<p>Now that audition season is winding down, I am getting housing info, etc. from schools to which I am accepted academically, but am waiting to hear my MT decision. Should I put in my deposit knowing that I may lose it if I choose to go somewhere else (or am not accepted to MT)...or should I wait until I finalize my choice for MT program, which may not be until April? I don't want to get last choice of housing, etc., but I don't want to have five college admissions to juggle either. One school offered an academic scholarship already...will they give it away if I don't respond soon? What is everyone else doing?</p>
<p>I think it is a personal and financial decision. We did, in fact, put down a deposit at one school that my D was admitted to academically (without knowing the MT decision) because of 2 factors: 1. If she didn’t get into the BFA MT program, she would be able to automatically get into the BA in drama at this school – and also she had been admitted academically to the school with a good merit scholarship and 2. there was pressure to obtain housing and at this particular school, we knew you had to act fast.</p>
<p>Because she hadn’t yet been admitted to an MT program, we felt we had to make a “safety” decision so that if she didn’t get into any MT programs, she had a spot at a “compromise” school WITH a good housing option come the end of March when it’s getting so late.</p>
<p>In the end, she got into several MT programs (but not until March) and made a decision to go to one of those. We only lost the school deposit but were able to get a refund on the housing deposit. So we were out $100 but it was WELL worth it during the stressful waiting period.</p>
<p>And while she did get into other schools academically well before she got into the MT programs, those schools did not have the nice “compromise” program that the other school had so we did not take the risk of putting down additional deposits.</p>
<p>Thanks, that helps. I am accepted to my dream MT program, but it is a financial stretch or else I would just accept and get on with it. So I am waiting to hear about scholarships for that one. My “backup” school won’t give decisions until maybe March/April when they have seen everyone and there’s another one that’s offering acad. scholarship I don’t want to lose. I suppose everyone in MT is in the same boat, and I would hope the admissions office makes some provisions for that…</p>
<p>NewbieMTMom, you wrote, “those schools did not have the nice ‘compromise’ program that the other school had” (Post #2).</p>
<p>Could you explain what a compromise program is?</p>
<p>Most colleges conform with the national response date which, if memory serves me right, is May 1. Under this policy, you do not need to respond nor submit your registration deposit until that date, as long as it is received by then. You do not put your seat at risk if you wait until all of your acceptances are in. The national acceptance date, if memory serves me right, is April 15, meaning that all schools that subscribe to this policy (and most do) must let you know if you are accepted by that date. So, as far as reserving your “seat” at the school is concerned, there usually is no necessity to rush things. As someone else suggested, however, if you decide early on that you are not going to attend a school that accepted you, as a matter of courtesy, you should let them know as soon as you can. Doing so won’t usually free your seat up for someone else. (Unless the school has a very small freshman class and a very high yield, meaning that there is little or no padding on the yield/acceptance spread, the school has accepted many more students than it expects for its freshman class in anticipation of students going elsewhere and letting the school know won’t result in some one else getting accepted until all responses have been received and the school knows whether it needs to go to its wait list to fill all of its seats.) </p>
<p>Housing deposits are a bit different since the date you submit your deposit can impact on your housing selections/options. Also, the policies on refunding housing versus seat deposits can vary from school to school.</p>
<p>Schools can vary from that normal practices so if there is any ambiguity in the acceptance letter received or on the school’s website, it always makes sense to call the admissions and housing offices.</p>
<p>Do either of you mind sharing what schools you are talking about?</p>
<p>To Michael’s point, yes, May 1 is the date but – for this particular school, you could not apply for housing without accepting the admissions offer first – hence the 2 deposits. At this school, housing was going to be an issue, particularly if my daughter wanted a dorm near the theatre.</p>
<p>What I meant by “compromise” school was – my daughter wanted to go to a BFA MT program, not a BA. So if she didn’t get into any BFAs, she might have accepted a BA program that was also offered at that school – that was a “compromise” so to speak because it wasn’t what she really would have hoped for - but she was willing to do the BA if that was all she was accepted for.</p>
<p>The school was by no means substandard in any way, shape or form. In fact, it’s tough to get into the BFA there because they don’t accept many. </p>
<p>So what I’m personally referring to as a “compromise” school would be schools that offer both a BFA and a BA … schools like Indiana, Elon and the like. In many cases, if you don’t get into their BFA programs, they offer a student admission to their BA programs.</p>
<p>This is my own personal terminology (compromise).</p>
<p>I do realize that I have until May 1 to choose a school and that the scholarship I have is good until then…it was just the advice on whether or not to bother with the housing thing…becuz like NewbieMTMom said, at some schools it might be important to ask for a dorm close to the theatre.</p>
<p>I did some more research, and each school is different…some want a small non-refundable deposit (I know $100 is not cheap, but it seems small compared to what I know we’ve spent on auditions!) One school wants $500 but it is fully refundable up until May 1st, so it seems worth it. I am going to read the “fine print” and keep thinking…</p>