Dear s1800028,

Thanks for your post.

I'm not sure that I fully understand your question, since if you know that you have a 'first choice' that you are considering, you should ideally be applying to that program in the first round...

Having said that, the broader question you raise about deadlines and deposit dates is something that varies a great deal from school to school. For example, a school with a R1 deadline in October may not require a desposit until April 30th - in which case applicants can easily apply to R2 deadlines at other schools (in January) and get those results (late March/early April) before a deposit would be called for from their R1 application.

Of course, in other cases, applicants accepted in R1 are given less time to decide and make a deposit - perhaps only until late January or the month of February. Even in this case, however, one typically would be applying in R2 to additional programs before they have any sort of deposit due at their R1 school. Of course, when the deposit date comes, it's unlikely that you will have a response from the R2 programs, which would require one of three paths:

1) Make the deposit at your R1 program. Risk losing the deposit if for some reason you decide to go elsewhere at a later date based on new information.

2) Request an extension from the school in terms of the deposit date. Many programs will offer a bit more time if you ask for it.

3) Skip the deposit and forfeit your offer to join the program. Bank on getting into another school in a later round. (not recommended)

I hope this helps you plan accordingly. Feel free to post again if I've misunderstood your question.

Best of luck,

Graham