Multiple Deposits and Negotiating After Deadline Forum

[underwood15]

I have put deposits down at BC and BU and am still trying to negotiate with them both about financial aid...should I tell them that I put deposits down at both schools? Do schools get mad if you tell them you put down multiple deposits?

[DaysToGo]

I've heard some people say that they tell the schools where they double deposit that they have done so. I've also heard of people being sneaky and not saying anything. If you're going to negotiate after the deposit deadlines though, it's probably likely that the schools will figure out that you're still keeping your options open and that you've deposited elsewhere as well. Some schools forbid double depositing, but others know it's happening and don't care as much. It really depends on the schools, although I'm unsure about BC and BU.

[SPerez]

Assuming both schools participate in the service (almost all do), each school will know what other schools you have deposited to in about 2 weeks (around May 15, I think), anyway.

What schools get mad about is what they see as people acting in bad faith, i.e. asking for an increase from a school you have no intention of attending, for the sole purpose of getting an increase from the school you actually want to attend.

Dean Perez

[FutbolCrazy]

Assuming both schools participate in the service (almost all do), each school will know what other schools you have deposited to in about 2 weeks (around May 15, I think), anyway.

What schools get mad about is what they see as people acting in bad faith, i.e. asking for an increase from a school you have no intention of attending, for the sole purpose of getting an increase from the school you actually want to attend.

Dean Perez

Hi Dean Perez,

do you mind expanding a little more on the "service" you mentioned above? Also, what can schools do once they find out a student double deposits? I double deposited. But now I'm considering withdrawing completely from one of the two if it will have a negative impact on me.

thoughts...

[SPerez]

Assuming both schools participate in the service (almost all do), each school will know what other schools you have deposited to in about 2 weeks (around May 15, I think), anyway.

What schools get mad about is what they see as people acting in bad faith, i.e. asking for an increase from a school you have no intention of attending, for the sole purpose of getting an increase from the school you actually want to attend.

Dean Perez

Hi Dean Perez,

do you mind expanding a little more on the "service" you mentioned above? Also, what can schools do once they find out a student double deposits? I double deposited. But now I'm considering withdrawing completely from one of the two if it will have a negative impact on me.

thoughts...

In all that stuff on LSAC's website and materials that virtually all students ignore, there isthis section :

Each year, LSAC provides participating law schools with periodic reports detailing the number of applicants who have submitted seat deposits or commitments at other participating schools, along with identification of those other schools. Beginning May 15 each year, these reports now also include the names and LSAC account numbers for all candidates who have deposits/commitments at multiple participating schools.

Trust me, running that report is the first thing every law school will do when they get to the office on May 15. (A less specific report has been available for a few weeks already. It only lists the schools and number of overlapped deposits, not the names.)

Unless you were admitted via a binding early decision program, you don't have to worry about any adverse action being taken against you. Students double deposit all the time. As long as you're honestly still trying to decide between schools and you're not just being indecisive, there's nothing wrong with holding multiple deposits.

The later it gets, though, the closer to the "Ah, c'mon man...sh*t or get off the pot already" line you get. After about June 1, the odds are very likely that you are preventing someone else from being admitted. Schools in urban areas (like BC and BU) have this problem a little more since students can wait until the last minute to decide with very little inconvenience to them (e.g. they don't have to find a different place to live).

Dean Perez