Current Student
Joined: 23 Oct 2009
Posts: 230
Given Kudos: 6
Schools:Wharton!!! Stern Columbia HBS
Re: Renege after paying deposit
[#permalink]
28 May 2010, 06:51
I know several people who have reneged on their deposits to attend other schools (including a few that I believe, though I'm not 100% sure, actually reneged on the Columbia ED deposit). I don't think there is a blacklist, though I bet if someone did it to a bunch of schools, it might get around that someone was sort of playing the field like that.
If you do it for a good reason (like you had a required deadline to hold your spot in a program before you find out if you're in anywhere else and then you get into your top choice program, or you weren't 100% sure you were going to attend bschool and needed more time, or even if you were still trying to decide and needed more time), I don't really think anyone will hold it against you. But if you abuse it (put your $$ down on a bunch of schools and then renege) then at the very least karma may come back to bite you.
I think the other thing to think about is that it's $$ you won't get back, so be really sure you need to put that $$ down, other wise it's $1K-$6K (depending on the school) that you'll lose if you don't go there and that $ could be otherwise used for something while you are in school.
Just my 2 cents.