<p>What's the deposit for? Is it just for reserving your place in the class? Why do you need to pay a deposit to reserve your place? Do you get it back when you graduatee?</p>
<p>The deposit holds your place in the freshman class - it is your way of confirming that you will show up in August. It is applied towards your bill for the fall semester. If you don’t show up in August - for whatever reason - you forfeit the deposit.</p>
<p>It’s the same principle as the deposit for any other type of payment. You’ll be much less tempted to walk away if you already have money sunk into the school.</p>
<p>Because if there’s no cost (the potential loss of the deposit), people would easily “hold” spots at many schools – chaos ensuing.</p>
<p>When you sell your first home, will you de-list your home just because a so-called “serious” buyer asks you to, thereby foregoing other potential buyers? Or will that request come with a $2000 non-refundable deposit?</p>
<p>The deposit essentially tells the college that that’s where you plan to attend. Once you put in a deposit at one school, they expect you to inform other schools that you won’t be attending those. (That’s why colleges take double depositing seriously…) Your deposit goes towards your first semester bill, and if you choose not to attend that school, you forfeit the money.</p>