<p>I suspect one might not be able to get away with it at smaller schools that are direct competitors . . . but large state universities? They have better things to do than check up on whether students are double depositing.</p>
<p>that would have been my guess. thanks. i heard a story a long time ago of a medical resident who broke a committment and got blacklisted, but it is not comparable …</p>
<p>I’d strongly advise against double depositing. A few years ago, when my D was having a tough time deciding between Carleton and another LAC, and thought she’d made the wrong choice, we were actually granted a 1-day extension by Carleton provided she did not make a double deposit. If she wanted Carleton, she had to first withdraw from the school she’d accepted. She actually decided to stay with the school she’d originally chosen, but my point is that there may be some flexibility on deadlines, but not on double depositing. (And OP, if you didn’t like the other Midwest LACs which I think are quite similar to Carleton, are you sure you’d prefer Carleton to UW?)</p>
<p>It seems unlikely that Carleton would expect you to commit the same day you received their offer. So deposit at Wisconsin, don’t deposit at Carleton, then tomorrow ask Carleton for an extension.</p>
<p>We’ll see about the extension tomorrow.</p>
<p>I didn’t like the lack of academic seriousness at Grinnell, the drug culture, the location and surrounding town, and the lack of “prestige” regardless of how shallow that may sound. </p>
<p>I think Carleton fits with everything else that I would be looking for. But that’s all behind me now. I sent my enrollment check in at UW-Madison because I don’t think I could handle $7k extra a year. </p>
<p>Thank you all so very much. You helped tremendously in helping me make the biggest decision in my life thus far!</p>
<p>Good luck, Isaiah!!!</p>
<p>fwiw, some of the best (and also one of the nicest - Phil Galfond) poker players went to uwmad. Do not choose poker as a life’s goal, but it does speak to a strong will and seriousness to succeed n those people</p>
<p>Many of the state schools do not care about the double depositing at all. Yes, I got it straight from the horse’s mouth (I think it was a horse, sometimes hard to tell, and for that matter not sure it was the mouth either). They don’t use the Common App which has a thing in there about double depositing. But really, with Carleton being so late with all of this, they are likely to extend the deadline for a deposit, and if things work out with them, it would be perfectly fine even under the strictest double depositing rules as there would only be one deposit at a time. A lot of the state schools are also glad to give back room deposits as they need those rooms and have the return policy to encourage students to find outside housing and free up what they have. The part of the deposit that goes towards tuition and fees is rarely refundable. You most certainly will lose that.</p>
<p>I agree with the posts that are cautioning that it only gets more expensive each year at these schools. That has been the case. I would have never believed it would have gone this far, and it has. Be aware that schools do expect the student to come up with more of the cost of college each year too. Even the most generous schools do that and it is reflected in the schools’ expected student contribution figures and in the auto increases in the Stafford loans. Many times even full need, EFC zero kids are stuck with those requirements, and yes, it can be onerous if you have plans of summer internships often unpaid or netting zero after living costs that cut into summer job earnings. My son learned the real life way how things can go wrong in one semester and how even the most carefully laid out plans with good margins can go up in smoke with injury, dental issues, problems with a course, schedule conflicts, wonderful opportunities that come with a cost factor. So, do keep that in consideration too.</p>
<p>I’ll be up in Madison, checking out UW for my youngest next year, as it is on his list. He wants the larger schools with all the amenities.</p>
<p>isaiahstock: Did I read somewhere on CC that you are considering majoring in accounting?</p>
<p>I can understand that you did not like Grinnell when you visited, but I am surprised at your characterization of a “lack of academic seriousness.” My S attends, and he is so intensely intellectual and absorbed in classes, and feels engaged and inspired by his classes and his peers outside of studies as well. I wonder if you took a slice of a day, or some students playing around or something and extrapolated further. Remember, these are real people living real lives, and most students – no matter where they go – are not studying and thinking and analyzing life 24/7. </p>
<p>Again, I am not trying to convince you that you made a mistake in not choosing Grinnell, but I just feel compelled to put a different perspective out there for others who may read this from a parent with a more in-depth experience with the school.</p>
<p>My own personal bias is towards liberal arts schools – I feel that students can get the big city, university life after undergraduate. I read on your other thread that you were concerned about how well Carleton would prepare you for grad school vs. UW. I would have absolutely no fears about Carleton preparing you for anything you’d want to do afterwards.</p>
<p>I am also a bit concerned about your level of certainty about what you want to do after undergraduate. Again, my liberal arts bias tends me towards promoting decisions that will expose you to a variety of thought and major options. As a high schooler, you only know what you know – there’s a whole world of interests you haven’t even been exposed to yet. Assuming finances can work, my predisposition is to consider the environment you want to be in for the next four years, knowing that interests and career ideas can change dramatically with new input. </p>
<p>Anyway, this is all moot, because you have made your decision. Good luck to you. I am truly sorry that you had such a difficult row to hoe in this process with your finances.</p>
<p>Called Carleton the next day, May 2nd, and they said there would be no extension offered. I have enrolled in Madison, now.</p>
<p>Accounting is definitely a possibility! I have no idea, though. </p>
<p>SDonCC, you bring up many good points, but I got an impression (I know how this isn’t a reasonable way to measure academic intensity) that people weren’t too academic outside of class. Even though I heard over and over again about it’s such a “politically correct” campus, I still heard gay, ■■■■■■, and some other discriminatory words used very frequently. And given it was a Sunday night when I visited, no one seemed to be doing any homework. The next day, I went to a very small discussion class and about a 1/3 of them hadn’t done any of the readings or prepped for the class in any way. These are only little anecdotal things, and who knows how true these are, but it was just another little thing (among being much more expensive) that made me stray away from Grinnell.</p>
<p>I’m a bit sick to my stomach reading and hearing elsewhere about how many people think I should (have) go to Carleton. Guess it doesn’t matter whether I made the right choice, because I made it and there’s no going back now. Once again, thank you all so very much for your input.</p>
<p>Isaiah - </p>
<p>I have to admit that I have a personal bias towards Carleton (it was one of the few schools I applied to many decades ago - when one could get away with applying to only a handful of schools), and I still think you made the right choice. I’ve heard wonderful things about Madison on these forums . . . in fact, I can’t recall ever having heard anything negative about it!</p>
<p>That $7,000/year you’re saving isn’t chump change . . . and I can’t honestly say that Carleton would have been worth the extra cost. It was kind of amazing that Carleton offered you as much financial aid as it did . . . but just because it was closer to being affordable doesn’t mean that it actually was affordable. I suspect that, in the long run, letting yourself get talked into spending that extra money would have been a decision you’d have regretted.</p>
<p>As for anyone on this forum (or elsewhere) who might try to convince you that you made a bad decision . . . your only question should be whether they’re willing to cover that extra $7k/year for you. If not, then their opinion doesn’t really matter much, does it?</p>
<p>And, as for finding your peer group at Madison, you should look into the honors college. If you haven’t already been invited to apply, you should see about applying next year - enrollment in the honors college isn’t limited to incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>I have no doubt at all that Madison will work out just great for you. Do us all a favor, though . . . check in from time to time and let us know how things are going, okay? This is one happy ending we’re going to want to hear about!</p>