This is kind of awkward.

[altheterrible]

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I just got accepted to one of the schools I'm considering. Yay! The problem, though, is that they want to know by the end of next week if I intend to go there. I have 2 more interviews next month, also at schools I'm seriously considering.

I can't be the only person who's ever been in this situation, so does anyone have any advice? I honestly didn't expect to get accepted so soon--I'd heard that they deferred more than 90% of applicants until the end of the admissions cycle, so I thought I'd be able to finish all my interviews before I got an offer. I don't want to blow my chances of going to this school because it's a good school and I AM seriously considering going there, but I don't want to blow my chances at getting into the other schools, either.

Basically, is there a non-tacky way to say "I'm not done interviewing yet and I want to keep my options open"?

 

[El Trombopag]

What do you mean by ‘they want to know’? There should be a specific date by which they require a deposit to hold your spot. . .after that, worst case is that you don’t get your deposit back if you opt for another program.

 

[altheterrible]

They would like an email acceptance of the offer, at which point they will provide instructions on paying the deposit. Unfortunately I'm not in a position where I can throw out $1000 for nothing, so I don't want to pay a deposit unless I really am going to attend.

 

[Thestrugglez]

VCU? lol

And you only have two options: pay the deposit or decline your seat to the next person. Some schools do let you pay a portion of it, but you're legally bound to pay the rest at a later time.

 

[El Trombopag]

That's a very large deposit. No harm in emailing an acceptance, then dragging out paying the deposit until the last minute.

 

[ashleylh]

You can ask for a deposit extension, it might only be for an additional 2 weeks though

 

[pokemonpcat]

A friend of mine is also in your exact situation, except his deposit is $500. Unfortunately, this is how the process works. My friend ended up depositing $500 to save his seat for a pharmacy school that he is not interested in attending, while he waits for his top pharmacy school to reply. If you don't pay the deposit and God forbid you don't get accepted into your other top pharmacy schools, then you will waste a year not being in pharmacy school at all. It's a big gamble, but it is one that you should take. Besides, when you are in pharmacy school, the $1000 deposit is nothing compared to the 200k in your student loans and as a pharmacist, $1000 is nothing compared to how much your salary will be worth.

Better safe than sorry.