Deposit

An MBA deposit is a cash hold on a seat after an admit. It is usually non-refundable and credited to tuition if you enroll. Paying it is how the school books yield. It is not a scholarship, not a fee refund, and not a free option on a later offer (Tuck; Cornell Johnson).

Is the deposit refundable?+

Usually no, once the deadline passes. Schools print “non-refundable” next to the date. Some will refund before the deadline if you decline in writing. After the date, the money is a yield instrument. Asking to unwind it because Round 2 at another school came through is a request, not a right.

Deposit vs the rest of the cash

Item	What it does	Typical trait	Source / date
Application fee	Pays for the file	Small; sometimes waived	School pages
Enrollment deposit	Holds the seat	Non-refundable; credited to tuition	Tuck / Cornell
Tuition invoice	Pays the term	Later; aid applied first	Bursar
Deferral hold	May require a new or extra deposit	School policy	Deferral pages

Tuck’s 2026–27 grid: R1 deposit 1 February 2027; R2 19 April; R3 14 May. Cornell publishes the same pairing — decision date plus deposit date per round. R1 admits write a check before many R2 decisions exist. That is the design.

Example: Admitted R1 at School A, deposit due 1 February. School B’s R2 decision is 18 March. If you need both packages, apply to B in R1 or accept that you may forfeit A’s deposit. Double-depositing and ghosting is how waitlists move; it also burns the first school.

Common errors

• Reading “credited to tuition” as “refundable”
• Missing that R1 deposits land before R2 decisions
• Treating a deposit as a scholarship
• Assuming a deferral automatically rolls the same deposit

FAQ

How much is an MBA deposit?+

It varies by school and program — often a few thousand dollars at U.S. full-time programs, sometimes less at part-time or public schools. The amount is not the point. The non-refundable date is the point.

Does paying a deposit mean I am enrolled?+

It means the school counts you toward yield. Matriculation is still a later registrar event. You can still defer or withdraw under the school’s rules, usually without getting the money back.

Can I deposit at two schools?+

You can write two checks. Policies discourage it, and some will rescind if they catch it. Practically, people do it when calendars do not overlap. Budget the loss.