Can you pay a first seat deposit to more than one school? Forum

[hellothisisme]

Because I applied rather late this cycle, there is a very good chance I will have seat deposit deadlines coming up before I've heard back from all the schools I applied to. So, it's not against the rules or anything to pay more than one seat deposit, is it?

[bigeast03]

Because I applied rather late this cycle, there is a very good chance I will have seat deposit deadlines coming up before I've heard back from all the schools I applied to. So, it's not against the rules or anything to pay more than one seat deposit, is it?

It's not at all against the rules, and it may even be of some help if you get to the point where you're negotiating scholarship money.

[hoos89]

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[20130312]

I've heard people say you could lose your seat deposit if you do this. Is there any truth to that?

[bceagles182]

I've heard people say you could lose your seat deposit if you do this. Is there any truth to that?

Huh? If you pay multiple seat deposits, then you will, by definition, lose one of them when you choose not to attend that school. They are nonrefundable -- hence the word "deposit."

I paid first deposits at two schools. There's nothing wrong with it.

[MrPapagiorgio]

i've heard in other threads that the schools will be aware after a certain point that you have multiple seat deposits and will start calling you about it. yes you can do it, and it may even help you get some scholarship money, just be prepared for that.

This is 100% true. I sent in two seat deposits because I wanted more time to make my decision, and 2 weeks after I sent in my second deposit the first school called me and asked me about my commitment to the school. The admissions person even asked me and I'm paraphrasing but it's pretty close: "Would you rather we refund your deposit and accept someone off the waitlist who actually wants to go here"?

I would have told them to shove it up their ass right then and there, but they were offering 60k more than the other school.

[20130312]

I've heard people say you could lose your seat deposit if you do this. Is there any truth to that?

Huh? If you pay multiple seat deposits, then you will, by definition, lose one of them when you choose not to attend that school. They are nonrefundable -- hence the word "deposit."

I paid first deposits at two schools. There's nothing wrong with it.

This implies that the word "deposit" means "nonrefundable", which isn't necessarily true. Ever heard of a security deposit, champ?

[hoos89]

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[bceagles182]

I've heard people say you could lose your seat deposit if you do this. Is there any truth to that?

Huh? If you pay multiple seat deposits, then you will, by definition, lose one of them when you choose not to attend that school. They are nonrefundable -- hence the word "deposit."

I paid first deposits at two schools. There's nothing wrong with it.

This implies that the word "deposit" means "nonrefundable", which isn't necessarily true. Ever heard of a security deposit, champ?

Are you serious? A seat deposit is an initial payment toward your tuition that they make you pay up front in order to force you to commit to their school. If they refunded it in the event that you decide not to attend, it would defeat the entire purpose of the deposit.

[bceagles182]

In contrast, a security deposit is refunded only if you follow through with what you have agreed to do. If you don't go to their school, you aren't doing what you said you would do. Hence, it isn't refunded.

[hoos89]

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[20130312]

This is why I was asking the question.

[r6_philly]

Penn allows multiple depositing. Many other schools don't. Penn also has 1 deadline for getting back the deposit, and another for getting back portions of it. Check with the school.

I do know LSDAS sends out notification to schools (I want to say mid May) about people who have paid more than one deposit or reserved more than one space. Again some schools are okay with that, some are not. But they will all contact you. Check policies before doing this.

[kalvano]

It's fine to multi-deposit for the first round of seat deposits. Not so fine for the second round.