Can you double commit if you’re a spring admit?
For my first school, I am a spring admit but they only require a statement to enroll on May 1st for Spring 2021, NO DEPOSIT due until Aug 1st
For my fall school, I was let off the waitlist on Friday. They are still sticking with the May 1st deadline to pay my non-refundable deposit.
I want to know if my spring admit school will bump me to fall, which I will find out sometime in May. But with COVID-19, there’s no closure on whether there will be in-person classes in the fall of this year (No one can say for sure).
Because of all this, can I still deposit to my fall school and put down “yes” for my spring enrollment?
Thanks.
You can’t double deposit. There is a whole thread going about this right now.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/ask-dean-topics/2183758-can-student-deposit-at-multiple-colleges-due-to-covid-19-visit-restrictions.html
It might help to be clear. YOu posted this in the USC forum. Did USC admit you for Spring? You got off the waitlist for another school with a May 1 deadline. So you want to deposit at College X AND say yes to USC at the same time. I guess without the financial aspect of USC not returning your deposit, you could choose to do that, but let’s face it, you can’t deposit at and attend College X and also attend USC in the Spring.
What does the agreement for USC say? Does it say you will not deposit anywhere else? Does it hold you to some kind of promise? You said it’s a statement, and I am guessing that it’s some kind of statement that you agree to begin in the Spring.
You mention whether courses are online or not in the fall. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. College starts in the fall. It is not the problem of the college if you decide you ONLY want to begin college if and when it is taking place on campus. Effectively, you want to secure your spot and hold out hope that you will be admitted for USC’s fall admission, correct? At which point you would then deposit at USC, and lose your deposit to College X. Or do you prefer College X?
Anyway, I don’t think anyone can stop you from doing this, but I doubt it’s ethical. We need to know what the May 1 statement for USC says.
If USC is your spring admit school, why do you think you will find out that you are bumped in May? Did someone tell you that? In the past, it has been much later, some people that got bumped didn’t know well into June and even later July. Agree with @Lindagaf, what does the SIR say? The deposit date is irrelevant to the decision in terms of what is right and allowed, you are committing May 1st.
Per USC Spring Admit page:
You can attend a CC or gap it or one of the abroad universities…
Four-Year Options
Do not enroll in a four-year college under the false pretense of finishing your degree there.
Last year was a whacky year (and of course, this year is it’s own kind of whacky) and people were bumped to fall, in past years, it was common for there to be no bumps to fall.
I get missing fall stinks, but if you would quickly pick another school if you are only getting into USC in the spring, I think you have to ask yourself how important attending USC really is to you?
You also run the risk of your high school notifying either college that you have deposited at one school, intending to begin in the fall, but have committed to attend another school in the Spring. If one college finds that out, you might well lose out on both colleges. Your high school has to send final transcripts to ONE college. Remember, when you signed your application, you agreed to deposit at one school.
@Lindagaf @CADREAMIN “We strongly recommend that you enroll in a community college or other university for the Fall 2020 semester.”
@googlimoogli But that is to take classes as a non-degree seeking student. that does not mean enrolling (i.e. commit on May 1 or June 1) with the appearance of completing a 4 year program there. That is very different.
Read on please, this is a line or two after the line you posted above:
“Choose a community college, or enroll as a non-degree-seeking student at a local university (look for visitor status, continuing education, or extension/professional studies programs).”
Can you double deposit ? yes you can, will some say it is not the right thing to do, yep . If I am reading your post correctly you do not have to deposit at school one until Aug1, a commit letter is non binding. I have agreed that colleges do this all the time it is called a waitlist, there is a debate going on as mentioned by others, but can you yes. You will have to make up your mind and let one school know when that happens, it seems your looking for about 30 days until you find out if your spring school will let you in earlier. You usually lose your deposit , but in your case you only have to pay one dep on may1. Can you do this YES, should you do this, that is open to debate from a ethics point of view. What are the schools?
Emory and USC @NJdad07090
Be aware that as a non-degree seeking student, you will not be able to get federal FA.
@googlimoogli Yes you can.
My son is in a similar situation as a Spring admit to USC with admits to other schools for Fall. We emailed USC and asked whether it was OK to deposit to another school on May 1 while waiting until mid May to find out if bumped to fall at USC. They said it was fine if we only wanted to attend USC if bumped to fall. That said, I now think Spring admit may be a blessing since it is likely no school will open normally in the fall anyway.
@Debbeut Can you PM the email that you wrote and what USC said? my mom wants proof lol
@googlimoogli Yes, but not sure how to PM on here…
@googlimoogli Why don’t you email USC and ask same question so you have the email as well? It’s not like they are going to take your admission away.
But I will come back to the question - do you not want USC so much as to wait till January? Or Emory so much that you can just let USC go? Make a decision - you have to at some point. If someone was admitted to Harvard, but only if they started in January, I would think virtually all would say, “So what? I’ll wait!” Not comparing USC to Harvard, but I am comparing the enthusiasm it is good to have toward one of the schools. Or at least hoping you really like one of them. Not sure about dragging this all out…you seem to be creating a boatload of stress for an inevitable decision. I guess the direct question is, if you don’t want to wait for USC until January, do you really want to go there at all? It is a school most are really passionate about attending (a lot of schools are, but just sayin’).
@CADREAMIN I love both USC and Emory. Those two schools are schools I have been thinking about applying to for a couple years now. While I am leaning towards USC, I would want to know if I am going to miss out on the fall freshman experience. While I know spring admission is not drastically different, I’ve heard that it is definitely different than fall. I feel like these next couple weeks will be crucial to not only how COVID-19 pans out, but if USC will have spots open for fall. I hope you understand where I’m coming from. I think a little bit more time will elucidate things for myself.
@googlimoogli Oh totally get where you are coming from and yes, the freshman fall is a big deal and I hope you get it. I just know this is a really stressful time and sometimes during this decision process relevant things and irrelevant things get all globbed together making a giant stressball. So was just throwing things out there to see if looking at the big picture helped your decision. Frankly, you aren’t even risking a deposit since USC’s isn’t due till August, so do whatever you need to do to keep you in good position for either choice. I was just hoping deep down you had a favorite - they are VERY different schools. Good luck!
I would say currently USC is my favorite compared to Emory, but not by much. I appreciate the help and kind words @CADREAMIN
@googlimoogli - there is a pretty good case that freshmen fall semester is gonna either be online or at least very very different from last years freshman fall semester, not sure how you factor that in, buy it seems most schools will have to decide by mid July at the latest in order to get doors open and kids registered for classes either online or in person. I would say if you were my kid, wait until the last possible minute to see what each schools plans are and in this case you do not have to deposit at USC until Aug 1.
Is it going to mean anything to you if you do that freshman fall semester at Emory and then transfer? You won’t have anyone to say “Remember when we did XYZ in October?” with and so will it really matter?
I think you should pick which school you like and go there, intending to stay. If you like USC, go there even if you have to miss the fall. If you really want to start in the fall, go to Emory and be determined to stay and like it.