May 1 has come and gone, and institutions are busy analyzing lists of accepted students and counting their deposits. Increasingly, however, they are finding that deposits do not equal enrollments. Whether they are negotiating financial aid offers with more than one college or simply biding their time to put off a tough decision, more students are putting deposits down at multiple institutions, making the task of enrolling the next class that much more challenging.
Theoretically, double deposits can be risky for students. The overwhelming consensus among guidance counselors, institutions, and industry associations like the College Board is that this behavior is unethical and puts the student’s acceptance at risk in addition to forfeiting their deposit—up to $1,000 in some cases. While we were unable to find specific examples of students’ acceptances being withdrawn due to this behavior, many colleges have specific policies that prohibit the accepting offers from multiple institutions.
Even with these clear risks to students, our data shows that “doubling down” is still happening and contributing to the issue of summer melt. Some larger institutions estimate the number of double-deposited students to be as high as 75 students in an enrolling class. Eduventures recommends that colleges take the position that a deposit does not guarantee that a student will enroll. Continued contact with deposited students throughout the summer from admissions, student affairs, and student financial services is the best way to hedge against students who have doubled down with another institution.
Here are three ways to stay in touch with admitted students: