An offer of conditional deferred admissions?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I was offered a conditional admission offer that would defer my enrollment until next year on the basis that I had to complete at least 3 courses per term with a 3.0 GPA at any other college/ university. I had to pay an enrollment deposit to secure my place for next year -so, I did, a couple months ago. Then, I applied for a couple more unviersities so that I could have more options to choose a university to attend this fall. </p>

<p>Now that admission offers are being sent out, I, like many of you, have to pick a college and pay the enrollment deposit soon. Which is when I realized what most of us signed when we submitted the Common App’s signature portion: “I affirm that I will send an enrollment deposit (or equivalent) to only one institution; sending multiple deposits (or equivalent) may result in the withdrawal of my admission offers from all institutions. [Note: students may send an enrollment deposit (or equivalent) to a second institution where they have been admitted from the waitlist, provided that they inform the first institution that they will no longer be enrolling.]” </p>

<p>Seeing as to how my situation doesn’t agree with the signature, will paying an enrollment deposit at the university I’m attending this fall AND having already paid the enrollment deposit for the university I’d be attending next year result in the 2 withdrawing their offers? It seems treacherous to pay twice -and every university I applied to, including the one that offered me the deferred admissions, uses Common App. </p>

<p>I also don’t know whether or not explaining my situation to the university I’d be attending this fall will cause them to rescind their offer if they think that I would be transferring out in a year and that I already paid a deposit elsewhere. How do they even check this kind of stuff? If I pay the deposit today, do they find out as early as tomorrow that I have 2 deposits? </p>

<p>In any case, it is NOT guaranteed that I’m just going to up and leave in a year to go attend the other university because 1) I might get a 2.6 GPA by the end of freshman year and not meet the conditions to enroll and 2) I might like the university I’m attending this fall so much I won’t think twice about transferring out to my top choice deferred admissions school.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with admissions, transferring, deferring etc.? How should I proceed with this in a way that I am not left without a university to go to, or any other advice/tips?</p>

2

<p>College A (that offered the conditional deferred admission) has in fact told you to go enroll somewhere else for the fall. That pretty much releases you from any prohibition on double-depositing with College B. One way to look at it is you didn’t pay a deposit on the 2013 academic year, you paid a deposit on the 2014 academic year.</p>

3

<p>Lynx, thank you for the explanation. It makes submitting my enrollment deposit a bit safer. If you don’t mind me asking for clarification, College A has no qualms about it, but since College B doesn’t know about the conditional deferred admission to College A yet, would they give me trouble over it if they decide to check if I had indeed sent a deposit elsewhere? And, what I mean is, would College B, knowing that a student has, potentially, intent to transfer out based on sending out a deposit for another university, have cause and likelihood to rescind their offer?</p>

4

<p>There is nothing that says you can’t transfer. Really, the rules against double depositing have more to do with protecting schools from going to the expense/planning for having you there and then having you stiff them. </p>

<p>Kind of like telling two guys (or girls) that you want to take them to the prom, having them buy clothes/flowers/limos/hair/etc. and then standing one of them up. Not cool. But in telling College B that you are coming there in the fall, you are in no way committing to 4 years with B. They realize that there will be some turnover in the student class from year to year, as their retention numbers will indicate.</p>

5

<p>I don’t think so. It’s possible College B could rescind the offer, but unlikely. If they’re smart they’ll enroll you and try to get you to stay. Worst case you spend a year at an open enrollment institution like your local CC.</p>

6

<p>Now I’m terrified at the possibilities, but I feel better knowing the scenarios. Sylvan, my main concern wasn’t that I couldn’t transfer, but that they would rescind my offer if they knew that I already paid a deposit to potentially enroll at another college later on, but thank you for explaining the psychology of it. I have a better understanding now of my situation.</p>