Over the summer, Whitney Soule, a University of Pennsylvania vice provost and dean of admissions, began discussing with colleagues how the Ivy League institution manages students’ enrollment deposits.
A mainstay of the college-selection ritual, enrollment deposits require admitted students to put down a few hundred dollars or less to signify their intent to enroll and lock in their seats for the coming term. This money then applies to their tuition bill. Mandated deposits help colleges map out their incoming classes — and thus their budgets — as students theoretically are less likely to renege on attending if they already contributed some cash. Students do back out, though, sometimes because they have pledged multiple deposits.