Prepay room deposit before acceptance to school

you meant this one ??
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/14/some-dorm-room-deposits-are-called-unethical

I googled and found some old threads with discussion on being “pressured” to send a housing deposit before May 1, here is one

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1615432-are-you-being-pressured-to-send-a-deposit-before-may-1.html