Enrollment Deposit and Confirmation

What the deposit does

The $100 enrollment deposit tells Porter you are coming and holds your place in the entering class. It is not an extra charge: the full $100 is credited to your first-semester bill. Paying it unlocks the Housing Gateway, orientation registration and the placement assessments on your admitted-student checklist.

Pay it in MyPorter, under “Confirm my enrollment,” by card or e-check. Unlike tuition payments, the deposit carries no card service fee. Activate your Porter account first — the activation code is in your admission letter, and admitted students walks through it.

Deadlines

Students admitted after April 15 have two weeks from the date on their admission letter. May 1, 2027 falls on a Saturday; online payments count until 11:59 p.m. Central, and the Welcome Center is open 9 a.m.–1 p.m. that day for anyone who would rather pay in person and have their photo taken with the depot bell.

Need more time to compare aid offers? Ask before May 1. Extensions to May 15 are granted routinely when an offer from another school is still pending.

Transfer students entering in fall 2027 have the same May 1 date if admitted by April 15; later transfer admits get two weeks, like everyone else. Students admitted to a program with secondary admission, such as Nursing, deposit to the university — the program decision comes later and does not change the deposit.

Waivers

No one should skip Porter over $100, and no one should have to explain their finances to avoid paying it. The deposit is waived automatically, with nothing to request, if your FAFSA shows Pell Grant eligibility, if you are a veteran or on active duty, or if you are an independent student who was in foster care. Anyone else can ask for a waiver by email — a sentence is enough, and nearly every request is approved. For fall 2026, 640 of the 2,110 entering students had the deposit waived.

A waived deposit confirms your enrollment exactly as a paid one does; there is just no $100 credit on the bill afterward.

Refunds, deferrals and changing your mind

• Full refund on a written request from your Porter email through June 1, 2027 for fall entry (December 31, 2026 for spring).
• After June 1 the deposit is non-refundable, except for military orders, a serious medical situation or a death in the family, which are refunded at any point before classes begin.
• Deferral: admitted students may defer for one semester or one year by request before August 1, 2027; the deposit carries forward. See gap year planning if you are weighing it.
• Housing is separate. The housing contract carries its own $200 housing deposit and its own cancellation terms; read them in the housing process before you sign.

What happens next

1. Within two business days: the Housing Gateway opens. Incoming first-year students who apply for housing by May 1, 2027 are guaranteed a space; see housing.
2. From March 1, 2027: orientation registration opens for depositors. Two-day sessions run June 14 through July 27, 2027; details are on new student orientation.
3. Before orientation: complete math placement (placement testing guide), upload immunization records, and send AP or dual-enrollment scores.
4. By July 15, 2027: your official final high school transcript.
5. Late August: the fall bill is due about a week before classes; first-year move-in appointments run August 28–29, First Forge follows, and classes begin September 1, 2027.

The full ordered list is on the new student checklist.