptance and I am now a reapplicant for Andover and Exeter. Hope this helps!</p>