Enrollment deposits.
This is the fee, often hundreds or even thousands of dollars, that students are required to pay, usually within a matter of weeks, to secure their spot after being admitted to an undergraduate or graduate program. In theory, it’s a simple tool to help universities confirm their incoming class. In practice, it’s a barrier that appears late in the process, at the exact moment when they are expected to make a life-changing decision.
The challenge is that students often don’t know these deposits exist until after they’ve been accepted. In a new study, “Hidden Costs, Obvious Consequences: Enrollment Deposits and Access to (Graduate) Higher Education”, Leadership Brainery examined colleges and universities across Massachusetts, we found a consistent pattern: many programs require enrollment deposits, yet many do not disclose this expectation on their websites. That means students are making decisions about where to enroll without fully understanding the true cost of saying “yes.”
As seen in the graph below (an excerpt from the full report), there is a transparency gap across nearly every degree program, including undergraduate programs. For instance, for Master of Business programs in this study, every single program required an enrollment deposit, yet only 20% of them disclosed a deposit requirement on their website (“Advertised Deposit Rate”).
Even when deposits are disclosed, the amounts can be significant. As seen in the second graph below, for undergraduate students, deposits typically fall in the low hundreds. For certain graduate and professional programs (MBA degrees), deposits can exceed $1,000 on average and reach as high as $3,000. Approximately one in three Americans are unlikely to afford an unexpected $400 expense, and over half of young adults ages 18 to 29 report that they likely could not cover such a cost.
For many students, that is rent, groceries, or a month’s worth of basic living expenses. So when a candidate is admitted to multiple programs, they may be forced to choose not based on fit, opportunity, or long-term outcomes, but based on which school they can afford to commit to immediately. In some cases, they may not be able to commit at all.
For those already navigating financial strain or insecurity, unexpected or undisclosed costs, such as enrollment deposits, can create additional barriers to enrollment.
What makes this issue even more troubling is how inconsistently these policies are applied. Some of the most selective universities in the country, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania, have eliminated enrollment deposits for undergraduate students in the name of reducing barriers and promoting access. But at the graduate level, even within the same institutions, deposits are still very much in place. In some cases, they are substantial. A student admitted to a graduate program at the same university that eliminated undergraduate deposits may still be required to pay hundreds of dollars upfront for graduate programs.
First-generation students and low-income students are the most likely to feel the burden.That contradiction raises a deeper question: if deposits are recognized as barriers in one part of the institution, why are they still required in another?
The good news is that this is a fixable problem. Enrollment deposits do not always need to be a barrier. Some institutions have already demonstrated that eliminating them does not harm enrollment and may even improve it. The challenge is not whether change is possible, it’s whether there is enough will to make it happen.
First, transparency must be non-negotiable. Colleges should clearly disclose deposit requirements, amounts, deadlines, and refund policies on publicly accessible admissions pages, not hidden behind acceptance portals or only revealed after a student is admitted. Students deserve to know the full cost of their decision before they take the time to apply.
Second, waiver policies need to expand. Students with demonstrated financial need, especially those who received Pell Grants as undergraduates or meet income thresholds, should be eligible for deposit waivers. These policies should be clearly communicated and easy to access, rather than requiring students to navigate additional barriers.
Third, states should take a more active role. State governments can promote standardized disclosure of enrollment deposits and create incentives for institutions to adopt more equitable practices. They can also support programs that help students cover upfront costs when waivers are not available.
Finally, the federal government can also play a role. At a minimum, enrollment deposits should be included in broader efforts to improve price transparency. Policymakers should also explore whether limited forms of financial aid can be used to cover deposits in cases where students would otherwise be unable to enroll.
Enrollment deposits may seem like a small piece of a much larger system. But for the student who can’t afford one, they can be the deciding factor, not only between one college and another, but between enrolling and not enrolling at all. If we are serious about expanding access to higher education, we cannot continue to ignore the costs students don’t see coming.
If you’re interested in reading the full report or learning more about the findings, visit our website.
