Can I get my ‘non-refundable’ university admission deposit back, if I was never admitted?
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Can I get my ‘non-refundable’ university admission deposit back, if I was never admitted?
In short, I applied to business school and was conditionally accepted. Conditions
being that I pay them 1500.00 ‘non-refundable’ admission deposit and take summer
classes prior to attending the Fall semester. I would have to get a 3.0 or higher
in all of my summer classes in order to fulfill my condition and become fully
admitted and enrolled at the university and be able to take Fall classes.
However, due to financial aid situation that was outside of my control, I was
unable to attend the summer classes, thus unable to fulfill the admissions
requirement. Since I haven’t technically been admitted to the university, should
I still be able to get my deposit back?
Asked on July 22, 2016 under Business Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
No, based on what you write, you are *not* entitled to refund. You were told the deposit was non-refundable: a non-refundable deposit must only be refunded if the *school* violated its obligations. But if the cause of your non-admission was anything other than the school's fault--which includes financial aid situations which were not the business school's doing, even if they also were not your fault--then they can keep the deposit.
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