Will You Be Part of the "Summer Flood"?

Applying to College
1

<p>According to The Boston Globe, the traditional "summer melt" (entering freshmen who decide to withdraw from the college where they deposited) may be a summer flood this year, as a record number of frosh-to-be change plans. </p>

<p>Strain</a> on all sides as students put off college selections - The Boston Globe by Peter Schworm</p>

<p>Long waiting lists, uncertain financial aid options, and a bad economy are adding up to uncertainty for enrollment managers and families alike. Are your fall plans apt to change?</p>

2

<p>With God's grace, no. But this seems like good news for the people dying to get off their favourite college's waiting list. </p>

<p>
[quote]
But more indecisive students don't mind prolonging the process, even paying deposits - typically a few hundred nonrefundable dollars - at multiple schools. Colleges frown on the practice but suspect it is becoming more widespread.</p>

<p>"There's no way to know, but there's definitely that fear of more students double-depositing," said Jeannine Lalonde, assistant dean of admission at the University of Virginia. Some colleges are mulling raising the deposit amounts as a deterrent.

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<p>I thought this was interesting. Do CCers have any experience with this practice?</p>

3

<p>:) I think it's funny that the colleges experience a little of what we're going through as applicants (i.e. stress).</p>

4

<p>i definitely know a girl who deposited at 4 schools (all of them various public schools - competitive enough where i know someone would have liked to have that spot, but not so competitive that she cant get away with putting down all those deposits) and i think it is incredibly rude behavior.</p>

5

<p>My entering freshman is still torn about her school she deposited and keeps thinking about staying home for college. I told her that once the bill is paid, there is no going back and she must stick out the first semester. The school that waitlisted finally officially dumped her saying they took no one off the waitlist and are over enrolled.
Incidentally, a private school to which she was accepted but declined the end of April sent her a revised scholarship letter in early May and just the other week sent her a revised financial aid offer.</p>

6

<p>We double deposited at big state flagships that required deposits in order to guarantee housing. We only did it where the deposit was fully refundable, which seemed to indicate that the school did not see the deposit as final and binding. We know three or four kids (and at schools of various sizes, not just the big state ones) who waited to deposit till close to May 1st and have no housing. Seems like the lack of housing at many schools is also a 2008 trend.
D. thankfully shows no buyer's remorse.</p>

7

<p>I think that housing will become a gating factor as more students opt for public universities in the current economic client. It seems to me that the housing deposit is a way to get more of a commitment. But I would guess that there will be some cancellations if family economic circumstances change this summer. There are some sectors in the economy that could well be described as bleak.</p>

8

<p>I have always been adamant about telling families that double-depositing is unethical, reminding them that they are taking a place from a student who may desperately want or need it. </p>

<p>But, lately, I've heard a lot of stories of families whose financial aid packages are still in limbo--not just because they have been unable to confirm private loans but also because, in some cases, the colleges themselves have been very late with aid packages, even when all the paperwork was submitted on time.</p>

<p>So I think that there needs to be some sort of new "rule" that allows double-deposits in certain situations ... i.e., with written confirmation that a student is still legitimately waiting for aid or other important info (e.g., if a s/he is on a waiting list for university housing at the school where the first deposit was sent). However, if a student is on an admissions wait list then the family must deposit at only ONE other school while they wait. (Confusing, I know, but what aspect of this process isn't?)</p>

<p>I'm still thinking this through, but there must be SOME way to alleviate the stress on families but without giving license to rampant double (or multiple!) deposits.</p>

9

<p>"I have always been adamant about telling families that double-depositing is unethical, reminding them that they are taking a place from a student who may desperately want or need it."</p>

<p>Colleges have access to analytical software to get an idea of how many will really show up which is why they overbook. Airlines and hotels have been doing this for decades so the concepts are far from new. If colleges can overbook, why is it unethical for students to essentially do the same thing? It's not like the colleges don't have the best view of information compared to the students.</p>

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<p>I'll admit i also have a nasty case of buyer's remorse but unfortunately i didn't double deposit. I don't know what i'll end up doing next year.</p>

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<p>Colleges themselves encourage double deposits when they tie the timing of receiving the deposit to available housing. The bigger state school often over book and this is nothing new - it happened in the 70's when I attended UNH. Freshmen were often housing in built up lounges for weeks into the semester.
I know here in PA both Temple and PSU offer housing based on the receipt of the deposit. Often kids will deposit there in the winter while waiting for their final acceptances.<br>
I seriously don't have any sympathy for colleges and universities who expect everyone to revolve around their deadlines - they have to expect that kids and parents don't want to be hung out to dry.
Between waiting forever for financial aid and the housing situation - the kids need some protection.</p>

<p>I really wonder, even with the economy in a shambles how many middle class kids will stay home and go to their CC in lieu of their chosen school. Probably not many.</p>

12

<p>We ran into multiple U's during D's search that encouraged a deposit that was fully- or almost fully-refundable up until May 1 to gain registration preference, housing preference, etc. It never occurred to me to consider making multiple deposits under those circumstances unethical. Some were publics, but not all. I just assumed that they were using the psychology that once you had the money down you would subconsciously feel more tied to attending the school. That seems a somewhat different situation to me than multiple binding enrollment deposits. Am I missing something? </p>

<p>Although my memory is a little foggy on the details, when S was admitted in 2005, his admission letters from certain southern private schools warned him something to the effect that they had an agreement to exchange information with other schools listed in the letter on who had paid binding enrollment deposits, and that anyone found to have done so to more than one of the schools was subject to having admission revoked. Is that still being done?</p>

13

<p>Next to the obvious and legitimate concerns, one cannot help notice that a number of schools have under-admitted in May and might have jumped on this bandwagon for improving their bragging rights. For instance, looking at Harvard and Duke reveals the differences in approaches. If there was indeed a climate of financial uncertainty and doubts about yield, why would Duke admit far fewer students that its historical numbers might indicate? Duke did not face the vagaries of eliminating their early admission pool nor the sequels of a prior year over-enrollment. Announcing a sub 20% admit rate in May must have been high on the mind of the admissions' people at Duke! </p>

<p>After all, going to the waitlist is hardly a problem ... for selective schools! </p>

<p>By the way, here's another article</p>

<p>College</a> enrollment a gamble -- baltimoresun.com</p>

<p>
[quote]
With economic pressures apparently pushing families to reconsider spending tens of thousands of dollars per year on tuition, many of Maryland's private colleges say they are being forced to use new tactics this year to meet their enrollment targets for this fall.</p>

<p>From dipping deep into their waiting lists to putting together more aggressive packages of financial aid and loans, higher education officials say they are facing major challenges to ensure that the high school seniors they admitted last month actually attend in August.</p>

<p>Some local schools admitted more students than usual this year, anticipating that the nation's economic downturn would prompt more families to choose the less-expensive options of two-year colleges or four-year public colleges and universities.</p>

<p>"It's a very funny year," said John Baworowsky, vice president for enrollment management at Hood College in Frederick. "I think colleges across the country are very nervous about what people are going to do."</p>

<p>In a survey by The Sun of many of Maryland's private colleges, four acknowledged dipping deeper into their waiting lists than in past years to fill this fall's freshman class. But several higher education officials believe the number of schools that did so is probably much higher.</p>

<p>"I've been doing this 20 years, and I've not seen a year like this in terms of wait-list activity," said Mark Camille, vice president for enrollment management at Loyola College of Maryland. "You know, it's not something that people like to admit to."

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<p>"I've been doing this 20 years, and I've not seen a year like this in terms of wait-list activity,"</p>

<p>Sounds like a bubble popping to me. I wonder what higher education contributes to GDP as there are a lot of purchases made in the support of higher education. It will be neat when it's cool to be frugal.</p>

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<p>While we didn't double deposit, I have trouble with the word 'unethical' as a descriptor. Universities are businesses (albeit 'non-profits'...though that is quite another debate...), which are managed in much the same way as factories in that they have capacity that must be filled. The rules are pretty clear - the deposit is either refundable or not, so if you change your mind in the latter case, you lose your deposit. </p>

<p>In any case, the total number of spots is the same, regardless of whether someone places multiple deposits. And while I understand the point about whether someone was 'denied' a spot at a first choice, if they are diligent, they will have convinced the admissions office to bump them to the head of the waitlist (there is enough advice elsewhere on this forum for those who need it).</p>

<p>At some point, a spot opens up, and then the university in question goes to the waitlist to try to entice someone to take that spot - those near the top get first choice. But I don't think there are very many on those waitlists that haven't been accepted elsewhere, so the university is now trying to influence someone to give up a deposit elsewhere...and thus is complicit in the game many of them try to imply they are above. I'm not suggesting this is unethical either - it is simply the reality of the world being reflected in the college admissions microcosm.</p>

16

<p>"I'll admit i also have a nasty case of buyer's remorse but unfortunately i didn't double deposit. I don't know what i'll end up doing next year."</p>

<p>Do what thousands of others do - transfer. Older D had a friend who found out the reality her dream school was far from what she expected, so started the transfer process within 3 weeks, and was able to transfer in the second semester. Older D herself transferred to her dream school for her sophomore year.</p>

17

<p>Sally, if you're a NACAC member, I think you're bound to discourage students from double-depositing. That said, I wonder how many college counselors will send final transcripts to two institutions.</p>

<p>The other things is that the argument that if you double-deposit, you're taking 'somebody else's spot' is often flawed, as many universities simply don't have waiting lists (I know UCs do not.)</p>

18

<p>If you're a college counsellor, do you do what's right for the person that you're advising or what's good for the corporate soul?</p>

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<p>"what's good for the corporate soul"</p>

<p>Oh, yes, because Harvard makes such rich profits for its trustees!</p>

20

<p>
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I wonder how many college counselors will send final transcripts to two institutions.

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<p>my kids have sent final transcripts to two or more institutions without question. Both were for good reason - not just place holding but the question was never asked.</p>

<p>BCEagle91 makes a good point. HS Guidance counselors work for the students not the colleges. They need to do what is in the best interest of the student.</p>