Friend sent non-refundable deposit to hold seat now wants to stop payment

[Manual Disimpaction]

Friend sent non-refundable deposit to school to hold seat. Now accepted to school he/she prefers and noticed that the school has not cashed the check. Legal ramifications to stopping payment on the check?

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[Rekt]

Friend sent non-refundable deposit to school to hold seat. Now accepted to school he/she prefers and noticed that the school has not cashed the check. Legal ramifications to stopping payment on the check?

Your friend is an idiot. Why risk it? MD schools seat rates are nothing compared to what DOs put out. Try eating like 2grand easy if you accept another school offer.

 

[Manual Disimpaction]

Your friend is an idiot. Why risk it? MD schools seat rates are nothing compared to what DOs put out. Try eating like 2grand easy if you accept another school offer.

It's roughly 1400

 

[raiderette]

So it is a DO school. I suggest reading the form that she signed to see if she would be liable. I am willing to bet it us spelled out in the agreement.

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[W19]

Why that much money to hold a seat? I remember that stuff was only $100.

 

[Manual Disimpaction]

Why that much money to hold a seat? I remember that stuff was only $100.

I hear you dude all of my acceptances did not require one at all from what I remember. Then again that was MD and this is not

 

[W19]

I hear you dude all of my acceptances did not require one at all from what I remember. Then again that was MD and this is not

So COCA let DO schools charge whatever they feel like knowing that exact situation will happen to some applicants... This is crazy!

 

[Warderino92]

So COCA let DO schools charge whatever they feel like knowing that exact situation will happen to some applicants... This is crazy!

 

[Goro]

To be fair to COCA, it does show that you're serious about entering the profession.

So COCA let DO schools charge whatever they feel like knowing that exact situation will happen to some applicants... This is crazy!

 

[Stagg737]

Friend sent non-refundable deposit to school to hold seat. Now accepted to school he/she prefers and noticed that the school has not cashed the check. Legal ramifications to stopping payment on the check?

I did a stop payment for something like that. No legal ramifications to it. Turns out the school used a routing number for the payment, so they didn't even use the check and it ended up coming out of my account anyway. Was a huge pain in the butt, but my bank ended up refunding me and ate the difference because they let a check that had a stop payment on it get routed anyway. As far as I know there wouldn't have been legal ramifications, they would have just cancelled my acceptance.

Why that much money to hold a seat? I remember that stuff was only $100.

Also to discourage people from taking a seat at the school, then having a bunch of people drop after being accepted to MD schools. There's a lot of students changing their mind last minute when they get into a MD school they'd rather be at than a DO school and most schools don't want to let 20%+ of their class just drop last minute because they had other acceptances. Losing $100 is nbd, losing $1,000+ makes people think twice.

Idk what other schools are like, but my school was $1,000 deposit that was credited toward my first semester tuition once I matriculated, so I would only have paid an "extra" $1,000 if I hadn't matriculated there.

 

[tennischamp822]

So COCA let DO schools charge whatever they feel like knowing that exact situation will happen to some applicants... This is crazy!

Lol

W19 uncovering these scams

 

[235009]

It's the school's fault for not cashing the check immediately. Definitely put a stop to the payment! They'll send you a letter or email saying your payment failed when they try to cash it giving you a very short timeline to pay up and at that point you just reply you're no longer interested. The only ramification is that you lose your seat. They have no other recourse.


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[Tenk]

Cancel it. If they bring it up say you didn't have enough money in the account after paying bills/utility and you're sorry but you don't have enough money.

Screw these schools for exploiting students.

 

[futuremdforme]

Friend sent non-refundable deposit to school to hold seat. Now accepted to school he/she prefers and noticed that the school has not cashed the check. Legal ramifications to stopping payment on the check?

Make sure that the payment to the preferred school goes through and that the seat is secure before cancelling the other one though!!

 

[vernhart]

To be fair to COCA, it does show that you're serious about entering the profession.

HUGE eyeroll. So does chopping off an extremity, should they require that as well? Should we kill our dog to prove our devotion?

 

[evilbooyaa]

If you know you're not going there, sure, cancel the check. Depending on how long ago you sent it in, school should've cashed it already. Most of the time these payments are done online so there can't be any pull back.

 

[Goro]

Do you want to be a doctor or not? Short term sacrifice vs very lucrative long term gain. You're going to be in debt to the tune of having three Teslas, and you're whining about an extra $1000-2000?

HUGE eyeroll. So does chopping off an extremity, should they require that as well? Should we kill our dog to prove our devotion?

 

[Affiche]

Do you want to be a doctor or not? Short term sacrifice vs very lucrative long term gain. You're going to be in debt to the tune of having three Teslas, and you're whining about an extra $1000-2000?

Yeah because it's exploitation and it keeps getting justified by this toxic mentality of "you should be so grateful, quit whining". These kids have earned their offered seats and to manipulate their decision-making by taking advantage of their lack of funds isn't okay. Let's quit pretending it is.

 

[Manual Disimpaction]

Well my friend did it so I guess we will see what happens thanks for the advice

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

HUGE eyeroll. So does chopping off an extremity, should they require that as well? Should we kill our dog to prove our devotion?

Yeah because it's exploitation and it keeps getting justified by this toxic mentality of "you should be so grateful, quit whining". These kids have earned their offered seats and to manipulate their decision-making by taking advantage of their lack of funds isn't okay. Let's quit pretending it is.

Yeah it's dumb but the issue is that it isn't a secret that they require these deposits. Applicants know full well that this scenario is a possibility going in. Quite frankly, if it's that big of an issue then don't apply to schools that require the large deposits.

 

[235009]

Do you want to be a doctor or not? Short term sacrifice vs very lucrative long term gain. You're going to be in debt to the tune of having three Teslas, and you're whining about an extra $1000-2000?

I guess financial exploitation is OK as long as it helps fund your salary. With the amount of time you spend on sdn I'm guessing grants and science aren't what's paying your keep.


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[Lawpy]

Yeah it's dumb but the issue is that it isn't a secret that they require these deposits. Applicants know full well that this scenario is a possibility going in. Quite frankly, if it's that big of an issue then don't apply to schools that require the large deposits.

what DO schools have small, refundable deposits to hold the seat?

 

[Promethean]

I guess financial exploitation is OK as long as it helps fund your salary. With the amount of time you spend on sdn I'm guessing grants and science aren't what's paying your keep.


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Oh, please!

It isn't financial exploitation. It is a deposit that holds a seat for you and keeps someone else out of it. It is a deposit that will be applied to your tuition if you go there, and that recompenses the school for the trouble of finding an equivalent student to take the seat if you don't.

DO schools get used as safety schools by people who don't care about osteopathic medicine, who really want an MD school and will drop the DO school as soon as possible when they get what they really want. This is a way to keep those folks from crowding out people who genuinely wanted to study osteopathic medicine. It discourages paying several deposits to hold multiple seats, while waiting for more appealing schools to respond, as folks do with MD schools that have $100 deposits.

No one is strong armed in an alley and forced to pay these deposits. It is a choice made with clear open eyes. If OP's friend was lucky enough to be able to cancel with no repercussions, well good for them, they got lucky. But even if it had been cashed already, they weren't exploited. They were paying for a safety seat. That they had the resources to do so suggests that they are doing okay.

 

[deleted480308]

I'll say it's crappy to put a stop on a properly submitted check as long as the school was holding up their end of the deal. I'd call and ask them to trash the check but I don't think you have a moral stance to cancel payment without their consent. If they held a seat for you, it's their money

 

[Stagg737]

Yeah because it's exploitation and it keeps getting justified by this toxic mentality of "you should be so grateful, quit whining". These kids have earned their offered seats and to manipulate their decision-making by taking advantage of their lack of funds isn't okay. Let's quit pretending it is.

I'm more concerned about schools that charge 50k+ or even 60k+ for their tuition then make students pay for all their testing on their own (an extra $2,500 altogether) and don't act as advocates towards the well-being of their students. Besides, if the deposit goes towards your tuition you're not paying extra anyway. If a school charges you so much you have to take out excessive Grad Plus Loans just to cover tuition, I feel like you're being exploited a lot more than getting a one time charge of $1,000 to save a seat.

 

[Promethean]

I'll say it's crappy to put a stop on a properly submitted check as long as the school was holding up their end of the deal. I'd call and ask them to trash the check but I don't think you have a moral stance to cancel payment without their consent. If they held a seat for you, it's their money

If they have deposited the check, but it has not yet cleared, they are likely to be charged a fee by their bank. A prompt phone call to try to prevent that from happening is called for, at least, though it may already be too late.

Also, stopping payment on a check after receiving some consideration for the funds (in this case, having the seat held) could be construed as fraud, or at least breach of contract. Probably the school won't push the issue, but depending on how bored their lawyers are, it may not be, as other posters have said, that the school has no recourse at all for this.

 

[Affiche]

I'm more concerned about schools that charge 50k+ or even 60k+ for their tuition then make students pay for all their testing on their own (an extra $2,500 altogether) and don't act as advocates towards the well-being of their students. Besides, if the deposit goes towards your tuition you're not paying extra anyway. If a school charges you so much you have to take out excessive Grad Plus Loans just to cover tuition, I feel like you're being exploited a lot more than getting a one time charge of $1,000 to save a seat.

They're both issues.

Oh, please!

It isn't financial exploitation. It is a deposit that holds a seat for you and keeps someone else out of it. It is a deposit that will be applied to your tuition if you go there, and that recompenses the school for the trouble of finding an equivalent student to take the seat if you don't.

DO schools get used as safety schools by people who don't care about osteopathic medicine, who really want an MD school and will drop the DO school as soon as possible when they get what they really want. This is a way to keep those folks from crowding out people who genuinely wanted to study osteopathic medicine. It discourages paying several deposits to hold multiple seats, while waiting for more appealing schools to respond, as folks do with MD schools that have $100 deposits.

No one is strong armed in an alley and forced to pay these deposits. It is a choice made with clear open eyes. If OP's friend was lucky enough to be able to cancel with no repercussions, well good for them, they got lucky. But even if it had been cashed already, they weren't exploited. They were paying for a safety seat. That they had the resources to do so suggests that they are doing okay.

The biggest thing that pissed me off about deposits is that these schools will hand out early acceptances then demand hefty deposits within a few weeks knowing damn well they won't give out financial packages until months later. So okay, you want me to fork over $1400 to hold a seat after I spent $500 to interview there and but you'll withhold all financial offers for another 4 months? Sure, let me invest 2k in your school before I even know if I can afford to go there.

People are going to use schools as safety seats regardless of the deposit required, but by making it that expensive all they're doing is giving more decision-making power to applicants with money and taking it away from applicants without it. That isn't okay.

 

[evilbooyaa]

If they have deposited the check, but it has not yet cleared, they are likely to be charged a fee by their bank. A prompt phone call to try to prevent that from happening is called for, at least, though it may already be too late.

Also, stopping payment on a check after receiving some consideration for the funds (in this case, having the seat held) could be construed as fraud, or at least breach of contract. Probably the school won't push the issue, but depending on how bored their lawyers are, it may not be, as other posters have said, that the school has no recourse at all for this.

Unless there was a contract signed that stated there is a non-refundable deposit that will lead to prosectuion if cancelled once sent, I don't know if they'll have a leg to stand on.

I probably would've just let it go and basically said "$1k for peace of mind" but if you're financially strapped already I can see trying to minimize expenses. Not sure if there's a real issue here.

 

[Affiche]

Yeah it's dumb but the issue is that it isn't a secret that they require these deposits. Applicants know full well that this scenario is a possibility going in. Quite frankly, if it's that big of an issue then don't apply to schools that require the large deposits.

This is stupid advice. You're supposed to apply broadly and go into the cycle understanding that you may be lucky to get just one acceptance. If you have a chance at an acceptance and you'd gladly attend if it was your only one, you should apply. To limit which schools you apply to because you're assuming you'll have to put down deposits at all of them is a set up for a bad cycle.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

This is stupid advice. You're supposed to apply broadly and go into the cycle understanding that you may be lucky to get just one acceptance. If you have a chance at an acceptance and you'd gladly attend if it was your only one, you should apply. To limit which schools you apply to because you're assuming you'll have to put down deposits at all of them is a set up for a bad cycle.

No it's not. I agree to apply broadly but every applicant that applies DO knows this is a scenario that can happen. When it actually happens don't complain about it. I maintain that if it really is such a big deal then don't freaking apply. It's the same advice for the people who complain at the end of each cycle that they only got into a DO school and want to give that up for another chance at MD. Schools don't owe applicants anything, it's their game and they make the rules. If you don't want to play then don't play.

 

[Affiche]

No it's not. I agree to apply broadly but every applicant that applies DO knows this is a scenario that can happen. When it actually happens don't complain about it. I maintain that if it really is such a big deal then don't freaking apply. It's the same advice for the people who complain at the end of each cycle that they only got into a DO school and want to give that up for another chance at MD. Schools don't owe applicants anything, it's their game and they make the rules. If you don't want to play then don't play.

So applicants who are borderline MD/DO should only apply MD and be left with nothing if they don't get in?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

So applicants who are borderline MD/DO should only apply MD and be left with nothing if they don't get in?

No but they shouldn't complain at the end that they only got into a DO school, or complain that they had to pay a deposit for a seat that lets them become a doctor.

Edit: and if they are so adverse to paying a DO deposit or potentially actually going to a DO school then yes they should only apply MD.

 

[235009]

Oh, please!

It isn't financial exploitation. It is a deposit that holds a seat for you and keeps someone else out of it. It is a deposit that will be applied to your tuition if you go there, and that recompenses the school for the trouble of finding an equivalent student to take the seat if you don't.

DO schools get used as safety schools by people who don't care about osteopathic medicine, who really want an MD school and will drop the DO school as soon as possible when they get what they really want. This is a way to keep those folks from crowding out people who genuinely wanted to study osteopathic medicine. It discourages paying several deposits to hold multiple seats, while waiting for more appealing schools to respond, as folks do with MD schools that have $100 deposits.

No one is strong armed in an alley and forced to pay these deposits. It is a choice made with clear open eyes. If OP's friend was lucky enough to be able to cancel with no repercussions, well good for them, they got lucky. But even if it had been cashed already, they weren't exploited. They were paying for a safety seat. That they had the resources to do so suggests that they are doing okay.

So why don't DO schools allow you to apply the deposit to any DO school you matriculate at or make it refundable if you end up at a DO school? If they were just protecting against folks who aren't interested in DO and will jump ship to MD then this would be logical. Instead each school is allowed to operate separately with no rules to protect applicants by COCA like there is on the MD side. It's disgusting money grubbing....plain and simple.

It's pretty funny that I'm the one who is outraged about this and those being taken advantage of seem to be OK with it. Strange.


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[deleted480308]

So why don't DO schools allow you to apply the deposit to any DO school you matriculate at or make it refundable if you end up at a DO school? If they were just protecting against folks who aren't interested in DO and will jump ship to MD then this would be logical. Instead each school is allowed to operate separately with no rules to protect applicants by COCA like there is on the MD side. It's disgusting money grubbing....plain and simple.

It's pretty funny that I'm the one who is outraged about this and those being taken advantage of seem to be OK with it. Strange.


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School A doesn't give two craps about school B. They just want to waste their time less with 8million people dropping seats so they make you put some skin in the game if you want one. The opportunity cost of a guaranteed seat in august at a DO school can be $1500.

 

[235009]

School A doesn't give two craps about school B. They just want to waste their time less with 8million people dropping seats so they make you put some skin in the game if you want one. The opportunity cost of a guaranteed seat in august at a DO school can be $1500.

Well even at MD schools deposits r no longer refundable after a certain date and that would be a common sense rule. I'm not saying that date should be in may like it is with MD schools but even making the deposit refundable by December or February would be less predatory than the current system.


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[RangerBob]

I hope that the OP's friend contacts the school he/she put the stop payment on. It's very unethical to stop payment on a check you sent and not notify the person you wrote the check that you did (unless they failed to keep their end of the bargain, which isn't the case here). The school may be able to challenge the bank's refusal to pay the check and the OP's friend wouldn't have a leg to stand on. "I changed my mind" is not a valid reason not to pay someone (though sometimes valid for a refund--which is up to the other party). If you purchased something with a credit card and then told your credit card company the charge wasn't yours and tried to get out of it, you'd be committing fraud. Stopping payment on a check for a service you received (even a more intangible one like holding a seat) is technically fraud. That is not becoming of a future physician.

There's no gray area here-it's a pretty black-and-white ethics question. It doesn't matter that the school hasn't deposited the check yet--I believe personal checks don't become "stale" until 6 months after they're dated. And it doesn't matter that the school is charging a ridiculous deposit--that is known in advance and agreed to by both parties when you sign the check.

The right thing to do (both legally and ethically) is to contact the admission department at the school and just be honest with them and let them know you're withdrawing your position. I just looked very briefly at one of the similar threads listed below the bottom of this thread and someone wrote they knew a pre-pharmacy student who got their $2000 deposit back by being honest with the admissions director, who hadn't yet sent the check over to processing, and instead just mailed it back to the student out of courtesy. Maybe the OP's friend won't be so lucky, but that would be the course of action I'd take.

In the grand scheme of things, $1400 is small potatoes--do the right thing.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

It's pretty funny that I'm the one who is outraged about this and those being taken advantage of seem to be OK with it. Strange.

Funny, this is the same comment people say when residents argue that they don't need to be paid more...

 

[Ho0v-man]

Yeah the deposits are big and suck. But I can only think of 2 schools that require a quick deposit (there's prob a couple more) and I applied and interviewed at a lot of them. Most of them don't make you do anything until early/mid December. So yeah, if you have a problem with putting down a hefty deposit super quickly then either don't apply or at least delay your interview.

But it's not like they're going "surprise give us all your money next week." You know about this cost well before you even interview. It's freely advertised before you even submit the secondary.

The deposit cleared on my safety school 12 hours before I got accepted to my top choice. It absolutely sucked. But as an adult, I accepted the reality that this was 100% my problem and not the fault of the school.


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[Psai]

What is this 1000 going towards? Paying for a seat? LOL
My school asked for like 60 bucks

 

[235009]

Funny, this is the same comment people say when residents argue that they don't need to be paid more...

I think I was compensated pretty fairly in residency and did not feel taken advantage of. That's an entirely different discussion that isn't remotely relevant to this situation despite what you may think.


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[AnatomyGrey12]

I think I was compensated pretty fairly in residency and did not feel taken advantage of. That's an entirely different discussion that isn't remotely relevant to this situation despite what you may think.


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I never said it was, but the argument you posed is exactly the same. The fact still remains that OP's friend applied to a DO school knowing full well they would probably require a deposit before they heard from any MD schools, that's just how it is. Expecting to be the exception is just special snowflake syndrome. I have gone through the DO application process and have not felt taken advantage of, and I can totally see why the schools do it.

 

[Affiche]

I never said it was, but the argument you posed is exactly the same. The fact still remains that OP's friend applied to a DO school knowing full well they would probably require a deposit before they heard from any MD schools, that's just how it is. Expecting to be the exception is just special snowflake syndrome. I have gone through the DO application process and have not felt taken advantage of, and I can totally see why the schools do it.

Who cares if they're up front about it? That doesn't make it any less exploitative. Students still apply because as an applicant to medical school, you don't have the luxury of being picky about which schools to apply to, so there isn't much of a choice left but to buy into the process. Medical schools have all the power in the situation and they abuse it by demanding an absurd amount of money just because they can.

I get that you don't feel taken advantage of, but other people do. For applicants who have exceptional financial hardship, this is unfair to them. To be left with the choice of either:
1. Don't apply
2. Give up a seat you've earned because you can't afford to hold it or
3. Pour all your money into a school you don't want to (and likely won't) attend

is absolutely not okay. And to encourage these applicants to just not apply because of money isn't okay, either.

 

[deleted480308]

Who cares if they're up front about it? That doesn't make it any less exploitative. Students still apply because as an applicant to medical school, you don't have the luxury of being picky about which schools to apply to, so there isn't much of a choice left but to buy into the process. Medical schools have all the power in the situation and they abuse it by demanding an absurd amount of money just because they can.

I get that you don't feel taken advantage of, but other people do. For applicants who have exceptional financial hardship, this is unfair to them. To be left with the choice of either:
1. Don't apply
2. Give up a seat you've earned because you can't afford to hold it or
3. Pour all your money into a school you don't want to (and likely won't) attend

is absolutely not okay. And to encourage these applicants to just not apply because of money isn't okay, either.

That's the point. The seat reservation fee is you "proving" you actually want the seat so they don't hold it just to have you drop it. Every month you hold a seat that you don't end up using is a month that the pool of applicants without a seat is dwindling and the school is sifting through a smaller cohort to find an acceptable applicant.

If you don't want to go to the school, don't apply there or don't pay the reservation fee

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Who cares if they're up front about it? That doesn't make it any less exploitative. Students still apply because as an applicant to medical school, you don't have the luxury of being picky about which schools to apply to, so there isn't much of a choice left but to buy into the process. Medical schools have all the power in the situation and they abuse it by demanding an absurd amount of money just because they can.

I get that you don't feel taken advantage of, but other people do. For applicants who have exceptional financial hardship, this is unfair to them. To be left with the choice of either:
1. Don't apply
2. Give up a seat you've earned because you can't afford to hold it or
3. Pour all your money into a school you don't want to (and likely won't) attend

is absolutely not okay. And to encourage these applicants to just not apply because of money isn't okay, either.

I don't be think you actually understand the process. Most schools don't require the deposit until December and that is plenty of time to get a feel how your cycle is going. There are literally only a handful of schools that require the payment soon after the offer of acceptance and most of them are really new, don't apply to these schools. There are plenty of others. The whole point of the deposit is to show you want to go to the school.

And I get financial hardship, there were times I had to work full-time to pay for school. The people who really complain about the deposits are the MD applicants who apply to a few DO schools with no real desire to go to one.

 

[vernhart]

Do you want to be a doctor or not? Short term sacrifice vs very lucrative long term gain. You're going to be in debt to the tune of having three Teslas, and you're whining about an extra $1000-2000?

That is the kind of logic that gets people 3 or 4 teslas in debt along the way. This is exploitative. It doesn't matter how much we will someday make, wrong is wrong. Let's say the average college grad makes $40,000, which is between 1/10 and 1/4 of what a doctor will make. Should undergrads be required to pay between $150 and $375 to hold EACH seat? (numbers based on $1500 deposit to DO school). And let's be clear, this is not the only step along the way in which we will be exploited. Just to properly beat a dead horse:

"I'm already $200k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$201.5k
"I'm already $201.5k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$203k
"I'm already $203k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$204,5k
"I'm already $204.5k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$206k
"I'm already $206k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$207.5k
"I'm already $207.5k in debt, what's another $1500?"=$209k...

 

[Affiche]

I don't be think you actually understand the process. Most schools don't require the deposit until December and that is plenty of time to get a feel how your cycle is going. There are literally only a handful of schools that require the payment soon after the offer of acceptance and most of them are really new, don't apply to these schools. There are plenty of others. The whole point of the deposit is to show you want to go to the school.

And I get financial hardship, there were times I had to work full-time to pay for school. The people who really complain about the deposits are the MD applicants who apply to a few DO schools with no real desire to go to one.

LOL I don't understand the process? Did I just float into medical school without going through it myself? Come on, now.

You don't really know where you stand financially with each school until well after January. I didn't know that my top two choices were going to cost me a difference of 220k until March, and until then I thought I really did want to attend the more expensive one. So why should I have to throw thousands of dollars at these schools to "prove" I really want their seat more than any other before I even know what their seat is going to cost me? No one should have to invest that much non-refundable money into a school while the school is still withholding crucial information.

 

[Affiche]

That's the point. The seat reservation fee is you "proving" you actually want the seat so they don't hold it just to have you drop it. Every month you hold a seat that you don't end up using is a month that the pool of applicants without a seat is dwindling and the school is sifting through a smaller cohort to find an acceptable applicant.

If you don't want to go to the school, don't apply there or don't pay the reservation fee

You and I know both know it's not about whether you like the school or not. A smart applicant will go to the best school they're accepted to for the least amount of money. You simply just don't have that information though by the time deposits are due.

If they give all the financial information up front so we can make a well-informed decision about if want the seat or not, this would be less of an issue. But to demand money as some sign that you're committed to their seat before they tell you what it's going to cost is absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention that this completely undermines the point of an April 30th decision day (or whatever it is this year).

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

LOL I don't understand the process? Did I just float into medical school without going through it myself? Come on, now.

You don't really know where you stand financially with each school until well after January. I didn't know that my top two choices were going to cost me a difference of 220k until March, and until then I thought I really did want to attend the more expensive one. So why should I have to throw thousands of dollars at these schools to "prove" I really want their seat more than any other before I even know what their seat is going to cost me? No one should have to invest that much non-refundable money into a school while the school is still withholding crucial information.

No your knowledge of the DO application process is woefully ignorant. DO schools don't really have scholarships! And the ones they do have are usually for URMs and the schools don't decide who gets it until classes have already started. At every interview I have had they have given me a sheet with EXACTLY how much going there will cost. There is no "don't know where you stand financially." Every applicant is told the cost.

You and I know both know it's not about whether you like the school or not. A smart applicant will go to the best school they're accepted to for the least amount of money. You simply just don't have that information though by the time deposits are due.

If they give all the financial information up front so we can make a well-informed decision about if want the seat or not, this would be less of an issue. But to demand money as some sign that you're committed to their seat before they tell you what it's going to cost is absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention that this completely undermines the point of an April 30th decision day (or whatever it is this year).

Again, you don't get the process. This date is not a thing in DO admissions. I have heard they might implement something on May.

 

[Lawpy]

That's the point. The seat reservation fee is you "proving" you actually want the seat so they don't hold it just to have you drop it. Every month you hold a seat that you don't end up using is a month that the pool of applicants without a seat is dwindling and the school is sifting through a smaller cohort to find an acceptable applicant.

If you don't want to go to the school, don't apply there or don't pay the reservation fee

You do realize MD schools have a similar problem right? And they manage it by charging small, refundable deposits. There is little-to-no justification for large, nonrefundable deposits.

Also, no one answered my question:

what DO schools have small, refundable deposits to hold the seat?

If the answer is none, I think we can agree that DO schools are largely and unnecessarily being exploitative, since cheaper alternatives exist and are practiced.

 

[deleted480308]

You do realize MD schools have a similar problem right? And they manage it by charging small, refundable deposits. There is little-to-no justification for large, nonrefundable deposits.

Also, no one answered my question:



If the answer is none, I think we can agree that DO schools are largely and unnecessarily being exploitative, since cheaper alternatives exist and are practiced.

Reality is DO programs are more likely to get dropped late in the game. They are also more likely to be private as opposed to public. It's just a supply and demand. They offer you a known acceptance in october and the cost is $1-2k if you want to have a know seat. Sellers market.