<p>I was accepted EA to LSA back in December and just yesterday I was also accepted to the Honors Program. Based on the fact that I absolutely love Michigan and also have the added bonus of instate tuition, I will most likely be going there. However, I still haven't heard back from 3 of my schools yet (Duke, Harvard, and Emory), and I won't be notified until April 1st. I definitely wouldn't go to Emory over Michigan and I probably won't get into Harvard, and, even if I did I most likely wouldn't go there (not the environment I'm looking for, kind of just applied for kicks and giggles). On the other hand, Duke is a different story. Even though I still would probably choose Michigan, I really like Duke and it still would be in consideration. </p>
<p>I guess my question is if I pay the deposit at Michigan and sign up for orientation and get a housing spot, would I be able to still eventually choose Duke and just lose $200? I really want to live in South Quad's Honors Housing (yay for Central Campus) and they said space is limited; also it's obviously an advantage to have an early orientation for class scheduling. And if I do pay the deposit early would it matter if I paid it now or waited a few weeks until early March? (My campus day is March 5th I think)? </p>
<p>No, you should not do so. Under the common app terms that you agree to when you submit your application, you are forbidden to put down a deposit for more than one school. The only case where you may place a deposit and later decide not to go is when you are accepted off a waitlist at another school.</p>
<p>I believe if you have not been accepted at Duke yet you can deposit at Michigan. If you get accepted at Duke I believe you could withdraw from Michigan although you probably will forfeit your deposit. You cannot have deposits at two schools…but until you are accepted to Duke you would have a deposit only at Michigan if I’m reading your post correctly.</p>
<p>Pay the $200 and lock your spot, it’s cheap insurance. “you are forbidden to put down a deposit for more than one school”, in theory. In practice I would lock down your spot and rescind if accepted elsewhere. That would not be having more than one deposit in.</p>
<p>As long as you don’t mind losing the $200, go ahead and put a deposit down. But if money is tight, I wouldn’t worry about waiting to put your deposit down. D was accepted EA last year and accepted into LSA honors in March. She did not accept and put her deposit down until May 1 (she could not decide between UM Honors and UT Honors-Plan 2). Nevertheless, she was assigned to South Quad, which she loves, BTW.</p>
<p>Now to partially contradict my previous post: the reason D did not send her deposit in before she absolutely decided she was going to UM was not because she was worried about losing her deposit, rather she just did not believe it was ethical for her to tell UM she was attending until she was absolutely sure that she was. If that is your belief as well, I would hold off on sending the deposit in until you are sure. There does not appear to be a major downside to waiting and why start your college career doing something you find questionable. Not to mention you will know by April 1 and if you send in your deposit then, you will still have sent your deposit a month sooner than D sent hers.</p>
<p>My D was also accepted EA, but she is not making any decision or putting down any deposit until after she hears from some April 1 schools. It’s to the university’s advantage to know sooner, rather than later, how many EA students are committing, and the recruiting efforts will continue. As long as you’ve been accepted to Honors already, which I understand is rolling admissions, then I think you’re OK to wait. </p>
<p>BTW, my D thinks a couple of the Honors admissions essay topics are the best topics she’s had to choose from this year…“Explain unicorns.” Wouldn’t you rather read that than “Describe a time in your life when you overcame a challenge…” for the 700th time?</p>
<p>I’ve heard from multiple sources that there is no advantage with regards to housing, orientation, or scheduling classes to paying your enrollment deposit early (before may 1, I believe)</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everyone. I guess for now I’ll wait. I will be attending a Campus Day on March 5th so I’ll probably ask them about it while I’m there. The main thing I’m concerned with is securing a spot in South Quad (50% of the reason I applied to Honors)</p>
<p>Slightly new topic:</p>
<p>Is it worth it to go for a single dorm? Does anyone know if it’s easy or difficult to get one? I think I would be okay doing this as long as the single dorms in South Quad aren’t isolated or anything weird. I’m not a loner, but I’m also not a super-extrovert and pride myself on being independent. Also, I’m gay so I feel like a single might be better. I’m a pretty prude person (lol), and am a practicing Christian (haha what my app essay was about), and not anything like a drama kid/fashionista (not meant as a diss to those who are, they are all wonderful people as well) but not a gay jock or anything like that either, just the typical “excited to go to college” intellectual guy. Anyways (excuse my run-on), I have absolutely no problem living with anyone and I know most Michigan students are LGBT-accepting, but it would be an absolute nightmare for me to end up with someone who wasn’t. That’s kind of the main reason I’m thinking of a single. I don’t really want to miss out on the life experience of having a freshman roommate, but I sense that idea might be an overrated cliche. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>If you are anxious enough to feel that it would be “an absolute nightmare” to be paired with an unaccepting roommate, then my advice would be to request a single and remove that source of anxiety from your plate. Starting college involves lots of stress…if you can eliminate one source of stress, I’d do it and not over-think the decision. Colleges are opening up more and more singles to freshmen…at the university where I teach, all the honors housing consists of singles. Trust me, that is a huge draw! The students love it. </p>
<p>I’ve heard stories of people who magically found their best friends through rooming blind, but that scenario is akin to holding a winning lottery ticket. I roomed with a friend from high school. We were in Bursley on North Campus. Riding the bus was a hassle. I think getting housing on main campus is a high priority, and if you can get a single, do it. Those were all grabbed by sophomores when I was there, and I remember being quite jealous of the girl in the single next door.</p>
<p>We are in the same predicament. Won’t be hearing from any other schools as far as acceptance and scholarship offers till late March. D was accepted dual degree to SMTD and LSA and loves Michigan!! Definitely a top choice but doesn’t want to commit before knowing all options. Housing put us at ease when I called stating that there is NO advantage to paying before May 1st. The college advisor we work with here also discouraged us from putting any deposits down before hearing from all D’s schools. Only about 6 more weeks!</p>
<p>@stewta4 - I am also gay and concerned about roommates… aren’t singles significantly more expensive though? I’ll probably just have to roll the dice and hope I dont end up with some homophobe.</p>
<p>@UM32194 I haven’t heard that singles are more expensive. I don’t see how that would make any sense. However, I do know that there are only a limited amount of singles so they are difficult to get into. We probably would be fine because its U of M in Ann Arbor, and even if someone wasn’t accepting at first, you would think if they were smart enough to get in, they’d be smart enough to open their mind and see truth, logic, reason, and love, but you never know. Being in Honor’s makes me less scared just because more intelligent people are typically more understanding. From what I’ve heard, colleges usually would allow a room change only if the gay person is the one complaining. If it’s a homophobe complaining they usually tell them to grow up or something, but if somebody is seriously being verbally abusive or threatening, I would think we could get a room change. But going through that would SUCK regardless of if we ultimately ended up with a room change.</p>
<p>I agree with you to an extent about intelligent people being more open-minded, but that doesn’t mean intelligent people can’t be bigots. There are lots of intelligent people that have been spoon fed fundamentalist views their entire lives. I know a girl at my school who is incredibly intelligent, yet believes that evolution and climate change are liberal hoaxes (and that homosexuality is an immoral disorder, of course). However, I think these types of people probably just need a little interaction with different people and different viewpoints to be able to come to more rational conclusions. </p>
<p>Personally I’m a very non-stereotypical gay person, most people don’t know until I or someone else tells them. So I doubt my sexuality would be too much of a problem, as most reasonable straight guys aren’t really uncomfortable unless
a) a guy is effeminate (which is a shame of course, but nevertheless the case)
b) a guy is hitting on him, which I will obviously not be doing. </p>
<p>So yeah I’ll just have to see who I end up with. I kinda wish they had a questionnaire or something to at least see who NOT to pair together, although that would probably be hard and not very efficient.</p>
<p>Yeah I agree with everything you said, I said/meant intelligent people are MORE likely, but it’s certainly still very possible for them to be bigots.</p>
<p>I haven’t looked at the housing questionnaire…does it ask any pertinent questions that might help? I teach at another state university in Michigan. We have transgender housing. The housing form asks: “Do you require transgender housing?” I believe the rationale for this is that they’re trying to avoid placing someone who is biologically male or female with a roommate of the same gender, if one of the roommates is transgender and identifies with the opposite gender (which would then be viewed as a co-ed room…which we don’t have). Also, the university tries to be sensitive and LGBT friendly. But, there’s been a bit of a backlash because some transgender students have spoken out (on local TV) and said they don’t want to be singled out for special housing. There’s nothing on the housing form regarding sexual orientation. I think you’re starting college when universities are trying to figure this out in regards to housing.</p>
<p>And by “figuring it out”, I mean…building more singles!!</p>
<p>Singles are more expensive. Students living in a single are getting more square feet to themselves than those living in a double. Selecting a single also limits your options when it comes to your location preferences. Putting in blind for a double will help your odds, though if you don’t get honors you still have a 50/50 chance of getting North Campus.</p>
<p>There’s no real advantage to paying your deposit now, but I wouldn’t wait until much past early April. You don’t get sent a housing application until after you pay, and that can take several days for them to process and get out. For their first round of housing assignments, you have to have your application in by May 5. Last year there were students that paid in late April and didn’t get their housing application until after May 5.</p>