<p>I got an email back from the counselor at PP about the deposit. Here it is...</p>
<p>"There is no problem with sending in her deposit later. We understand the situation and a lot of our students do that. We have that on our letters due to the fact that some of the majors will fill up faster than others and we want the students to fill their spot. May 1 is the NACAC deadline, but sometimes spots fill a little faster than that. "</p>
<p>I guess I could still request it in writing or maybe I'll just save the email.</p>
<p>Well, when I communicated with the admissions counselor about the deposit, he indicated that -- yes -- we could just wait to send it in. HOWEVER, his e-mailed response was clear in reminding us that we could not register, attend any pre-college activities, or learn about housing until the money was received. It will be interesting to see if this comes up at auditions on Saturday.</p>
<p>This is interesting. At auditions this AM, the issue about the deposit and accepting offers at PPU came up. Families were "warned" that the conservatory programs often filled up by April 1st and housing filled by early May. While they recognized that many students would be auditioning at many places, they said that if you get an offer of admission to PPU but the program fills before you commit, you will be put on a waitlist. Similarly, you may not get housing unless you complete the housing forms early--and you can't do that until you send in your deposit. This sounds like they will NOT necessarily hold your spot until May 1st without a deposit. Further, they encouraged everyone to ask questions about this at all the schools they were applying to, suggesting that other schools will fill their slots early. The talk among parents was that they'd send in the money to hold a spot and then ask for a refund if their child decides to go elsewhere. </p>
<p>This seems as though it should be simple, but it's not.</p>
<p>This is not how it works at other schools that I know. If you have an offer of admission at another school, your "slot" cannot be taken away from you before May 1. They only should accept the number they need to accept to yield a certain number of slots. In other words, most colleges don't take your slots before May 1 and let them fill up and then offer YOU (the already admitted student) a wait list! Rather the admitted students' offers are good through May 1 by which time you must commit and send a deposit and if the college or program does not fill the slots, the college (not YOU!) goes to a wait list. The accepted student never goes to a wait list at another school!</p>
<p>PPU should not be asking for a commitment prior to May 1. What PPU is doing is pressuring students to commit by deposit before they have heard from their other schools, many of which do not send out decisions until April 1 (a common admissions decision date!). While the deposit may be refundable, imagine if every school that accepted you, required a deposit to hold your spot PRIOR to you ever hearing from the majority of your colleges on April 1? Further, PPU is asking you to reserve a spot by deposit before you even learn if you got into their BFA program (just academic acceptance). Trust me, most colleges do NOT do this. None of my D's 8 BFA schools required deposits before May 1 and even if a college pressured for one, they can't take your spot away from you before the National Reply Date of May 1. I understand parents are apt to want to hold with a deposit at PPU given the talk that they received. Luckily, most schools don't do this or one could have to tie up an awful lot of money holding their acceptances until they had all their decisions in hand in spring! Unless one applies ED (which DOES involve a commitment), no student should have to commit to attend a university until May 1 because the whole idea behind RD (vs. ED) is to be able to weigh all of one's options/acceptances and financial aid offers. If one was ready to commit to ONE school, then that's what ED is for.</p>
<p>Also, since a student can't truly commit to a college before hearing from all their schools, this methodology that PPU is using encourages an unethical practice on the part of families to put deposits down on MORE THAN ONE school as they wait to hear decisions from other schools, when a student is only supposed to enroll and put in for a deposit and commitment at ONE school. By encouraging students to hold a spot via deposit and thus likely to do so at more than one school, PRIOR to May1, this unfairly holds spots that could be given to students who could attend because those commited slots are not 100% commited and students may back out before May 1. It is falsely filling up the class and keeping others out who WOULD matriculate if the slots were not temporarily filled by those who were "maybe" going to attend. This just is not good practice.</p>
<p>Reading this discourse (again this year) on PPU demanding deposits before the national reply date; in essence, threatening prospective students, or at least the BFA hopefuls (please remember the students are accepted as BA students and then start auditioning for the BFA program sophomore year, I believe) with losing their conservatory spot, is IMO, unconscionable pressure.</p>
<p>I find it extremely distasteful that a university, supposedly an institution of higher learning, hawks its' product as if it were a used car whose price was going to go up if you didn't buy it on the spot!</p>
<p>Perhaps PPU is not a member of NACAC, and therefore doesn't have to follow the rules. I have no idea, but frankly the whole situation makes me wonder about the motivation behind the practice and consequently, if it's ALL about the money? I suppose if a lot of parents send in deposits out of fear, PPU stands to earn interest on all this deposit money, even if they have to return some of it in May! Certainly not illegal, but sure seems unethical! </p>
<p>Just my 2 cents, and probably worth no more! :)</p>
<p>BiGismama...
CC is very informative and by the sharing of information, we all learn a lot that is not in any brochure, LOL. I have had students apply to PPU in the past and a couple who are applying this year. I've learned stuff just on CC and I will need to pass on about this deposit procedure (it is NOT the norm at other schools), and also the misconception by many that they are accepted into a BFA program, when in essence, they are accepted into a BA and go through an audition later to advance to the BFA program. I do not think all applicants are aware of either of these things with regard to PPU. </p>
<p>PPU is not acting in good faith with regard to the students rights under NACAC. </p>
<p>PPU may be a GREAT school, and I am ONLY DISCUSSING this one issue, not the worthiness of their MT program itself (I obviously have suggested the school to many students......often either to ones who do not have a strong academic profile who want a BFA OR to very strong BFA candidates who need to balance out a list of competitive BFAs with a somewhat less competitive BFA).</p>
<p>Lastly, I do not believe a school can take your slot away from you once you are admitted as you have until May 1 to commit. PPU may instill fear that the program will fill up if they don't deposit now but in essence, an acceptance cannot be taken away prior to May 1. I highly doubt that happens. They are pressuring and persuading with a heavy hand but they would be breaking all admission rules to take an acceptance away before May 1.</p>
<p>One more thing....ED is the only program in which a student MUST commit early. Early Action, Rolling admissions, or regular decision do not require a commitment on the student's part until May 1. For a school to pressure a student to commit BEFORE HEARING FROM THEIR OTHER COLLEGES IS NOT RIGHT as it goes against the essence of regular decision where a student gets to weigh all their offers (both acceptances and financial aid offers). By requiring a student to commit before hearing from other colleges goes against the entire intent of RD versus ED. Only ED requires that kind of commitment. RD does not. </p>
<p>Also....PPU is asking for a deposit based on academic acceptance when the student hasn't even found out if he/she is accepted into the program they applied to. Most kids I know applying to PPU, are doing so for the MT Program or the Acting program, and would not otherwise have applied or attended if not accepted into those programs.</p>
<p>PPU is also encouraging families to act unethically by putting in deposits at more than one school to hold a spot which families should NOT do and it makes it unfair to others to have a spot held that may not be taken. Students should be enrolling in and making a deposit at only ONE school. PPU may say it is refundable but if every school made you hold a spot before hearing from colleges on April 1, a family could have $5000 held up in deposits and spots would be held that were not intending to matriculate....all against common college admissions practices. If my kid had applied to many schools that had employed such practices (luckily most do not), I would have needed to take out a college loan just to put down those deposits!</p>
<p>I think the deposits are more common than you think. Last year as my S was applying to colleges (but not for MT), every school required a deposit in order to apply for housing. Freshman housing filled up at a few of the schools before the holidays and at all others, housing was filled before February. So unless he made the deposit, he wouldn't have been able to live on campus this year. We went ahead and made deposits at each school where he was accepted and he was able to get the housing reserved. Once his decision was made, he notified the other schools and received all deposits back. It seems to be a common practice at most schools--or at least every school where he applied.</p>
<p>cawrd, perhaps this is the case at certain types of schools and thanks for sharing that. It was not the case at any of the 16 schools my two kids applied to or at the schools most of my clients apply to. At least at most pretty selective schools that I know, no commitments or deposits are due prior to May 1. HOUSING IS NOT at stake. All freshmen get housing and they deal with dorm selection and so forth AFTER May 1 when commitments to enroll are in, and not before. There may be schools, such as large state schools or other types of schools that do not work this way, as you are sharing now. But most selective private schools do not operate in this fashion. Everyone who matriculates gets housing at the types of schools to which I am referring. No money or commitment is required prior to May 1. Thanks for pointing out that there are schools that operate differently. I don't know which schools you mean but I imagine some large state schools may do it the way you mention. Most selective private schools do not even send out ADMISSIONS DECISIONS UNTIL APRIL 1. Housing at these schools does not FILL UP. Housing doesn't even get started until after May 1 at these schools. Housing is GUARANTEED for all freshmen at these schools. At schools that send out decisions on April 1, expecting commitments to enroll with deposits due on May 1.....they would consider it unethical for a family to put in a deposit at more than one school. Obviously the types of schools you are talking about work differently than I am describing.</p>
<p>On a more positive note. . .the auditions at PPU over the weekend were very well organized. There were 5 acting students auditioning and 29 mt students. The staff did an info session, students gave mini tours, and the auditions began. My son auditioned for acting, which consisted of a warm-up class (the auditors were watching and taking notes!) and then the two monologues. My son was called BACK into the room to receive some feedback (very positive) and to have a brief interview. Although nervous, he felt very comfortable and he really liked the faculty. The MTs did singing and dance auditions in the morning, had a lunch break, did the group dance audition, and SOME were called back for a master class. Everyone who wanted tickets to the Conservatory show that is currently running was able to get them. It was a world premiere, with a lot of potential.</p>
<p>There has been a lot of talk about dress for auditions on CC. At PPU, most students were dressed neatly (long-sleeved collared shirts tucked in for boys, no sneakers or jeans, girls in dresses or skirts), although there were a FEW exceptions (jeans). The female mt applicants tended to be dressed up a bit more, usually in strappy heels (which made the walking tour interesting).</p>
<p>Students hear some kind of feedback (a yes, no or maybe) within 3 weeks. There was some talk about the deposit, and the word from the PPU folks was that the program fills up, usually before April 1st, and if you want to reserve your spot, you should pay the deposit early. The housing cannot be arranged before the deposit is received, either--however, there was conflicting info presented, with one person saying housing fills by early May and another saying that all Freshman were guarenteed housing until July 1st. Note that all students are admitted into PPU as BA theater students and must audition for the BFA at the end of Freshman year. Students told us, however, that no matter what, you take the same courses.</p>
<p>Overall, it was a very positive experience for my son. PM or e-mail me if you want more info.</p>
<p>I learned that PointWeb (Point Park's community) just updated their "last contacts" info under your admissions. Those of you waiting to hear can check whether you were sent a theatre scholarship award letter, which I would assume means you were accepted ;) Good Luck!</p>
<p>Is anyone lurking about who was at the December 1st audition? My daughter auditioned and got into the Master Class. There were told several times that they would hear this week. I was just wondering if anyone else out there was at that audition and if so, if you've heard? I'm going to have an ulcer by the end of the week!</p>
<p>Last year you could get onto the oline site and looking at your own profile, could see what the most recent mail was that was sent to you. If it said something about a scholarship from the conservatory or an acceptance to the conservatory (I forget exactly-sorry), your acceptance letter was on its way. Not sure if that will help you this year, but give it a try! I know the waiting is KILLER!!!!! Good luck to your daughter and congratulations to her for even getting into the master class--that's an accomplishment in itself!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, I did check, but either she didn't get in, or they've gotten smarter. It just said that a letter was sent. I guess we're going to have to just have to wait. Hopefully we'll hear today.</p>
<p>Still no letter, but we just checked the site today and it says a Theater Scholarship Award letter was sent on the 7th...We still want the letter, but I think she's in! WHEW.</p>
<p>Well, we sent in our deposit to "hold" a spot in the acting program at PPU. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on this issue. My S plans to visit again, and attend classes, in January/February, to further check out the program. While he already knows that he could be very happy there, he had good auditions at two other schools and has 8 more auditions to go! Truthfully, he won't be able to make a decision about where to go until April, as the other schools do NOT have rolling admissions.</p>
<p>So, now we're getting housing questionnaires and health forms and meal plan info! And, requests for more deposit money for room and board, and such. I suppose we just let those pieces of mail sit for awhile?????</p>
<p>We did the same thing last year- sent in the deposit- but then let the other requests for housing deposit, etc. sit for a while. As it turned out, my S chose another school in the end, although he would have been very happy with PP. The initial deposit was returned promptly.</p>