<p>Hi guys. I recently was admitted to the University of Richmond and there is a very very high chance that I will be going there. However, I am still waiting on my top choice which is U Notre Dame. However, ND requires me to send in my fall semester final course grades before they can make a final decision. My last final is December 17 which means my final grades probably won't be up for at most two weeks after the test (given my experience with Emory), meaning I would end up hearing from ND probably in the first week of January. U of Richmond however is prompting me to reply to their offer of admission by December 19th! I could ask for an extension, but what would I say? Hi, I am asking for an extension so I can see if my more preferred school ends up admitting me? Also, if I ask for an extension until, say, January 1st, that might be stretching their leg a little bit. Should I pay my deposit at UR and wait for ND? But isn't this not allowed? </p>
<p>My son was in a similar situation. He did get extensions. He explained that he was waiting forvother schools and he needed all the information to make an informed decision including financial aid and transcript evaluation. The latter is important, since some schools will give credit for certain classes and others won’t. You can pay a non-refundable deposit, but you won’t get it back if you choose the other school. I think paying a deposit and waiting for another school is allowed in this case.</p>
<p>It is perfectly fine to do what you suggested. The situation you described happens a lot in the case of transfer admissions, as there is no uniform “notification by date” and “deposit date” for transfers, like there is for freshman. Each school sets its own policy. Ask UR for an extension and tell them why (but maybe leave out that you would prefer to go to the school you haven’t heard from yet). They would likely say yes if the timeframe is reasonable. You could also ask ND for an earlier decision, and tell them why. However, either of those schools may say that is not possible. In that case, or if you don’t want to make the requests, simply send in your deposit to UR so you don’t lose your spot. If you end up getting in to Notre Dame, send in your deposit to them, and officially withdraw your acceptance from UR. You would lose your deposit to UR. This situation is similar to the ones freshman applicants face when getting in to their preferred school off of a wait list. </p>