I’m in a dilemma at the moment. I was accepted for the spring for Lincoln, I said no in their survey and even mentioned no during my interview, but I was still accepted. I feel like they are dangling my future in front of me and only giving me 3 days to decide. I think what I’m going to do is pay my deposit, but wait to hear from other schools and withdraw once I do get other interviews. I’m honestly super frustrated and stressed that they’re giving me this decision and no time to decide. There are a ton of reasons I don’t want to go in the spring and quite frankly based off a majority of what I’ve seen and heard Lincoln does not seem prepared for their spring cohort. So basically my question is will other schools see I paid my deposit for Lincoln and pull my application? If that’s the case then I won’t pay it.
Do schools know if you’ve paid a deposit to another school?
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No, they will not see it. This happens often - someone may pay their deposit at one school but then get pulled off the waitlist for their in-state school and decide to go there instead. I was in the same situation as you with LMU and considered paying the deposit to hold my seat, but decided to decline so that I could have a chance at a fall seat instead.
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Doing this is a bad idea. Keep in mind that schools don't finish releasing acceptances until March or April. If you're starting school with LMU in January, you need to move to Tennessee in the next few weeks. There's very little time left to wait and see if other schools will offer you an early acceptance.
If your gut is telling you that starting with the spring cohort is a bad idea, I'd go with that impulse and see how things turn out. That said, I've heard some really positive things from LMU grads about the quality of the education they received there. The spring cohort got badly rushed, but keep in mind that the people coordinating this had no say in how quickly it would be implemented--they're rushing just as much as the applicants are.
If your gut is telling you that starting with the spring cohort is a bad idea, I'd go with that impulse and see how things turn out. That said, I've heard some really positive things from LMU grads about the quality of the education they received there. The spring cohort got badly rushed, but keep in mind that the people coordinating this had no say in how quickly it would be implemented--they're rushing just as much as the applicants are.
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I think whatever you choose to do is the right decision for you. Money comes and money goes and in the grand scheme of things $500 or $1000 is not that much money. You could spend more on therapy in a few months. Or gamble/spend it on something with lower stakes/reward. If you feel that's worth a month of your sanity and it won't cause you to not be able to pay your bills and you do it, its totally okay for you to make that choice.
On another note, I listened to this NPR story a couple years ago about how you shouldn't ever make decisions based out of fear and that really made sense and I wish I had a link for you but unfortunately I don't.
On another note, I listened to this NPR story a couple years ago about how you shouldn't ever make decisions based out of fear and that really made sense and I wish I had a link for you but unfortunately I don't.
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I also just posted on the LMU thread but if you still need some other factors that you might want to consider to help you make a decision, I think it’s also worth considering your financial situation. Do you have enough money for a deposit? Do you have enough money to apply for another cycle if you don’t get accepted anywhere else? Can you take the financial risk if you aren’t accepted anywhere else? Or do you want ~8-9 more months to save up money, assuming you get accepted somewhere else for the fall? Obviously put your own physical and mental health first though. These are just some more factors to consider afterwards if you still need some more help with making a decision.
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If you said “no” then why are you entertaining the offer? Obviously they know the game they’re playing and are betting on your exact reaction. Go with your gut.
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Just keep it simple and don't think about it too much. I personally deleted my spring acceptance email and didnt even act like i got in. All I did in the first place was to apply for the fall term, not the spring.
Schools have no knowledge about other schools current admissions, so they won't know where you've been accepted/rejected, put down deposits, etc. However, in your initial post it sounds like regardless you may not want to start in the spring cohort (just my interpretation of your original post), so putting down a deposit might be a waste of your money and also make you ineligible for the fall pool.
I know its not the same, but my first application cycle I ended up being waitlisted at 2 schools, got pulled off the waitlist after the April deadline for one, and was given only 24 hrs to accept the offer and put down a deposit. Instead of feeling excited I had just gotten into vet school, I felt pressured and uncomfortable to have to make one of the biggest decisions of my life in less than a day (there were also other factors that didn't sit well with me that influenced that feeling). I was fortunate enough to be in place where I had been improving my application and had the emotional support and financial capability to apply a second cycle so I chose to pursue that instead, and the acceptances I ended up receiving came with a completely different (and excited) feeling.
I think it's completely possible to acknowledge that you have received an acceptance, which is such valuable opportunity, but also decide that within this timeframe it may or may not be the best decision for you, personally, to take it.
I know its not the same, but my first application cycle I ended up being waitlisted at 2 schools, got pulled off the waitlist after the April deadline for one, and was given only 24 hrs to accept the offer and put down a deposit. Instead of feeling excited I had just gotten into vet school, I felt pressured and uncomfortable to have to make one of the biggest decisions of my life in less than a day (there were also other factors that didn't sit well with me that influenced that feeling). I was fortunate enough to be in place where I had been improving my application and had the emotional support and financial capability to apply a second cycle so I chose to pursue that instead, and the acceptances I ended up receiving came with a completely different (and excited) feeling.
I think it's completely possible to acknowledge that you have received an acceptance, which is such valuable opportunity, but also decide that within this timeframe it may or may not be the best decision for you, personally, to take it.
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Yes I did!! Placed back to fall
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I think you are referring to something from "Hidden Brain"... I think this is a link that refers to that episode:
I did the same thing. I got my acceptance for the spring last week and I paid the deposit so that I would have some more time to decide. I’m really frustrated they put us in this situation and now I’m scared that if I decline it and I don’t get any other offers that I’ll always regret it. But like you said, there are a lot of reasons I don’t want to go next month. I don’t know what to do!
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I think after paying the $1000+ deposit for LMU you should just bite the bullet. Because then you’re out thousands of dollars if you don’t get in anywhere else in the next 4 weeks. Most schools don’t have decisions out to end of January or February
I almost did this, but I didn’t want to be taken out of the fall pool. The deciding factor for me was I didn’t want to be heartbroken if I received interview invites/acceptances at schools that would have been better for me in Feb/March and have to decline them because I am already locked in to LMU. I already have two interview invites since declining my seat and I am content with my decision.
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