College of Charleston housing opens Feb 1 and it is first come, first choice - I’ve heard bad things about overcrowding. My D will also need to apply for medical accommodations so sooner she applies, better chances for getting a single request which she legitimately will need. But you need to commit and pay enrollment deposit to apply housing, which I’m happy to do as CoC is top contender. But some of her schools don’t announce until mid to late Jan; some RD not even until Mar. Planning to do second visits hopefully in Jan.
Question is can you pay enrollment deposit and change mind later? Or is it like ED where you need to withdraw other applications once you pay enrollment fee?
If this was NOT an ED decision, and you pay the deposits, you just need to find out if they are refundable. So contact the college and ask.
My kid was asked to do an enrollment deposit at a different SC college. She explained that she wasn’t prepared to make a firm matriculation decision so soon, but the school was a top contender. They accepted the (refundable) housing deposit only. You could inquire if that is a possibility.
If you do decline College of Charleston later on, you need to be absolutely sure you let them know that your student won’t be attending…or you will get a bill for the fall term.
It wasn’t ED. It was EA, but it’s definitely a nonrefundable enrollment fee (housing fee is separate nominal fee, but enrollment fee is $400 and nonrefundable) — which I’m willing to risk losing but only if it’s not against some sort of unspoken ethical rules. Would of course let them know if anything changes upon receiving other decisions.
It is fine to deposit at the college. BUT if she decides not to attend, your daughter must withdraw from that college (best done in writing) prior to depositing at the other school as it is unethical to have deposits down at more than one college.
I note the entire practice of waitlisting basically assumes it is ethical to put down a deposit and then withdraw if you get off the waitlist somewhere else. But it is also considered ethical for the college to make that deposit nonrefundable.
As another poster explained, the big thing you should NOT do is have a deposit down at more than one institution at a time. But as long as you are OK losing nonrefundable deposits, you can switch once, or indeed more than once if the situation warrants.
Keep in mind that if the decision changes to notify both admissions AND housing departments. There were some posts last year about housing charges when a student declined admission but housing was not notified.
OP, this is totally normal. S24 came off UCD waitlist late, we already committed and paid both enrollment and housing deposit to uDub. We end up lost full enrollment deposit and partial housing deposit. Like other said, no problem to commit to one school at a time, but not multiple schools at the same time. Good Luck.
Follow up question- I’ve seen mixed /confusing responses on other threads as it pertains to multiple housing deposits (as opposed to multiple enrollment deposits). Charleston requires enrollment deposit to access housing deposit and housing application. But most other schools on our list don’t require enrollment deposit to put down housing deposit- so can we go ahead and secure a spot at first come, first served schools with multiple housing deposits? And then notify in writing she won’t attend once decision is made by May 1.
The whole process is stressful with some schools not deciding until as late as March and other schools being first come on housing as early as Feb.