Stop payment?

[EMH]

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Ok, I have allready mailed a deposit into school A a week ago and then recieved another acceptance to my state school (school B) today. Would it just be wrong to ask the bank to stop payment on the deposit check since they haven't cashed it yet? I believe I'd rather go to school B for various reasons but I like school A as well.

Ideas? Urgent decision needs to be made.

 

[koennen]

I would call my bank and stop payment on the check, ASAP if you sent it in a week ago. Put the "stop" order on it before it clears your bank.

 

[jkhamlin]

Ok, I have allready mailed a deposit into school A a week ago and then recieved another acceptance to my state school (school B) today. Would it just be wrong to ask the bank to stop payment on the deposit check since they haven't cashed it yet? I believe I'd rather go to school B for various reasons but I like school A as well.

Ideas? Urgent decision needs to be made.

Are you planning to go to school B? How much money is at stake?

The more money we are talking about, the more likely I would if that is the case.

 

[MadHopsMD]

Ok, I have allready mailed a deposit into school A a week ago and then recieved another acceptance to my state school (school B) today. Would it just be wrong to ask the bank to stop payment on the deposit check since they haven't cashed it yet? I believe I'd rather go to school B for various reasons but I like school A as well.

Ideas? Urgent decision needs to be made.

unethical sure. but do it.

 

[toothless rufus]

If you are still on the fence, and can afford it: let it ride.

 

[erleichda]

Ok, I have allready mailed a deposit into school A a week ago and then recieved another acceptance to my state school (school B) today. Would it just be wrong to ask the bank to stop payment on the deposit check since they haven't cashed it yet? I believe I'd rather go to school B for various reasons but I like school A as well.

Ideas? Urgent decision needs to be made.

I would stop payment, but also you need to call school A and let them know that you decided not to attend.

 

[OlderStudent]

If you prefer your state school then go ahead and cancel the check.

 

[medmom]

I would cancel the check but would also call the school and tell them. What are they going to do about it? NADA

 

[jkhamlin]

I would cancel the check but would also call the school and tell them. What are they going to do about it? NADA

They'll revoke his acceptance and probably never accept him again if for some freak reason he had to reapply. Then they might look into taking his birthday away. Or they might petition Starfleet to terminate the EMH program and take away his mobile transmitter and then decompile his program.

 

[jonb12997]

wow, that a tough situation... i'd caution, that unless you are so strapped for money that you don't know how you're going to pay rent next month, that I'd be really careful. You NEVER want to burn your bridges if can help it. I'd simply call the school and tell them your situation. I think they'd appreciate you being honest. if you tell them right away, that gives them plenty of time to get someone else to fill your seat (which the whole point of deposits).

I'd just caution that you never know when you might need help for some reason at that school. What if you end up doing residency there or something or want to do an away rotation with them (and the list goes on), plus, the osteopathic community, medicine in general, is a fairly small community, and there's no reason to get off on the wrong foot somewhere.

But that's just IMO... take it as you want.

 

[wook]

wow, that a tough situation... i'd caution, that unless you are so strapped for money that you don't know how you're going to pay rent next month, that I'd be really careful. You NEVER want to burn your bridges if can help it. I'd simply call the school and tell them your situation. I think they'd appreciate you being honest. if you tell them right away, that gives them plenty of time to get someone else to fill your seat (which the whole point of deposits).

I'd just caution that you never know when you might need help for some reason at that school. What if you end up doing residency there or something or want to do an away rotation with them (and the list goes on), plus, the osteopathic community, medicine in general, is a fairly small community, and there's no reason to get off on the wrong foot somewhere.

But that's just IMO... take it as you want.

Agreed. It's a small world and that would not be the most professional way of handling the situation. Call and explain. You may not get what you want but putting a stop payment is not the best way to handle the situation.


Wook

 

[noshie]

I also agree with calling the school first and explaining, then stop payment if they are OK with it. It would be really rude to stop payment before telling them because then the check will bounce and it will much more of a hassel for them. I am sure they get this kind of thing a ton of times every year so they will know how to handle the situation.

 

[Dr JPH]

unethical sure. but do it.

I dont think its unethical at all.

What IS unethical IMO is the outrageous cost of some of these deposits. And the fact they are non refundable is ridiculous.

The school doesnt count on a generating income from deposits as part of its annual budget. The money is nothing more than a good faith deposit that says "I like your school enough to keep it in mind."

If you chose another school, then you dont need to pay that deposit.

I say cancel the check. I doubt the other school will go belly up because your money doesnt clear.

 

[Dr JPH]

wow, that a tough situation... i'd caution, that unless you are so strapped for money that you don't know how you're going to pay rent next month, that I'd be really careful. You NEVER want to burn your bridges if can help it. I'd simply call the school and tell them your situation. I think they'd appreciate you being honest. if you tell them right away, that gives them plenty of time to get someone else to fill your seat (which the whole point of deposits).

I'd just caution that you never know when you might need help for some reason at that school. What if you end up doing residency there or something or want to do an away rotation with them (and the list goes on), plus, the osteopathic community, medicine in general, is a fairly small community, and there's no reason to get off on the wrong foot somewhere.

But that's just IMO... take it as you want.

While I agree with your statement about not burning bridges, you are in 2 totally different realms when it comes to admissions office and residency.

The admissions offices have no connection with the academic roles of the school, the clinical rotations for visiting students and certainly no connection with the residency programs.

It would be highly unlikely that 4 years from now this person is applying for a residency program affiliated with this school and someone says "hey...didnt he cancel his deposit when he was applying here 4 years ago?"

Schools dont take it personally when you dont pick them. Again...the deposit is NOT a contractual obligation.

 

[jkhamlin]

I dont think its unethical at all.

What IS unethical IMO is the outrageous cost of some of these deposits. And the fact they are non refundable is ridiculous.

The school doesnt count on a generating income from deposits as part of its annual budget. The money is nothing more than a good faith deposit that says "I like your school enough to keep it in mind."

If you chose another school, then you dont need to pay that deposit.

I say cancel the check. I doubt the other school will go belly up because your money doesnt clear.

👍

 

[bobo]

I dont think its unethical at all.

For once I agree with JPH. When I was applying to schools I was accepted at LECOM and actually foolishly sent them a ridiculous deposit. Soon thereafter I was accepted into another school I liked a lot better. I called LECOM and asked them if they were going to cash the check. When the admissions lady informed me that they were, I informed her that I was stopping payment and boy did that make her mad, but I didn't care I didn't think twice about it.

 

[Dr.Inviz]

👍

i agree with JPhazelton totally ...

 

[EMH]

Thank you SDN for the good input.

 

[MaximusD]

My vote: Stop payment. Call the school afterwards to inform them that you are giving up your acceptance.

 

[MJB]

The DO deposits seem extremly high...in fact, I have no idea how I would have come up with the money had I chosen this route as an undergrad...

 

[fabu1ous]

I have an idea... ask them to apply it to my account if I get off their waitlist.. 😀 Just a thought...

 

[Doc Martins]

I stopped payment on a hefty deposit check on Friday. I called today to let the school know that I am withdrawing my acceptance, and they told me that the deposit was non-refundable.. I didn't say that I stopped the check, b/c I guess I'm a coward, but now I don't know what the consequences are.. Anyone have any experiences with a situation like this? If the deposit wasn't so damn expensive, I wouldn't care about getting the money back.

Edit: I just read some of the above posts and it looks like this is a common situation. I'm just not sure what to expect, the school is NYCOM.

 

[hb2998]

Let the check cash, then get a decent collection agency and go after them. Maybe this way you could charge some interest.

Seriously, it depends if you need the cash. Just call the school and withdraw, tell them that you've already told the bank to put a stop on your check.. then call your bank and put a stop on the check.

 

[bigdog8829]

hell yeah you should stop it.
sure it may be somewhat unethical, but it also sucks that a few hundred of your dollars are going to waste. i think thats unethical on the schools part.
use that raionalization, take the money, and go out! celebrate! 👍