Uncommon to get 1st response after others need seat deposit? Forum

[curiousnole]

I have several schools I am deciding between that have seat deposits on the first of April and the 15th of April, but I still have FIVE schools that haven't let me know about my original acceptance/waitlist/rejection. Will they let me know by April? I had always kind of just thought they'd be able to get back to me within four months? Are they really going to make me put down a seat deposit before I get responses from the other five? The schools in question are UNC, UF, Maryland, Cardozo, and William and Mary.
Thank you!

[SUCO]

I'm in the same boat with W+M, but their status checker says decisions will be made by April 1st. Not sure about the other schools, but with that many in question you will probably face deposit deadlines without solid decisions unfortunately.

[Samara]

Did you apply late in the cycle? If not, you can probably treat those schools as de facto waitlists. I applied to Michigan in early November and haven't heard back yet, so I'm treating it as a waitlist.
I'm pleasantly surprised they haven't dinged me yet.

[Pricer]

Last year, USC waitlisted me in June-ish and admitted me (after I requested to be removed from the waitlist) in August, one week before my classes started at UT.

Also, last year, Cornell emailed me on the day all deposits (Cornell included) were due to tell me that I had not submitted all of my materials. They told I never submitted a letter from my school that every other school requesting it had received. This was three months after I sent in my materials. After I had the letter resent, they never acknowledged receipt. They also never gave me a decision, not even to add me to the waitlist. I exchanged several emails with the school, and in each one, the admissions people denied being at fault and became less and less cooperative and professional. That experience completely turned me off from Cornell Law. I would not have chosen Cornell with a full ride over what Texas offered me after dealing with the school. I can also say that several of my classmates at UT had very similar experiences with Cornell. During orientation in August, multiple people mentioned Cornell pulled the same stunt on them. It seems that the Cornell Law admissions department is in the business of stealing applicants' money rather than actually doing their jobs.

[cinephile]

Are they really going to make me put down a seat deposit before I get responses from the other five? The schools in question are UNC, UF, Maryland, Cardozo, and William and Mary.
Thank you!

I wasn't looking specifically at these schools, but last year I emailed school A to get an extension while waiting on school B to make a decision. Basically, they said no, that the deadline was firm. So I deposited even though I thought that deposit might go to waste.

You can always ask the school for more time, but they'll probably force you to make a choice by their deadline.