<p>I was recently accepted to Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN and I could very possibly be attending this school come next fall, but I want to wait until April to see where else i get in to make a final decision. Housing is first come first serve at Saint Mary’s and I don’t want to end up with three people in a double room as I have heard can happen, so is it wrong to send in the housing/acceptance fee? I understand that it is non-refundable, but nowhere could I find any fine print that said it was a binding agreement to attend Saint Mary’s in the fall. My only real concern is that colleges that don’t announce admissions decisions until spring will be able to see I have already paid/possibly committed and let this influence my admission decision.</p>
<p>At most schools, the housing deposit is not looked at as a commitment to attend. At schools with no guaranteed housing, it is quite common to put in a deposit right after acceptance. You need to know that you may not get the deposit back. In general, the funds are sent to a different office than admissions</p>
<p>I have never heard of a case where paying the enrollment fee or housing fee is binding. As far as I know, they are always non-refundable, but never binding. Only ED is binding.</p>