An applicant with LOAs pending from Conestoga and Saskatchewan Polytechnic (LOA received) faced a fee dilemma: Sask Polytech wanted a $10K CAD advance stated as non-refundable, Conestoga only $1,500 — and with 30 backlogs (from medical circumstances, all cleared alongside a job), the applicant was far from certain the visa would be approved. Losing $10K on a refusal felt unbearable; losing $1,500 survivable.
What the thread resolved:
- The 'non-refundable' label often has a visa-refusal exception. A member who had been 'on the same boat' confirmed with Sask Polytech directly: in case of visa refusal, the deposit is refundable minus a $200 CAD deduction. What reads as non-refundable on the offer usually means non-refundable if you simply change your mind — refusal is a separate case.
- Verify it yourself, in writing. Both experienced members said the same thing: email the institution and ask the exact question. A written answer protects you if you ever need to claim the refund; group hearsay does not.
- The provincial angle favoured Saskatchewan. One member argued for Sask Polytech anyway because Saskatchewan's PNP pathway improves post-study options — a reminder that seat-deposit size shouldn't be the only variable when the destinations differ this much in immigration terms.
The general rule this thread models: never abandon a preferred institution over a scary deposit figure until you've had the refusal-refund terms confirmed by the college itself.