get off waitlist=can't be enrolled at other school? Forum

[yuck]

So I've heard you can get off a waitlist for a school as late as june, july, or even the first day of classes. But school's I've been accepted to say I have to enroll by a date in May and pay tuition in july. When you enroll, aren't you committing to go to the school? And once you pay tuition, can you just get it back?

If the answers to the enrollment commitment question is yes, then the only way I can think of accepting an offer late in the waitlist cycle is to not be enrolled at any school at all? I hope I'm missing something here. Can someone help me? Thank you.

[bk1]

You are committing but you can always back out (very few acceptances require you to withdraw from waitlists). When you can get back your tuition $ depends on the school, but I'm pretty sure you can get it back after you've paid for a little while depending on the school.

[Bildungsroman]

I was accepted off a waitlist and withdrew from the school I had deposited at a week before classes were set to start. I know someone at my school who was a whole month into classes at another law school before coming here. I don't know of any law school that makes a regular applicant withdraw from all WLs when depositing at a school.

[bk1]

I don't know of any law school that makes a regular applicant withdraw from all WLs when depositing at a school.

I heard that Penn does for some scholarship recipients.

[Bildungsroman]

I don't know of any law school that makes a regular applicant withdraw from all WLs when depositing at a school.

I heard that Penn does for some scholarship recipients.

lol how TTT.

[KevinP]

^ A lot of schools used to have scholarship requirements for withdrawing all other applications, but many schools changed their approach after LSAC published a statement against it. Not sure if Penn changed their approach though, but Chicago and NYU still do it.

Asha basically criticized them: http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... rency.aspx

@OP: Unless your deposit requires withdrawal of all your other applicants, you should be okay.

"After April 1, except under binding early decision plans, every
accepted applicant should be free to accept a new offer from
a law school even though a scholarship has been accepted,
a deposit has been paid, or a committment has been made
to another school. To provide applicants with an uncoerced
choice among various law schools, no excessive
nonrefundable deposit should be required solely to maintain
a place in the class. Beginning on May 15 of each year, law
schools that participate in the Commitment Overlap Service
will be provided with information concerning all enrollment
commitments to any law school made by those applicants
who have indicated an intention to enroll in that school’s
entering class. A law school should clearly communicate its
policies on multiple enrollment commitments upon admission."
Source: http://www.lsac.org/LSACResources/Publi ... oodadm.pdf

[Bildungsroman]

^ A lot of schools used to have scholarship requirements for withdrawing all other applications, but many schools changed their approach after LSAC published a statement against it. Not sure if Penn changed their approach though, but Chicago and NYU still do it.

Asha basically criticized them: http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... rency.aspx

@OP: Unless your deposit requires withdrawal of all your other applicants, you should be okay.

"After April 1, except under binding early decision plans, every
accepted applicant should be free to accept a new offer from
a law school even though a scholarship has been accepted,
a deposit has been paid, or a committment has been made
to another school. To provide applicants with an uncoerced
choice among various law schools, no excessive
nonrefundable deposit should be required solely to maintain
a place in the class. Beginning on May 15 of each year, law
schools that participate in the Commitment Overlap Service
will be provided with information concerning all enrollment
commitments to any law school made by those applicants
who have indicated an intention to enroll in that school’s
entering class. A law school should clearly communicate its
policies on multiple enrollment commitments upon admission."
Source: http://www.lsac.org/LSACResources/Publi ... oodadm.pdf

AFAIK, you don't have to withdraw from WLs if you get a Rubenstein (I know someone who got a Ruby and then was accepted off a WL at another school).

[KevinP]

AFAIK, you don't have to withdraw from WLs if you get a Rubenstein (I know someone who got a Ruby and then was accepted off a WL at another school).

Fair enough, but I would argue in that case Chicago is pretty misleading in their requirements.

e.g.

So... I just called the admissions office and asked about how quickly I'd have to withdraw other applications if I sent in my commitment form/seat deposit (I previously requested a deadline extension because I wanted to visit NYU/Columbia the week after the deadline, but was denied). The guy said "uh...immediately. When you're sending in your seat deposit you're committing to attend the University of Chicago so I'd say it would definitely be frowned upon if you didn't withdraw from everywhere else immediately."

I also specifically asked if that included schools from which I haven't heard back yet and he said "yes."

I... don't really know what to do at this point.

[yuck]

So when people give advice saying to put deposits in at multiple schools and use their scholarships as leverage against each other, aren't they violating the "withdraw from other schools you've been accepted to" clause? And the schools know they are violating the clause, because the student is openly saying, this school is offering me this much $, please give me more.

Thanks for the help already.

[bk1]

So when people give advice saying to put deposits in at multiple schools and use their scholarships as leverage against each other, aren't they violating the "withdraw from other schools you've been accepted to" clause? And the schools know they are violating the clause, because the student is openly saying, this school is offering me this much $, please give me more.

You don't have to put down seat deposits to leverage scholarships against each other.

[yuck]

except after the seat deposits are due, though.

[bk1]

except after the seat deposits are due, though.

Why would you wait that long?

[yuck]

not by choice, but people are getting off of waitlists in the next few months. And I just always read about going back and forth for scholarship offers to schools through the summer, like between BU and BC

[bk1]

not by choice, but people are getting off of waitlists in the next few months. And I just always read about going back and forth for scholarship offers to schools through the summer, like between BU and BC

People are unlikely to get $ off the waitlist. Even if they do, you don't have to put down a seat deposit to negotiate since it's not like you have to put a seat deposit down immediately. Just send some quick emails in response to the admit off the waitlist. They will likely make decisions about whether to give you money pretty quickly.

[yuck]

Last question: If someone wants to put down a seat deposit for a school with a scholarship, and it says you have to withdraw from other schools that have accepted you (I now know they can't make you withdraw from schools you are on a waitlist of), do they communicate through LSAC to check that you withdrew? So you essentially have to choose at seat deposit time what school you want to go to, and can't deposit at 2 schools?

[bk1]

Last question: If someone wants to put down a seat deposit for a school with a scholarship, and it says you have to withdraw from other schools that have accepted you (I now know they can't make you withdraw from schools you are on a waitlist of), do they communicate through LSAC to check that you withdrew? So you essentially have to choose at seat deposit time what school you want to go to, and can't deposit at 2 schools?

They can tell by the Commitment Overlap Service in May. If they're asking you to withdraw from other admissions offers when you deposit I see no reason not do it. Just make up your mind.

[KevinP]

Last question: If someone wants to put down a seat deposit for a school with a scholarship, and it says you have to withdraw from other schools that have accepted you (I now know they can't make you withdraw from schools you are on a waitlist of), do they communicate through LSAC to check that you withdrew? So you essentially have to choose at seat deposit time what school you want to go to, and can't deposit at 2 schools?

(1) They do communicate through LSAC. (2) Correct, assuming the deposit form requires withdrawal from other acceptances because the statement of good admissions practices essentially says it is up to schools to determine what to do for multiple deposits.

I know starting May 15th (maybe earlier) participating schools can find out where you've deposit.

"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."

http://www.lsac.org/jd/apply/whom-to-admit.asp